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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