Snow Shoeing at Tyee Lodge, February 2nd

The original plan was to go to Mirror Lake, but since we had a lot of snow in previous days, plows had no other option than to block the parking lot to Mirror Lake and hence access to it. Now, when they say a lot of snow it means that, at the time, there was more than 140% of the normal snow. At lower altitudes, the problems were even bigger with some locations exceeding 300% of the normal snow. Since we could not get to Mirror Lake, we decided to go on to Tyee Lodge for the day (the same lodge we went to for snow caving). From the trail head it was pretty clear the amount of snow. Just the wall where the access point is was about 12 feet high. Above that, we noticed that there were at least 2 or 3 feet of new snow on top of what we had when we went snow caving. All this snow was new and non-compacted. I was wearing my 30” snowshoes and with that, I was sinking up to my knees! As you could imagine, the scenery was spectacular. It was very hard to see how much new snow there was until we got to see a good reference like the entrance to the lodge that was completely submerged or the power lines just a couple of feet above us. After digging out the entrance to the lodge and rest for a bit, we went out to play in the snow. First we went up to another close by lodge used mainly by campers that go there just for fun. After watching them slide down in tubes, we decided to go look for slides and tubes at the lodge so we could do the same. Luckily there were a couple of slides and a tube at the lodge, so the only thing needed was a clear path to slide. The fun part started shortly after. The highlight of the day happened when we were sliding and Amanda just disappeared, literally, in front of a tree. We already knew about this danger and actually talked about it on the way to the lodge. For those of you who don’t know what a tree well is, it is just a hole filled with very soft snow right under (or around the trunk) of trees with low branches (pine trees mostly). These holes are formed because the branches prevent the snow from falling under. The problem is falling in these holes since you would sink in snow. For skiers and snowboarders this is particularly dangerous since they mostly fall head first. If there’s nobody near to help dig the person out, the possibilities of survival is around 10% and the person can suffocate or drown in snow. If there are people around, chances are better. Falling on the side or standing up or even trying to grab onto anything so the head is up when falling increases the possibilities of getting out without a problem (obviously avoiding trees with low branches helps). So Amanda was sliding down and fell into a tree well. In the pictures you will barely see her head and one arm sticking out. Check out the video as well. Luckily we were all there and rushed to dig her out without major issues. After that we continued sliding and having fun. Nothing like spending a day with deep snow and practice our rescue skills and knowledge of the dangers in the mountain

View pictures of the hike

View rescue video

Snow Caving at Tyee Lodge, January 12th

This was probably one of the most fun trips we’ve ever done. After discovering the Trails Club of Oregon during our holiday adventures, we decided to visit the other club lodge. Tyee lodge is in Mt Hood close to the route that goes up to Timberline lodge. It’s very close to the road even though is not marked in any map. After parking and getting ready, we took the trail to the lodge that did not take more than 15 minutes. The lodge itself is spectacular and even with more services than the lodge in the Columbia Gorge. This one has electricity and central heating! After we got there and had some nice hot cocoa and help a bit with weekend set up, we went out to play in the snow. The idea was to dig snow caves and learn a bit about it. We learned that digging a snow cave is laborious but not as difficult as it would seem. Not only that, we found to be incredible that you can dig a big hole in the snow without having it collapse on you. Since we were a big group, we divided in small teams to build the caves (caves must be built by at least two people for security reasons). The resulting caves were incredible. One had a couple of “beds” on the sides, another one had a bed at the end, another was build with a division simulating two rooms and another was just big. We also found out that while being inside you’re really protected from the elements and not as cold. Besides that, if the day is clear enough, light will pass thru the snow giving the interior an amazing blue glow. For a while we thought it was because the cave ceiling was thin, but after we measured and it was at least 2 feet thick. With all this experience we are now ready for a night out in snow caves which will happen soon. Obviously after the caves were done, it was time for some fun. In the pictures you’ll see that it was a great day.

View pictures of the hike

BTW Most of the pictures in this album (the best ones actually) are courtesy of Marci Dru.

Hike with dogs at Lewis&Clark, January 6th

Another hike just for Shia. This time we went to Lewis&Clark Park at the beginning of the scenic way on the Columbia Gorge. This park gets its name from the pioneers we came to Oregon for the first time. It’s a really big extension of quite flat lands (something rare in Oregon) next to the Columbia. This time of year the park doesn’t offer anything interesting other than a multitude of long trails where you can spend time walking. This park is also known as dog’s paradise since it’s the biggest park where dogs can run freely. After meeting with the rest of the group we started our way towards the river. After resting for a while and letting the dogs go for a swim, we continued next to the river until we headed back. Some of the pictures you’ll see in this album are just experiments with my new camera, pretty neat huh?

View pictures of the hike

Snow Shoe to Twin Lakes, January 5th

This is one of those trips that can be defined as simple pretty. We went to Mt Hood to Twin Lakes using the trail that starts at Frog Lake. The forecast was looking good with just a little snow. When we got to Frog Lake, we found out that there was a dog sledge race that day. We didn’t see much of it but we did se some of the dogs. The big surprise was that since it had been snowing quite a bit, the mountain was covered with new snow. This offers incredible views and picture opportunities not only because of the white of the snow but also because it’s unpacked. In the pictures you’ll see what I mean. The trail was very good until we got to the first lake, Lower Twin Lake where the mountain just opens up in front of you. We continued walking on the lake towards the second lake, Upper Twin Lake. When we got to Upper Twin Lake we decided to make a stop for lunch in a spot that ended up being really interesting. On one side there was a frozen stream and on the other, about a dozen birds that, without any remorse, came to eat whatever it was we were eating. After our brief lunch and feeding the birds, we continued our way around and back. This part of the trail was very nice with a lot of weird snow formations on top of trees. Almost at the end, right before we got back to the parking lot, it started snowing again. That gave us a couple of chances for some more pictures. On our way back traffic got so bad that we decided to turn around and take the long route going around the mountain back to Hood River. We stopped there for dinner and to celebrate our day... And take goofy pictures of course.

Hike to Nesika Lodge, January 2nd

Before anything, Happy New Year! Ok, I know, I’m a bit late, but with all the festivities and hikes I haven’t been able to dedicate enough time to write and keep the blog up to date. Trust me when I say that doing a couple of hikes during the weekend complicates things. Either way, if you read the previous posting, we went to the same place for the day. We did it again since part of he group was going to be at Nesika and also because Jeff needed to pick up his sleeping bag. The hike up was very nice and we were able to find the toothbrush trail without a problem. In the pictures you’ll notice that weather was much better this time. I was less cloudy but with far more wind. After a nice picnic at Nesika with Avocados, Cheese, Bread and Crackers we helped cleaning and closing the lodge before heading back. This time we took the Cougar Rock trail which doesn’t go up as much but takes you thru the ridge of the mountain offering some really nice views of the river. The trail was a lot of fun, it gave us chances to play with snow and laugh at each other, especially in a section that was covered with branches.
BTW, If you see an improvement in the pictures, that’s because I’m using my new toy