| Date: September 28, 2002 | | Location McNeil Point Hike | | Where: Mt Hood Wilderness | With the weather forecast for a good day Saturday, but rain on Sunday, Jeanette and I were motivated to go on the Chemeketan hike led by Frank Knox to McNeil Point. Located in the Mt Hood Wilderness on the northwest flank of Mt Hood, it is perched next to the Sandy Glacier, and looks down into the Muddy Fork of the Sandy River. The trail begins at the Top Spur Trailhead, crosses over the Pacific Crest Trail and then joins the Timberline Trail, which circles Mt Hood. After climbing though forest with thick huckleberry cover the trail comes out on a ridge with open viewpoints of majestic Mt Hood.
|  | Our lunchtime goal was to reach the stone shelter at McNeil Point. The Timberline Trail is not marked well here, and there were many unmarked paths going in all directions, but fortunately our leader knew the way.
|  | We found someone camped in the shelter with a tent set up, sort of like a belt and suspenders I guess. We enjoyed lunch with views off to distant peaks of Mt St Helens, Mt Rainer, and Mt Adams. We were also entertained by a constant stream of hikers and even a seemingly confused trail runner.
Although the season is late we did find some wild flowers to photograph and some huckleberries, both Black and Oval-leaved, to taste. Statistics for the day: distance 9 miles, time 6 hours, cumulative climb 2640 ft.
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