Elk Cove

For the first weekend in August 2020, I’d originally planned to go hiking in Northern Washington. However, their early summer was much cooler and wetter than Oregon so everything was running very late with high trails barely thawing out by August…so I delayed another week and returned yet again to Oregon’s crown jewel…Mount Hood. Elk Cove is a lesser known destination on the north side of the mountain, which was lovely…not crowded at all. Weather was not as nice in the morning, but improved in the afternoon for some dramatic views of Hood and towering Barrett Spur. I also hiked west a bit on the Timberline trail to Cairn Basin which had some of the best wildflowers I saw this year on Hood.