Gumjuwac Saddle, Feb 23rd

Snow! Finally! After a long wait, we finally got some new snow on the ground and the slight promise of good snowshoeing. Val and I had been waiting for this since the beginning of winter and to this date; we had tried once before, but with the lack of snow, that attempt ended up being a hike. So with our hopes high, we headed up to Mt Hood to try Gumjuwac Saddle, a route we had never tried before. Even though you can make this route much longer by going either to Lookout Mountain or to Barged Lake, we decided to just get to the saddle as I needed to get back home and get ready to get on a plane to Costa Rica. While driving there, we noticed that there wasn’t a lot of snow so, instead of putting or snowshoes on at the trailhead, we started with them attached to our packs. Soon after we started ascending though, we started potholing… yes; the snow was deep enough for us to actually use the snowshoes! So we shoed up, and started going up. The first part was completely forested with very little views of Mt hood across the highway. As we gained elevation, the snow actually got a lot better. We were breaking trail on fluffy powder. It was perfect. At some point I think I lost the trail so we navigated a bit and did a very steep section going up with snow up to our knees. The reward was an open view of Mt Hood and Mt Jefferson in the distance. Further up it was a winter wonderland. It certainly accounted for all the snowshoeing we hadn’t done this year. Up at the saddle with no views, we stopped for a quick lunch and then we headed down making a second stop to once again get the full view of Mt Hood and some crazy clouds going over it. Certainly not enough snowshoeing for a year, but at least we got to do a descent route.



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Cape Horn, Jan 25th

It wasn’t too long ago that I did this hike but with Val, we wanted to get out and do a nice hike with Carole and Mark. This was the perfect fit in both distance and elevation for what we were looking for. Besides, weather was looking pretty nice considering it being the middle of the winter. We were lucky to have a crisp blue sky day which offered great views of the Columbia Gorge. The only thing was that it was quite windy that day. Temperature was descent but as we discovered during the hike, the wind chill factor was probably below freezing. The hike itself was beautiful as expected even though we didn’t have a lot of chances to stay at the several viewpoints. With the wind it almost seems you’d fly away and land somewhere in the Columbia. The highlight of the hike came when we passed over the top of Cape Horn Falls. With the cold wind picking up moisture from the river and the waterfall, all the surrounding bushes were completely frozen. It was a very nice spectacle of shiny glass that we took our time admiring. It was a beautiful hike as always



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Salmon Butte, Jan 18th

I read about Salmon Butte somewhere and made a mental note to research a bit but then forgot all about it until Steve, a friend and hike leader in the Portland Hiking Meetup Group, posted it in December. After looking at some of the comments and pictures from that hike, it was clear I needed to head up there. Since weather was looking pretty descent for the weekend, it was a perfect opportunity to do it. This trail used to be a bit shorter until a washout took out a bridge over one affluent of the Salmon River. Now, you need to drive as far as the road will take you and then continue on foot. Around the area there are several spur trails that follow the river. We discover after a couple of excursions that none of those are the actual trail. As the instructions say in a very well know website, you have to stay on the road until you get to the old trailhead. So we did that and soon enough, we were deep in the lush forest. The trail started gentle which was perfect to warm up before we started gaining elevation. Most of the path meandered thru dense forests without many views until you make a turn half way up and the Mack Hall Creek valley opens in front of you. Coming from the dark out to the blue and bright sky was incredibly nice after a couple of weeks with very crappy weather. From that point on is when you really start climbing steadily to the summit. As you follow the ridge, you rarely get a view of anything but something in the back of your mind tells you you’ll get your reward. Towards the top we found some very well packed snow so we continued towards the summit. Then we came out of the forest to what looked like a forest road. The map doesn’t indicate this so it’s difficult to know for sure. The important part is that, as you continue on this very wide path the views start slowly appearing around you. First is Mt Jefferson to the south that peaks thru the branches of trees. Then is the top of Mt Hood in front of you that grows larger as you continue towards the last turn. And then the reward, as soon as you make the last turn, you top Salmon Butte and the views expand to the north giving you, on clear days, an expansive panorama that includes Mt Adams, Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier and everything in between. Besides being an open spot with ample views, it’s more than perfect as a lunch spot. We stopped there for a while soaking in the sun and enjoying the views before heading back the same way.



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Hummocks to Boundary trail, Jan 1st

After celebrating the end of 2013, Val and I decided to go for a hike to welcome the New Year. Knowing that snow has been very low this year, we ventured towards St Helens. Our original idea was to start form the Johnson Observatory on the Boundary trail and head towards Helens Lake but once we got there, we found the road closed just above the Hummocks trail. We though the road closure depended on snow on the ground – it seems it just depends on dates. With that, we opted for trying the Hummocks trail and go towards the Boundary trail and see where we got. The morning was crisp but not too cold and the trail was empty. The first portion went thru marshes and a small pond. Some of the scenery was a bit unrealistic as it doesn’t resemble anything on the other side of the mountain. Once we got to the fork with the Boundary trail, we followed it up and the views of the mountain and Toutle River drainage opened up to our side. It was both incredible and scary as there was no snow to be seen. The trail was pretty easy to follow all the way to the empty parking lot. From there we walked to the observatory which I hadn’t seen before. It was an eerie feeling to be there with the building closed and all by itself. With nobody around, it looked like we were visiting ghost town. Views from the observatory were not short of spectacular. In fact, we walked up to the upper viewpoint and stopped there for a quick byte before continuing a bit further on the Boundary trail. We did up to a point that offered really nice views and then opted to turn around thinking about the drive back home. On the way back we crossed a lonely soul running on the trail and a big family group when we were just about to walk out. I wonder if there’s a better way to start the year.



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