A crisp, cool, see-your breath morning. Fallen leaves crunching under my boots. I was on one of the best Halloween season hikes in the Pacific Northwest.

After walking through a stile I followed the pleasant trail along Burnt Creek for several miles before crossing the Creek. Old burnt-out cedars were scattered along the trail serving as reminders of a severe forest fire in the 1800s. One of the cedars was almost 12 feet across at the base.

After climbing the headwall on the well-graded trail, I reached very scenic Burnt Lake. The reflections of fresh snow-covered Mt. Hood in Burnt Lake were at their best.

The next mile of the trail passed another small lake before reaching the Zigzag Mountain Trail. Soon I was at the 4,971-foot summit of East Zigzag Mountain. The views were extraordinary in all directions with Mt. Hood seemingly close enough to touch.

What a beautiful place to be and only 44 miles from Portland as the raven flies.