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.

Getting dirty in Atlanta, November 23rd

Ok, this is not an actual outdoor thing, or is it? As I do every year now, I went to Atlanta to visit a friend for Thanksgiving. One of those days we took a couple of dirt bikes and an ATV out to some trails. For what you ask? Well, just to do boy’s stuff, run those things on muddy trails and get dirty, what else. There are no pictures of the trails or the jumps or speeding thru mud, but trust me, it was a lot of fun. We went a second day to a dirt bike trail which was also a lot of fun. That was a first time for me on a dirt bike on a trail jumping. Really interesting.

Snow Shoe Trail Tour, November 18th

This was an interesting outing. Although not much of an outdoor activity, we did a tour of several snow shoe trails and tried some snow shoes. This was very cool, especially for us, first timers. Our first stop was at a rental store which was closed. Still we saw that they have many options and cheap prices. After that, we did a tour thru several winter trails including Mirror Lake, Trillium Lake, Snow Bunny, Barlow Pass and Tea Cup. It was snowing quite a bit so the road was a bit slippery, that gave us the chance to demo something else, putting chains on! The tour ended in Government Camp with a snow shoe try out and a nice meal and hot drinks. It was a fun day.

Hamilton Mountain, November 11th

Hamilton Mountain is located on the north side of the Columbia River Gorge. This side is quite similar to the south side (the Oregon side) although vegetation is a bit different and hills seem steeper. Part of the differences is due to more sun exposure on the north side, and actually that’s why it’s better to hike on the north side in this season, unless you want to be really cold. The trail starts with a descent hike that passes a couple of falls, one of which is carved in to the rock (not easy to picture). The trail meets an intersection where you can take the longer back road or the shorter, more difficult trail on the front. Taking the back route, takes you away from the river and into the mountain. Is a dark, very covered trail without interesting views. This trail would be great for downhill biking! After a long walk, the trail turns back and heads back in the direction of the river and meets a ridge where you can either continue to other trails, or take the ridge to Hamilton. This ridge was very windy, but the views were worth it. The peak in Hamilton is not very interesting. It only offers a partial view of the Gorge and descent views of the mountains in the back including Table Mountain (You’ll see in the pictures the reason for the name). I took the front trail on my way down. This route offered much better views of the river, dams and steep cliffs on the back. Pictures don’t show very well the size of these rock formations, but trust me, they are huge. The peak of Hamilton is on the top of the rock formations. We took a side trail on a ridge that was quite impressive. It gave us a nice view of Beacon Rock and Hamilton or our back.