3/24, Sunday. A lazy morning. Despite of a minor injury of my lower back, I still went to Timberline Lodge, because another hiker had signed up my outing. We rode Mt. Hood Express together. Arrived at 2:30pm. After a bathroom break, filled my water bottle, we set out towards Palmer lift on snowshoes. Arrived ~4:35pm. Up till here, you could simply walk in boots. Saw some climbers coming down in their heavy packs. Clouds cleared a bit.
This trek is straightforward, safe, wide, scenic. After 3:30pm, you'd be mostly alone, because the lift had shut down. Including us, there were only 6 people on the slope. Two turned around at the end of Palmer. After a long "lunch" break, we continued up, to about 92-9300' (according to my GPS map). Somewhat steeper, but nothing difficult, as the snow was soft, with a few crusty parts. If not constrained by time, we could have gone ~1000' higher without any difficulty. We are at the same altitude as Illumination Rock. Hood is an amphitheater of chocolate cake with icing. Can see Columbia River. But too hazy to see St. Helens. 
Around 6pm, we headed down. ~6:15pm, we were at Palmer. The two guys ahead of us stayed up: probably waiting for the sunset. Sun got a bit lower on the horizon. Not a great sunset that I hoped, a bit hazy. Back at Timberline Lodge at 7:15pm. Sunset is at 7:30pm, but by then, the sun was already gone. We have a bus to catch at 7:45pm. The driver let us on the bus, so we didn't have to wait outside. The temperature dropped noticeably. But the lodge itself is too hot to stay inside.Total ~14k steps. ~5 miles, 3000'. (2 miles, 2500' to end of Palmer).
Current condition, road dry all the way to Timberline Lodge. Snow, packed, starts right beyond.
