Mirror Lake, Oregon

With the ski pulk finally in an operational mode, Adam and I headed up to Government Camp on Mt. Hood to test out the design of the pulk to see if there were any majors flaws. We had the car loaded and were out the door by 11am, not to shabby for our standards. Our goal was to head up to Mirror Lake and then ditch the sled and make a bid for the summit of Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain (Yes it is a stupid name). On the way up, we didnt hit any snow till a little after Zig Zag, OR. In the summer time, Mirror Lake trail is one of the most popular trails in the Mt. Hood area due to the proximity to Hwy 26, short approach, glass-like nature of the water and views of Hood and TDH Mountain. Because it is so crowded all the time, it had been years since I had been back to it. However, in the winter time, the parking lot of the trailhead is closed due to snowplows on Hwy 26 so the approach to the trailhead becomes the hardest part as you have to make your way down from Ski Bowl on the side of the highway.

Loaded Ski Pulk w/o poles in Ski Bowl Parking Lot

After parking (and getting a snow park permit), we geared up and headed (getting lots of funny looks) to the highway to strap on the snowshoes and head down the side of the road. We were worried that about half way down the road that the embankment would get too steep for our heavily loaded test sled.

The sled performed wonderfully until this anticipated problem. After many unsuccessful attempts to cut a side trail into the embankment with our pulk repeatedly swinging out from under us and cars screaming by us on the highway, Adam convinced me to jump to the other side of the highway where it was obviously flatter. This would not be easy however with snowshoes on and a sled attached to us. We had to climb down over a lip and onto the highway with no shoulder then sprint snowshoe across the hwy and climb up and over the embankment on the other side. Needless to say, it was a little stressful, and I had to unnecessarily make a diving plunge over the embankment on the other side in order to ensure the safety of our sled and personnel. Adam followed behind in order to pick up any straggling gear, but luckily our strapping system on the sled worked amazingly well. We continued on down the highway and made one more sprint across to the other side when we got to the trailhead.

Virgin Trail

All in all, it took us about an hour to get to the trailhead, which was about a half mile from our parking spot. We learned that the sled doesnt do a very good job of traversing inclines perpendicularly. We crossed the narrow footbridge to get over the stream that separated the trail from the highway. We now had fresh tracks heading up the trail towards Mirror Lake. The going from this point on with the sled was relatively easy. We devised a plan where one person would walk behind the sled to hold it down during the traverses so it wouldnt swing away from us. This enabled us to cover ground more swiftly. We had constructed fins on the side of the sled that could be swung into place if the conditions became icy. However, we quickly lost a fin and two wingnuts so we could not test the sled with only one fin. We'll have to make sure the wingnuts are tigher before we leave next time and also devise a way not to lose the wingnuts since I dropped and lost them in the powder multiple times during ascent and descent to Mirror Lake. Luckily, wingnuts dont cost that much and we can always bring a backup supple if need be.

Finally making some progress

It took us another 45mins to an hour to get to the lake. There we found a nice big open spot to set up our tiny basecamp with untouched powder to set up our 3 season backpacking tent because Adam wanted to practice using his new camera in the snowy conditions with all the bright light.

Very Cold Adam

While Adam began snapping pictures, I set up the tarp to keep the snow from getting into everything and give us some cover while making lunch. In the end, the temporary shelter was very half assed and janky looking as our chosen location was very poor. By this time, Adam began to get very cold as he had presumably let his core overheat and get sweaty on the approach and now had damp layers that were pulling the warmth away from his body. Adam was glad to have the Jetboil quickly cranking out cups of Top Ramen, combined with a down jacket, he began to warm up a little.

Neither of us really had any experience camping in the snow, so it was a nice practice round for when we actually head out for an overnight. We learned many valuable tidbits of information, like not overheating and how much a little shelter can keep you warm.

We hastily packed up camp as it was almost 5pm and was getting dark. We threw everything into the "school bus" aka my large TNF basecamp duffel bag, strapped everything down with the weight in the front this time. However, we quickly learned that the weight needed to be in the back and we had to unpack and rearrange shortly after leaving. On the way down, I attached one of my trekking poles to the haul loop on the back of the sled via carabiner in order to keep the sled from swinging out and flipping over. This, combined with certain verbal commands, worked really well for traversing unstable terrain. With our headlight on, we eventually made it back to the highway, where we ditched the sled and headed back to get the car and pick the sled up on the way down the mountain. If we had to do this again, I would definitely recommend dropping the sled off at the trailhead then parking the car at ski bowl and hiking back down to it in order to avoid the nasty approach with the sled via Ski Bowl.

Mirror lake - one way

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Oregon

We picked up the sled and instead opted to head back up to Government Camp to get some food and victory beers at the Mt. Hood Brewery. After some tasty nachos and a wonderful oatmeal stout, we headed back down to Portland.

UNT,

Bryan

Full Lunar Eclipse on Winter Solstice

1554 in the recommended Yard Glass

Two days ago there was a full lunar eclipse which also coincided with winter solstice. Upadowna.com (Up a Mountain, Down a Beer) brought to my attention that the last time that this happened was in 1554 and by their recommendation, all beer lovers should drink New Belgium Brewery's 1554 ale in honor of this occasion. Luck would have it that I happened to have a 1554 that has been sitting in my beer fridge for awhile. So hears to you Lunar Eclipse on Winter Solstice!!

Ramblings in Seattle

Top of Mill Creek Chair - Stevens Pass, WA

I just got back yesterday from a trip up to Seattle to visit my girlfriend. My internship is up at Columbia Sportswear so I could now stay longer than the weekend which would be nice for both of us. Because she is still working, it gave me the opportunity to have the whole day to pursue outdoorsy activities while she was at work. I am thinking about getting a new pair of skis so I wanted to demo a pair while I was up there in hopes of finding some powder to test them on. In the end, I ended up renting a pair of Fischer Watea 94s. They were a little on the heavy side but were 94 under foot, which is significantly better than what I'm skiing on now.

So Monday morning, as Kerrie headed off to work, I made my way up to Stevens Pass. They hadnt received any snow recently so I was a little worried about the conditions that I would face. Regardless, I figured it would be a good day to hone some of my skills. I am not the most technical skier so I'll take all the practice that I can get. After purchasing my lift ticket and a quick scan of the map, I headed up the mountain. The weather was on the warmer side at around 45 degrees and I quickly realized that I had overdressed for the day. The sky was blue with no wind, but the snow was pretty hard packed and sparse in some locations. After a few warm up runs to get used to the new skis, I headed up to check out some black diamonds and begin my training. The only way to get better is to ski things that make you uncomfortable and then repeat until you are comfortable. So thats what I did, skied steep mogul runs and tight trees for most of the morning.

After a quick lunch of Ramen noodles and an apple, I relayered and headed back up. I spend most of the second half of the day skiing groomers and working on using my poles more efficiently. The backside of the mountain wasnt open and neither was 7th Heaven Lift so I quickly felt like I was running out of new terrain. With almost no one on the mountain, I could ski right up to the gates and jump on the chair in less than a minute. In the end, I got over 20 runs in and my legs were definitely feeling it by the end of the day. I cleared out at 3:45p with irrational hopes of missing Seattle's notorious traffic.

Lunch at the car

On Tuesday, I head up I-90 towards snoqualmie pass to go on a little snowshoe adventure. I had hopes of shoeing up and over to Talapus Lake, but after a late start, I realized that goal would probably not happen. Nevertheless, I set out at around 11:45am with little snow cover, carrying my snowshoes on my pack. I huffed it up to the summer trailhead at around 2.5 miles and continued for another 30 minutes before stopping for lunch. After another Jetboil and Ramen Noodle lunch, I strapped on my snowshoes and headed back down. I seemed to take significantly better time due to the increase in traction the snowshoes provided and wished that i had tried them on the way up. I'll remember that for next time. I got back down to the car in about an hour. I proceed to test out the ski pulka that Adam and I had been building the past couple of days. I tried it on a variety of terrain and confirmed the fact that fins will significantly increase the sleds tracking ability. Adam and I will have to design them sometime this week so we can test it again on his next day off.

Talapus Lake

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Washington

Wednesday, I visited REIs flagship store in Seattle and later attended Kerrie's work's holiday party aboard a Waterways Yacht. The evening proceed with a formal dinner followed by significant libating curtesy of the open bar. Thursday morning, I headed back to Portland through a significant rain stormed that had my windshield wiper on full blast for the full duration of my 3.5 hour journey home.

UNT,

Bryan

Fischer Watea 94s

Ski Pulka aka sled

The Dissident

Happy Boy

Adam and I have finally experienced some snow and although it was about a week ago, we now feel qualified to indulge ourselves on Deschutes Brewery’s Winter Seasonal called Jubelale. Much to our dismay, Deschutes released this beer almost a month and a half ago in early to mid October. We both felt this release was a little premature for a “winter warmer.” October and November is pumpkin ale season. However, in Deschutes defense, Jubelale is one, if not the most, popular winter ale in the market place so releasing it early would definitely get a jump on the competition, as well as, increase profits. So after seeing it in the stores for almost 2 months and after waiting for the prerequisite snowfall, Adam and I finally headed down to Deschute’s Portland Public House to fill our beloved Deschutes Growler with the lovely tipple. Since we were there, we decided to try some of their other seasonals and limited edition releases. I settled on the Black Butte XXII, an age porter infused with peppers and orange peels, while Adam opted for the Dissident, a flavorful and bold barelywine. The Black Butte is released each year around this time with a different concoction of ingredients. It is usually bottled in a 22oz and sold at specialty shops throughout the NW, but this year, the 22oz were experiencing an increasingly high level of salt build up after bottling so the brewery was forced to sell it only on tap at select locations, and they are opening it up for Growlers because they are so much!! Good News to Growler fans! Both of the brews were very tasty and each had ABU higher than 10%! We were feeling good after only one. I had always wanted to try the Dissident, but in the past I have not been the biggest fan of barelywines, but on tap and out of a snifter, it was delicious. Definitely an all night sipping beer. We filled the growler with the Jubelale and headed home for more libations. This week also starts the annual Holiday Ale Festival in Pioneer Square! Look forward to hitting that up on today or Thursday! Look for a post on that soon!

UNT

Bryan