Two weeks of hunkering down indoors to avoid the wildfire smoke finally ended this weekend, and we were happy when it finally cleared and we were able to hit the trail again. We headed down to the Jefferson wilderness, an area that we've not visited nearly enough this year. The forest road on the way in was too rough for my little Honda and we had to park two miles out from the trailhead, but the wildflowers were out in full force, and the numerous rock piles in the subalpine zone called to mind BBC's Narnia films from the 1990s.
During the final push, another hiker on his way down smiled knowingly and told us to enjoy the view. I asked him if we were close, and he nodded to the top of a ridge about 50 yards away. I've seen a lot of mountains in the PNW, but cresting that ridge and seeing Mt Jefferson so close was still enough to take my breath away.