The morning was cloudy and foggy (or maybe that was my brain) as I was to meet Gene in Sandy by 7:45 am - I was a little late). But we then headed up hwy 26 towards our destination today, the Paradise Park trail. About 4 miles beyond Rhododendron, we took a left at Road #39, the Kiwana's Camp exit. 1 1/4 miles up then on the left is a nice picnic and camping area and the start of the Paradise Trail #778 (Forest Pass required). It's a LONG but gradual climb with a few long switchbacks, Hemlock and Douglas firs, pretty path-lining ferns, and a scattering of huckleberry bushes here and there. The first trail we crossed was Zig Zag, then the next intersection connects with the PCT. The sun was now out and we stopped for a snack break. A woman with a large backpack soon came down the PCT trail near us and we started chatting with her. She shared with us that she was doing the whole PCT. After visiting a bit, we asked her if she'd like to hike along with us for a short detour, as we were taking the Paradise Park Loop trail (#757)up towards Lost Creek Canyon area and the meadows there, and she agreed. I was very interested to hear any stories she (Lisa) had, and she graciously shared several. She was from Ontario Canada, but started the PCT in Mexico in April. She was doing the trek alone, and averaged 25-30 miles a day, and yes, she said she was TIRED! :) She had dealt with the mosquitos, fires altering or delaying her course (she said northern California was the worst so far), and even had a mountain lion jump accross her path once! A stress fracture in her foot a month or so ago set her back, but she was recovering slowly and continuing on. When we got to the river (about 6 1/2- 7 miles from the trail head), we took some pictures but went on a little further for more scenery. The smoke behind the mountain was visible but seem to fade as the sun grew higher. Lisa was going to continue on down towards Ramona Falls, and Gene helped her with her map and directions from where we were. I wanted to give her my orange, and I thought she was going to cry - fresh fruit was a rare treat, she humbly but thankfully accepted. We wrote down the Portlandhikers website for her, said our goodbyes, and Gene and I headed back to the river and hills of flowers for our lunch break. A relaxing meal by the rushing stream, swarms of butterflies, and zillions of flowers were our ambiance. Campers may find several lovely spots tucked away up here as well to stay the night. There were maybe 4-5 other hikers we crossed paths with this day. After many photos, we headed back down, getting to the car about 4:15pm. With the little extra exploring, we figured we did 13-14- miles total today. The weather stayed sunny and cool all afternoon, what a grand day in Paradise!
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There are two plaques, one says "Charles H. Sholes Jan 10 1853 - May 13 1947 He pioneered in making known to the world the beauty and grandeur of this mountain". The other plaque is similar, I think it mentioned something about the guy working for the Forest Service.
That is a great place to camp by the way, but very exposed.  |
