OMHT Lake Project: Mirror Lake
In November 2015 I worked with Oregon's Mount Hood Territory (OMHT) to explore seven (and a half) lakes south of Mount Hood in 48 hours. My first post is on Mirror Lake.
See all my posts from the lake project.
Getting there is pretty easy. Just east of the town of Government Camp, Oregon, off Highway 26, is a trailhead with two parking areas. Get there early in the day because it can get crowded! You walk up a gentle, steady incline a mile and a half through rhododendrons, Douglas Firs and other conifers (and lots of stumps) to an open area at the base of Tom, Dick, and Harry mountain where you'll find the somewhat circular lake. The trail loops around, and from the south side you can catch on a clear day a fabulous view of Mount Hood; its reflection on the water gives Mirror Lake its name.
On the day we visited there was not a single cloud in the sky, open areas had a dusting of snow, and the lake was frozen over. Mount Hood was crystal clear and made a fun, opaque reflection on the lake ice.
I shot with an iPhone 6 Plus and a Canon 6D with an 85 1.2 and a 75-300mm 4-5.6 lenses. None of the images is edited except for the moon photo, which had the contrast slightly shifted and a VSCO filter added.
Nice person in Portland, Oregon, and beyond.
