Ten of us headed up towards the Crater Lake area to hike to the top of Union Peak.  This is tough hike, but the views are out of this world once on top.  We started with clear skies and temperatures in the mid 60’s.  Turned out the parking lot was closed due to much construction activity, so we parked on the east side of the road. 

As we headed up the trail we met 3 PCT hikers, but they had just started near Highway 140, so not much information on how the rest of the PCT trail was yet.  There were mosquitoes along the trail for the first couple of miles, while we hiked in the lower forest area, but once we headed up and found a bit of a breeze, we were free of the pesky critters. 

We all made it to the top and enjoyed a “Maria” lunch.  The 360 degree view from on top allowed us to see Mt. Shasta (98 miles), the Klamath basin and lake, Mt. Thielsen (27 miles), Mt. Bailey (23 miles),  Mt. Bachelor (84 miles) and Mt McLoughlin (27 miles), along with the remains of the forest fire than burned in the area last fall.  We also saw several places where either lightning strikes or forest fire embers had ignited small fires, causing one or two trees to burn to the ground.

After a restful lunch, we headed back down the peak and to the cars.  Some of us took refreshments at the Lake of the Woods resort that had wonderful views.  This continues to be in the top 10 hike list for us.

Track download: Union Peak 6-27-18.GPX