Hike: Lurch Mountain Crater Trail

On Saturday, we did a family day out.  Our first stop, lunch at Chick-Fil-A!  All of us girls LOVE Chick-Fil-A and guess what.  The dining room is FINALLY open again!  There's something WAY different getting to sit down INSIDE and enjoy a meal versus going through the drive-through and eating it from a sack.  I am SO glad it is open again and I enjoyed our lunch here that much more!

 After our lunch, we went to the Columbia Gorge area - up to Larch Mountain.

The trail was well shaded which was nice on a hot day.  The trees were so tall and beautiful.  Very green everywhere!

As you can see in the photo above, some of the trail is a little rough.  Rocks and tree roots.  I'm pretty sure some of the trail is part of the streams in the rainy season.  It has been pretty dry for months so all the runoff is gone.  But it a little of a rough go of it with a strong dog pulling you.  LOL!

Saw these interesting mushrooms on the trail.

The afternoon sun rays filtering through the tall trees...just the sound of a few birds...a nice ending to the hike.

7.1 miles done.  I felt that the next day.  Ha!

Mt. Rainier

14, 410 ft. 

97 miles away

Because of the distance and the smoke, it was a little difficult to see but you can still see Rainier.

Mt. St. Helens

8,363 ft.

46 miles away

Helens is flat top due to its eruption in 1980.

Mt. Adams

12,307 ft.

54 miles away

Beautiful!

Mt. Hood

11, 235 ft.

22 miles away

Hood is Portland's closest mountain.  She is so grand!!

Mt. Jefferson

10,497 ft.

62 miles away

A little faint but you can still see Jefferson.

Driving home through Portland.  The ice cream place that was recommended to us was closed so we stopped at Wal-Mart for ice cream and finished the day watching the movie, "Saving Mr. Banks".