Storey Burn loop, Jan 2nd

Every year, since Val and I have been together, we celebrate New Year’s day by going hiking or snowshoeing. This year we had to wait until January 2nd because of a big snow dump up in the mountains. Knowing he driving conditions were not going to be good up there, we decided to head towards the coast and do one of the loops in the Tillamook Forest. We picked the Storey Burn Loop that I haven’t done in quite a while. While driving to the trailhead, we were surprised to see snow on the ground which, at first, didn’t make much sense but then, realizing we were a bit higher in the coastal range started to make sense. We were not expecting and certainly not prepared either for the entire trail to be covered in snow though. Even in the parking area we found a couple of pickup trucks unloading snowmobiles. Aside from that, it was cold morning. WE weighted our options and opted for trying it out. If it got too cold or the snow too deep, we would turn around and go back to the car. So with that in mind, we hit the trail. To our surprise, it was a winter wonderland. All the trees where half white half brown pointing the direction of the wind. The ground was covered in white and there were no signs of streams below. As we walked on ankle deep snow, we noticed older tracks so we were not the first ones experiencing this trail like this. Above us the sky was between grey sand blue which gave the forest and eerie and cold look. The other surprise was that, with less foliage and snow weighting down tree limbs, the forest looked more open. Views didn’t stop at the next tree like it does in the summer but much further down. I tried to remember how the trail looks in the summer but was not able to connect them together and pin point where I was. Even with cold feet and cold air, Val and I were simply fascinated by the views around us so we continued and finished the loop only crossing path with one other soul. It’s so great to start a year like this

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Twin Lakes, Dec 25th

We had been following the weather hoping for a break so we could go up to the mountain for some more snowshoeing. Being a holiday weekend, our first option was to do our normal wake up late, have breakfast and open presents, but since weather was not nice and we noticed that at least it was not going to be snowing or raining on Sunday, we quickly changed our plans and left the gifts wrapped under the tree and headed for the mountain. We do have our priorities straight. Since it was still going to be overcast, we opted for a route without a lot of views so we wouldn’t be disappointed. Going with that, we chose to do the Twin Lakes loop from Barlow Pass. Right from the start we had a grey sky that didn’t invite for a lot of picture taking but being in the forest with some new snow made up for it. It was a pretty cold day so we marched on the PCT up to the saddle and then down to the second junction where you turn left to head to Lower Twin Lake. We stood for a minute at the junction that leads to a campground down in Lower Twin Lake and has views of the lake but then decided to just continue our way to Upper Twin Lake instead since there, the trail goes around the lake. If there were any views, we would get them there. At Upper Twin Lake we got a little break in the clouds and even a bit of sun that opened the views of the white surface of the lake and a rare view of Mt Hood over the ridge. After circling the east shore, we got back into the forest as the sky got grey again. Once back in the PCT we continued back to the parking area this time going uphill first. Once finished and being happy with about 7 miles of snowshoeing, we went home for a hot shower, nice dinner and presents. That’s a happy Christmas day.

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