Timothy Lake.

Something about October makes me want to run around in the mountains.  Maybe it's because I know the snow is coming and soon my car will weep at the thought of gaining more than a few hundred feet in elevation.  Anyhow I took the dogs up to Timothy Lake near Mt. Hood for a hike Saturday morning.


I don't know what we have done to deserve this amazing weather, or what we will have to suffer to pay for it, but I will try not to think about it...

The first bird I saw on the lake was chilly little Eared Grebe.


I noted five Barrow's Goldeneyes flying by, and it was only after looking at my photos that I realized one was an imposter.

Silly Bufflehead, your eye ain't golden.

I spooked a couple more Buffleheads when I crept out of the woods onto the beach.


Most of my hike I could see at least three Common Loons out on the water at one time, possibly up to five at one point. 


We had hiked a couple miles when I realized I had not brought any water and should probably not try to hike the entire lake- a 13 mile loop.  It was a bummer but a lovely hike regardless.  On the way back the mergansers were all out and about...

Common Mergansers

 Hooded Mergansers

Of course this happened:


After Timothy Lake I had hoped to finally track down Frying Pan Lake.  I drove down a bunch of random forest roads till I amazingly ended up in the right area.  This is not a popular area by any means.  The road that leads to the lake is a rocky dirt road so I parked at the end of the road and walked in with the dogs.  Just as I was thinking I might pop a squat I heard a man say Hey there!

Fact: no matter how nice and normal a man might seem, if he pops out of the trees with no apparent reason for being there, he is a serial killer/rapist/psycho in my eyes.  The man introduced himself and asked if I was mushroom picking.  I said no I was looking for the lake and he pointed me in the direction of it.  By the time I got to the lake I felt super creeped out and only took four shots that all looked like this:


I walked back to the car super uneasy.  We drove back up the road and saw the guy again, still with no apparent reason for being there.  I would have felt better if he had a gun or something because at least hunting seems legit there.  Good/creepy times.  

Comments

  1. You got some beautiful shots there and the dogs posed well. Glad it ended well :-)

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  2. beautiful hike, awesome bird shots!!! OHHHH to the creepy man,,,I dont know if he had a gun he would have been more scary...glad he was not...TAKE ur mace when your alone in the woods...I sure do. LOVE that shot of the boyz!!!!

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  3. The woods are full of shroom pickers right now and they are pretty territorial. Maybe he was a lookout. Some of those prizes can fetch a lot of money for folks and they are very secretive about where the best spots are. So you gave the right answer about your business and he didn't have to escort you off his picking spot. And I am still laughing over Pop A Squat. I had never heard it before and now will never forget it.

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    Replies
    1. Ohhhh thank you, yes that must have been what he was doing! I remember thinking I saw a walkie talkie on his belt but wasn't sure. Glad I could give you a new term to use!

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  4. PS I think Mark and I took our picture on that same stump!

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  5. Cool shots! Love the buffleheads and your cute dogs!

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