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