RedRum

Anyone ever see the movie "The Shining"?  If so, Redrum makes sense. 

Here I am at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood.  Such a beautiful day for October so it's time to do some exploring.  

The mountain is out today. Us Oregonian's refer to Mt. Hood as the Mountain.  We do have many mountains in our state but Hood is the largest and most well known.

Time to start my hike.  Looks like I have two choices.

1) Mexico: 2,108 miles.  Long way, great weather.

2) Canada: 550 miles.  Shorter, cheaper prescription drugs, and Little Fox.

Tough call.

Hmm, I think I will go to Zig Zag Canyon which is 3.5 miles.  It 

Made it to the canyon.  The water is still running pretty fast. I'll observe from a safe distance.

Back up the hill towards my lunch spot. The forest is so pretty on a sunny day. 

Time to head back to the lodge. The humans are mentioning ice cream and a beer (not at the same time).  I'm keeping my paws crossed.

Update: Neither a beer nor ice cream was provided.  Instead the humans made sugar free jello for dessert. 
How do I contact management? 

Time to explore Mt. Hood.

Hiya blog world.  Sandy here.  Little Fox insisted on some hiking today.  Sounds like a good plan to me.  

Behind us is Mt. Hood.  The tallest mountain in Oregon (11,249 ft) and part of the Cascade Range. You can climb it but this fox and bear aren't going to today.  Of course, if we DID climb it....we might be able to wave to Sandy's crew up north.

What a view from the parking lot.  Little Fox said that our  goal is to make it to the Zig Zag river. 

After a few miles or so it seemed like a good time to take a rest.  The mountain is showing off today. Little Fox mentioned that he will have to make a note to come back at wildflower season. This might be a good meadow.

Made it to the canyon overlook.  Time to head down into the canyon. 

Made it to the river. The water is running pretty fast today.  

Little Fox insisted on another picture (go figure he didn't like the one where he was partially blocked).  This one is much better.

Time to head up the hill and have our lunch.  Sequoia is our trip leader today.  Let's go!

Journey of a Little Fox part 2

"Not all who wander are lost" ~ Tolkien (and many bumper stickers).


Day two of my journey involves a trip to historic Timberline Lodge.  Timberline is a mountain lodge that was constructed from 1936 to 1938 as part of the works progress administration. Skilled laborers who worked on the project earned $0.90 and hour and unskilled labor earned $0.55 an hour.  How much did supervisory stuffies earn?

Stuffies are pretty smart animals, many of the rugs, draperies, bedspreads, and other linens were actually made from old strips of Civilian Conservation Corps blankets.  If a stuffie was around during that time who knows what could have happened.

Besides recycling blankets they also re purposed cedar poles, used timber from the forest, and the foundation was but from rocks quarried off the mountain.

It was dedicated in September by President F. D. Roosevelt and he and Mrs. Roosevelt enjoyed a lunch of fresh salmon and huckleberry pie.  Those presidents really knew how to live it up.

Here I am hanging out at the same spot as FDR.  Now, he did a lot for us in Oregon and around the USA during the depression (lots of campgrounds, hiking trails, and roads to travel, yeah) but I am more of a Hoover fan.  Any president that promised a chicken in every pot gets my vote.

 Enjoying the same view that FDR had way back in the day.  My lunch DID NOT consist of salmon and huckleberry pie, instead it was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

Let's go inside. 

Always a good sign when you are greeted by Smokey the Bear. 

The ironwork is pretty amazing. Makes sense that you would have a fancy fireplace in a mountain lodge. 

Nice view from the inside looking out.  Mt. Hood decided to show itself today. 

They have all of these comfy Adirondack (Muskoka in Canada as I learned from Sandy) out in the back for relaxing.  Now, how do I summon a waiter for a drink?

I need to talk to Sandy about getting a chair that is my size.  

Walking around the lodge is almost as exciting as walking in it.  The lodge is dramatic from the front.  Now, we just need to move all of these cars out of my picture. 

Back inside.  I found the pool.  I am not a historian but I guess the pool wasn't there when Roosevelt dedicated the lodge. 

I recognize some of those flags.  Let's see, Canada.  France (right Ben?).  US Forest Service.  United States of America.  Switzerland, and possibly Mexico in the background?

All of this adventuring is making me tired.  Luckily, the have some nice picnic tables outside.  The ski lift in the background ins't working since it's Summer but that mountain in the background looks like a cool place to hike.

It's still hot.

A few days ago my dear friend Drunk Fox suggested having some gin to cool down. That suggestion didn't work as well as I would have liked and I haven't made any of the recipes that I posted in the blog (it's too hot to cook).

 As I was watching some TV I came across this "retro" commercial for Mt Hood and I knew I needed to take a trip to the mountains (and try and find some Old Milwaukee Light if I can).

 My hike took us along the Vista Ridge trail.  Throughout the hike I came across signs like this.  Whew, good think I left my hang glider at home.   I would not want to be in trouble with the forest service.

Along the trail you caught glimpses of Mt. Hood but at the end of the hike (and the lunch spot) Mt Hood really came out to shine. 

Just a fox relaxing on my backpack.  Where is my peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

My roommates decided that it was time  to start heading back down the trail.  My hike was a good respite from the heat, how do you stay cool without AC in the heat?  This little fox is looking for any suggestions.