The Trail Blazers were off last Sunday, and with the sun bright and the air crisp, Kent Bazemore left Portland and headed east, toward the mountains.



It started as a trip to pick apples with his wife, Samantha, and infant son, Jett, but after he used his 7-foot wingspan to pluck the apples few could ever dream of reaching, the itinerary expanded.



There was a cloud, and Bazemore had to chase it.



“It was right in front of Mt. Hood,” Bazemore said. “I had to get closer.”



Until then, Mt. Hood had been a faraway curiosity, 11,000 feet of majestic crags and snowcapped mystery that mesmerized him from the bedroom window of his Lake Oswego home.



Now the Oregon landmark was closer than ever, a picturesque mountain practically preening with this cloud wrapped around it like a scarf. He had to get closer.



He scrolled on his phone to locate a viewing point. He settled on Trillium Lake, about eight miles to the south of...