Elk Meadow to Lambertson Butte

Today I did something I have not done before. I joined a hiking group which I found on meetup.com. I signed up for a hike Lambertson Butte via Elk Meadows. The hike was on the north side of Mt Hood Meadows.

TOTAL MILES: 11+ miles 
ELEVATION GAIN: ~2200 ft (max 6633’) 
PACE: “Quick” (2.5 to 3.0 mph) 
DIFFICULTY RATING: Difficult/Very Difficult 
ESTIMATED HIKING TIME: ~7 hours 
The group has an organizer that attends the hike. The weather on Friday and Saturday was quite bad on the mountain. There were 12 people signed up for the hike on Sunday, but because of the previous days weather, all but 4 cancelled. So the four of us set out for this hike. It was amazing. I really enjoyed being with seasoned hikers that know their stuff. I learned quite a bit. I plan on joining other groups in the near future. This is a great way to hike.

The clouds were in and out most of the day, but by the time we reached the Butte, we were rewarded with Mt Hood making an appearance. We ate lunch on the Butte as well. This was amazing. Feet dangling over the edge of the cliff while eating.

 Above is the shot from where I was eating my lunch. 

Above, is where we had lunch up on the top of the butte. 

Above Stream crossing of Newton Creek. 

The flow of the river during the spring thaw is so powerful, it moves huge boulders and trees. 

Above is a view of Hood from Clark Creek.