Hamilton Mountain in the Gorge - Sunset Hike

Woohoo! Gorge trails are starting to reopen! I'm so excited!! I have also finally convinced my hiking buddy David that he is capable of climbing St. Helens with me in a couple of weeks! I know how he hikes and I believe in his ability. There is no doubt in my mind that he can make it. He just has to believe it himself. We are on a mission for the next couple of weeks to get out as much as possible on hikes with elevation gains. Because I'm working during the week days, we have to plan on sunset hikes so we aren't just hiking on the weekends. No problem!

Hamilton is a great hike! The trail is nice without a lot of roots or rocks until you get towards the top. We saw lots of beautiful scenery, flowers, deer, a rabbit, annoying bugs, slugs, and went on a skinny little side trail (video below) to an amazing viewpoint! (Hands and knees were required to get back on the main trail!) The only drawback to hiking this trail at sunset is that it closes at 10:00 p.m. so we had to make sure we were down and out of the parking lot before then. Full disclosure: there was a bit of trail running involved at the end.  ;)

Nature is my happy place!!

 

 

 

 

2020 Hike 20/52
8.04 miles; 2749 feet of elevation gain