You’re capable of tapping into nature’s finest by your body alone. What a fantastic tool to have. I originally hiked up to Paradise Park back in July 2011 and have been wanting to hike it again ever since. This month I made it happen. You can drive to Timberline Lodge and get on the Pacific Crest Trail from there. You’ll see signs about a mile or so in towards Paradise Park. It’s a fairly straight forward hike, a couple of spots are lined with rocks to show you the direction of the hike.

There is a lot less snow than before. It was a bit sad to think of how much the climate is changing, but it is also interesting to be able to experience the difference in the terrain and see Mt. Hood’s true shape without the snow. Nature is the closest truth we have to the world’s biggest questions. It’s worth taking the time to get into it and look around.

There were two great views on both sides of the tent. It doesn’t really get much better than that.

This was about a 13 mile hike and is easily done in a day, but sometimes you want to stay overnight and carry heavy backpacks so you can catch the sunset and sunrise. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any sunset pics because I was too busy enjoying it with wine.

On the way back, I was completely mesmerized by the fall colors along the trail.

The best adventures don’t need roads.