Overnight at Nesika Lodge, December 29th

The last adventure of 2007! The original pan for this trip was to go to Tom, Dick and Harry up in Mount Hood where Mirror Lake is. The idea was to get to the lake, find good spots and dig some snow caves where we would spend the night. Unluckily weather was not cooperating and as the day got closer, it got much worse. From a simple winter advisory we went to heavy snow advisory. Also the wind was picking up which raised the avalanche risk to high. All this would have made it really difficult not only on the trail but also just to get there and to get out the following day. Obviously there was also the risk of being buried in snow so we had to cancel the trip. Being good adventurers as we all are, we still decided to meet at the original meeting place and decide for something different. Since there where no plans at all, everybody showed up with all the backpacking gear. We were lucky that Lisa was there. She is a member of the Trails Club of Oregon, a club dedicated to hiking with many years of existence. She told us that the club had a lodge up in the Columbia River Gorge near Multnomah Falls. Since her family was going to spend new years there and she had keys to the lodge, we decided to head there and spend the night. The trail starts at Multnomah Falls, so the first part is paved all the way up to the first view point where you get a nice view of the river and the waterfalls. From there we continued on the trail to Larch Mountain and at some point veer of the trail and take the toothbrush trail. After about 4 and half miles (from Multnomah) we reached the lodge. None of us, with the exception of Lisa, could imagine where we would get to. The Lodge has three building, one of them, the main one, serves as kitchen and get together place. It has a big fireplace and an amazing wood burning oven that keeps the whole place warm. The club keeps this fully equipped with food and essential. There are two other buildings with bedrooms, one for males and another with females on the lower floor and coed on the second. It’s hard to tell how nice was to get to this place, start a fire and make hot chocolate. In the lodge area there’s also a view point with and incredible view of the east side of the Gorge. Originally we thought about doing a short hike from the lodge in the afternoon, but after getting the fire going, that didn’t happen. Besides that, Glen and Linda (Lisa’s parents) arrived about a half hour after we did and Linda made an exquisite soup for all of us. After that, we spent the rest of the evening playing cards. The following day, after a nice cup of coffee and pancakes, we got on our way back. To make it more interesting, instead of taking the same route down, we went up to Franklin Ridge and from there crossed to the Wahkeena Falls trail which takes you back down at about half a mile from Multnomah. This trail ended up being very nice with a lot of new and deep snow which gave us the opportunity of some good snow fights. The weekend in general was fantastic and the weather, even though was not cooperating much, gave us a little bit of rain, snow, wind and hail! It would have been difficult to end the year in a better way.

Hike at Forest Park, December 16th

This was a hike for Shia. Being in winter, I haven’t had a lot of chances to take Shia with me on day hikes. On one side, I never know how deep or soft the snow will be at the trail making it difficult to predict if she will be ok. On the other side, I know she’s ok in snow for half an hour or more, I don’t know if a couple of hours is something she will be comfortable with. In any case, in almost all the hikes, I’ve seen dogs in the trail, so at some point I will be taking her with me. Having said that is clear that Shia needed a hike and Forest Park was it. For those not familiar with Portland, Forest Park is just that, a huge park in the middle of town. I think this was the largest group I’ve seen in a hike (we were about 40). We took a trail on the west side that took us up and around the mountain to the East side where you can get a view of the city. In general the hike was very interesting due to the fact that even though we did it in December, we were able to almost forget is winter! Look at the pictures to see what I mean. In regards to Shia, she had a lot of fun as well… a picture is worth a thousand words

Snow Shoeing at Trillium Lake, December 15th

Finally my first snow shoeing adventure. We went to Trillium Lake which in the summer is probably one of the most visited spots in the Mount Hood area. In the winter is the same thing. The lake gives you a great view of the mountain and is big enough for small boats and to spend the day. During winter all the roads are closed and reserved for cross country skiing and snow shoeing. The nice thing about that is that the trail is really wide and very difficult to miss. One of the most interesting things about this trip was learning that in winter you can get disoriented really easy. With everything being white and snow changing the shape of things, you can get off track in no time. We took the main route to the lake and circle it to get to the dock where we stopped for a little snack. Unluckily the day was not very clear but enough to take some nice pictures. After that we decided to circle the lake on our way back. That trail is not very well marked and at some point we ended walking snow/ice over water. That was our cue to turn back and slowly get out of there, not before taking those nice pictures at the end of the album.

Skiing at Mt Hood Meadows, December 8th

After many years, about 30 according to my calculations, I went skiing again. It’s true what they say that this sport is like riding a bike, once you learn it, you never forget. It only takes a little practice to get back on track. One thing is for certain, after this long time, I found that technology has changed. Skies are not how they used to be! Anyhow, since I had so much time without skiing, I decided to take a two hour refresher class. It ended up being really great and it did help me get back on track quickly. After that it was just skiing the rest of the afternoon. AS you will see in the pictures, we couldn’t have asked for a better day. It was perfect. You’ll also notice that most people are snow boarding. So yes, before the season ends, I will try that.

X-Country skiing at Tea Cup, December 1st

I think this is something I needed to try, at least once, so I did. I went with a couple of friends to Tea Cup up in Mt Hood to try X-Country skiing. The drive up was incredible because the day was not as overcast as the first time I drove there, so that gave us some really beautiful views. In my past winters in Chicago, it was easy to see trees covered in snow, although most of them where trees without leaves and just a few pine trees. Nothing very interesting. Looking at a mountain full of pine trees where the base color is still green but all are covered with snow is an amazing view. I think the pictures don’t honor those views really well. You can almost count every tree and every snow covered branch. In the pictures you’ll see what I mean. Going back to this adventure, we did a quick stop to rent gear and head to Tea Cup. Tea Cup is a X-country only trail. That means that not even dogs are allowed there. The trail is maintained by the Nordic Club, so they groom it and keep it perfect for X-country. After a little introduction it was off to the trails. I’m not going to use a bad word her, but trust me; this is the place I would use it. This was a workout!! After just a few minutes, I had to stop and take some layers off and change to lighter gloves. I really didn’t know what I was in for. Now I understand why they say that X-Country skiing is the perfect sport because you use muscles you don’t even know you have, because it’s true!!. We did a couple of runs on the trails while the more seasoned skiers were just flying by. It was a very interesting day and X-Country skiing is something I will do at least a couple more times to see if I can pass the technique learning process and actually enjoy the sport.