I'd originally intended to try the Dog Mountain shuttle this weekend, but the morning got off to a slow start and by the time I was ready to go it was 11am, so I decided instead to try Hamilton Mountain.
It was still pretty far away from my parents' house, and despite the sign at the bottom of the turnoff saying the Hamilton Trailhead parking lot was full, I headed uphill, hoping some spots were available because it was so late in the day.
I was in luck. A state park employee monitoring the lot told me a few places had opened up and pointed me into the lot.
The trail is so nice and wide with very little brush in the corridor; the best kind of trail during tick season! I got a great start and powered up to what I thought was the summit in less than 40 minutes. Obviously, this was not the summit -- there's no way I was hiking 3+ miles in 40 minutes. So I slowed my roll and took it a little easier on my way to the true summit, enjoying the surroundings, and the quiet. It seems most people make the same assumption I did -- that a high point about 2+ miles in is the top. There are a couple of pretty eroded social trails here to support this assumption, and it seems like a lot of hikers get off here, thinking they're done.
So I had the summit to myself for quite a while! I enjoyed views of Mount Adams and Hood, as well as Table Mountain and the Bonneville Dam. The river had an incredible current in it from the dam, visible from my 2400+-foot vantage point.
About 15 minutes before I was going to head out, a bunch of groups arrived at the summit at once. Despite having about 15 people total, we all fit fairly well and all were polite and respectful of each other's space.
I had thought I might try the loop from the summit, but I'd stayed at the top for a long time and didn't have the time for the extra two miles that route would have added on. So I headed down. I made good time despite a slight roll of my ankle (welcome to hiking season, I guess). I had time to stop by Pool of the Winds (my favorite spot at this park) and ran the last section of trail past Pool of the Winds back to the car.
Despite being really reluctant to drive that far today, I'm happy I did. I felt great for the drive home!
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