We did it!

From left: Wendy and Amber ready to hit the trail! Barlow Trail Sno Park Mt Hood, Oregon

Day 1

Barlow Trail to Lower Twin Lake

1300 ft elevation gain

5-ish miles

During our inaugural trek, we gathered a few key pieces of wisdom that we would like to share.

1. Forest maps, GPS and Trail websites do not always match. Sometimes you have to guess-timate your mileage and call it good.
2. Ice cold creek water is manna from heaven on a hot day when filled up from a filtration bottle.
3. Always bring more pain medication (and underwear) than you think you will need. 

Rebel the Wondermutt testing out the tent and her new sleeping bag. Lower Twin Lake, Mt Hood

The hike ended up being shorter than we had intended, but this was not a bad thing given our newbie status. We had a hard time tracking altitude without an altimeter, and between GPS failures and inconsistent trail maps-the mileage is a good guess. At the end of the day, regardless of what your tracker says you put in, the real test is how much fun you had and how sore your feet are. 

Lower Twin Lake, Mt Hood Oregon

Our original plan was to hike into upper Twin Lake on Mt Hood and camp there. However, when we reached the pristine little alpine lake, we noticed that there was no outlet. Since swimming was part of our game plan, we decided to press on another mile down to lower Twin lake.

We found the perfect camp spot, right on the water, and proceeded to set up our middle aged mom base camp-complete with hammocks. The next few days were filled with swimming, intense day hikes, a wildfire scare and a lesson in what NOT do with with your cat holes.

Wendy and Rebel the Wondermutt, Mt Hood, Oregon

Stay tuned for more pics of our trip and what we learned along the way!

Amber and Wendy