I'm climbing what it supposedly Mount Hood, I believe, but it's nothing like the real thing. Word is, it's pretty easy this year, and only takes me a couple hours. At the top, a short, flat trail winds around clockwise to the summit. Easy.

On the way back down on the summit trail, we see a group that looks rather ill-prepared, like they don't know what they are doing. They are belaying with a rope that is mostly a regular climbing rope, but tied to the end, a bathrobe belt. That doesn't seem very smart. And it's getting dark. I think that we should stop and see if we can help them be a little more safe, but I'm following a climb leader who says we should keep moving, perhaps because of the approaching nightfall.

It doesn't get dark, though, in fact it becomes sunny as we descend. At one point our leader takes us on an unexpected turn that has us ascend up this gully, which is a surprise. But it turns out to be an excellent shortcut, and we end up at the end of a short, steep street, with a gas station and bus stop on the other side. Our leader pulls out something like a snowboard, which he uses to skate down and across the street, but I find I can do something similar in my plastic climbing boots. I boot-ski over the street and wait at the bus stop.