Boy Scout Ridge, Jan 10th

Although some hikes can turn really bad when you get disoriented and end up in the wrong place, in this case, getting semi-lost was actually a good thing. Boy Scout ridge is actually a big section just west of the White River Basin in Mount Hood, and the area is known for some trails that go up the ridge and a view point with vistas of the basin towards the south. Geographically speaking, this ridge goes all the way up to Timberline, so you could, in theory, hike down from there. We started from the lower end which happens to be right next to White River. Unfortunately, and this is where we got disoriented, there was no sign for a cut off to the actual Boy Scout Trail, so we just followed the river upstream. After about 45 minutes or an hour, we knew we had overshot the connector trail, so we decided to continue up and see if we could get to the Timberline Trail and access Boy Scout from there. What we were not expecting though, was to find a huge hill up to the ridge with a very steep incline. Originally this hike was supposed to be moderate, but doing the hill was a bit over that rating. Fortunately everyone in the group felt comfortable attempting the climb so we continued up on the side that looked to be the easiest. After a short huff and puff, we got to the ridge and a magnificent view of Mt Hood, the White River Valley and the mountain range towards the south. Since we had a bit of sun, we decided to stop for a quick bite before continuing our hike. From that point on, we figured that we would be navigating back country back to the ridge and hopefully to the view point, so with map and compass at hand, we established a heading and continued. That idea took us thru some dense forest and the creek on the West side of Boy Scout Ridge which we followed for a while until we found a nice spot to stop for lunch. At that point, one of the members started feeling a bit uneasy about being in the backcountry and not having a clear idea where we were heading. That actually became quite the discussion so we had to alter the plan and make a new heading back to the parking lot which we reached in about an hour. I guess we were not that lost after all.

Triple Falls, Jan 3rd

This is one of those shorter hikes that I did way back when I started hiking here in Oregon. I have to admit that I had forgotten how beautiful and how close to the city it is. After meeting everybody and carpooling, we got to Horse Tail Falls and started our hike from there. It was a rather cloudy day, but considering we were going to be in the trees most of the time, it actually ended up being a good thing. The hike goes thru numerous switch backs as it gains altitude. On this portion of the trail, the views of the Columbia Gorge get better and better until you turn in towards Pony Tail Falls. Then the scenery changes as you approach the fall and go around the back thru a cave that has been carved by the water over hundreds of years. The next highlight of the hike is crossing the bridge over the Oneonta Gorge. The bridge is not a big thing, but the Gorge it crosses is really impressive. This time of year where there’s not much vegetation, we were able to see the whole Gorge with its vertical walls and narrow corridor. Soon after this delight, we got the triple falls view point which puts you right at the edge in front of the falls. Truly an outstanding view. After enjoying this view for a while and taking some pictures, we continued to the other side of the creek that feeds the fall to stop for lunch before heading back out. Indeed a short but very rewarding hike

Twin Lakes loop, Jan 2nd

Well is winter and the beginning of the year… snowshoe, what else. Since weather was looking a bit better (not as cold as previous weeks and maybe a little drier), we did another trip to Twin Lakes starting from the Frog Lake Trail Head. I chose this one as its great even in cloudy weather. In our group I had several people trying snowshoes for the very first time which is usually nice as you get more people interested in the sport. If you add to that a beautiful trail and the Jays coming to eat from your hand, you get a magnificent day. We did get some flurries on the way back but it was just enough to lay a thin layer of powder on the trees. That made the whole hike back almost magical as everything turned to a ghostly white.

Christmas at Nesika, Dec 25th

This was probably the best Christmas I’ve had in years. Not only we had an excellent group of people, good food, nice chatting and dancing but we also had a visit from Santa! What more could you ask for? The event was organized by Jeff and originally I was a bit skeptical to go, but then, thinking about relaxing over the weekend, going to Nesika seemed like a perfect choice. On the way up, we divided the group and while the majority went up via Multnomah Falls, I took a smaller group around Wahkenah falls. The hike was beautiful as always with a lot less ice than what we saw a couple of weeks ago. Since this route is a bit longer, we got to the lodge when the rest of the group was already there, so they had already started the fire and the wood burning oven. From then, Linda took over cooking responsibilities with help from all of us. That night during dinner, we opened the presents Santa left for us while wondering who had done it. The following day, we went out for a loop around Cougar Rock and the Basin. We didn’t extend it much as it was very windy. The rest of the day went by playing games and just relaxing in the lodge. Later that day, we continued our festivities and enjoyment with some light painting and then Salsa dancing. Finally on Sunday morning, after a healthy breakfast and cleaning the lodge, we hiked down on a beautiful day to find the hills around Multnomah Falls completely frozen. What a weekend!