Spent a beautiful Saturday traversing some of Mount Hood's best views from both the Sandy and Muddy Fork basins. Started my run after checking into the mandatory check in station about a quarter mile up the trail.
I started at Romona Creek Trailhead and headed east towards Mount Hood along the Sandy River. Once I crossed the river I took the Pacific Crest Trail #2000 to up a steep climb looking to get the most significant amount of elevation done early in the run. Eventually, after a number of swtich-backs, I made it to the junction with Timberline Trail #600 and took that to the Bald Mountain Overlook, one of the best views of Mount Hood. From there, it was a nice change of pace heading downhill to the Muddy Fork River where an incredible valley view awaited. Once at the river I found my way across and headed back up the Timberline Trail #600 towards Yocum Ridge. This is a good climb where the trail has recently been cleared by the PCTA after a significant blow down and a landslide. Glad to see how flourishing the life and conditions are so quickly! Once to the Yocum Ridge junction it's a quick downhill run to beautiful Ramona Falls. From Ramona Falls I jumped back onto Pacific Crest Trail #2000 and followed that along the Sandy River until I was able to cross the river and find myself back on the Sandy River Trail #770 back to the parking lot.
If I was to do this run again I would reverse the direction and reduce the steepness of the climbs.