anyway, all week, the weather said “snow, lots of snow, followed by sun on sunday” – perfect! wrong. on friday morning i departed portland in rain, which left me only for a moment as snow hit my windshield and tires (unexpectedly – eee!) as i rounded the southeastern edge of mt hood. then, i again descended into rain. i was pretty entertained during my drive since i'd just picked up “a walk in the woods” on disc, per amanda's recommendation. by the time i pulled up to the sno-park though, i was a little freaked out by all the author's talk of bears & other (potentially) dangerous wildlife encounters and whatnot.
other challenges to rain and fear of animals: lack of snow. when i realized that the road i intended to ski down had no snow (and was closed to vehicles), i initially wavered on bringing the pulk, then figured i could stash it somewhere if i needed to. after a bunch of repacking and a stiff mile-long march up the snowless road, i decided it was time to say goodbye to the pulk. so, onward, sans pulk. but after another mile of walking, then a mile of skiing with plenty of snow, i decided to grab it. my bag was overpacked with the pulk in mind and i wouldn't last long if i kept it on the whole time.
so, my start got delayed a couple of hours with my indecision, frustration, shuttling, etc. but i noticed i was a lot happier once i had the pulk – it makes carrying heavy weights significantly easier.
once underway, everything was peachy. minus the rain. i had no spills, no aches other than a perennial hot spot on my foot, and i was coping with the sogginess pretty well. though not so well that i whipped out my camera for any photos. oh, but i did grab a few phone photos of deer legs eaten to the bone and then some. there was also a lot of cougar poop along the way (some seemed to have joints in them – odd & ick), so i figured there might be a nearby cache that some smaller animals were scavenging. note the tidbits of hair – yum.
as i reached the high point of the road prior to my sought-after side trail, the rain started to get to me and my hands went a little numb – i kept placing them inside my jacket and under my armpit, even as i skied on. it was awkward. once i descended the side trail, i found my campsite and fired up my stove, warmed up with some indian dishes and hot cocoa, and settled into bed at the late hour of 6:30. i was tired. most of me was wet. unfortunately, i stayed that way, since i brought a really thick air mattress and the bivy couldn't really accommodate my size. i kept rubbing the roof, which was covered in condensation, which then soaked through my bag. i think i even started to asphyxiate at one point when i accidentally blocked my vent! seriously. or maybe the cause of my suffocation was my “comfs”, my fleece around-home pants that i brought along & used as a hat when i found mine had soaked through. i also forgot to wash them before this trip. actually, they've never been washed. maybe it's a little weird they were on my head, but it worked in the moment.
uh, so even though it was a relatively miserable slumber, with rain hitting my tent hard, to the point where i could feel the pings of each individual droplet, i got a bit of shut eye despite terrific winds, the howling coyotes in the distance, and the occasional avalanche cannon in the later hours. it took me a while to realize what that was & i was a little paranoid that i was hearing trees thumping the ground... prayed i wasn't under a widow maker.
in the morning it took me a long time to get out of bed – i just didn't want to face more rain & cold! even though the rain had stopped in the middle of the night (& was briefly replaced by snow), i wasn't looking forward to dealing with all my wet gear and the frigid air. i knew i was headed home and not staying out another night with how wet & shivery i was. but i almost reconsidered when i opened the bivy to see this:
no, not a glowing rock, but sun! beaming down on me! directly! what a dream. i scampered out and made some more hot cocoa and oatmeal, geared up and hit the trail, which was thoroughly iced over. poo. i immediately was thrust down a road in a very much luge-like experience which was directing me to bare concrete - eek. no metal edges to help me stop, so i sat down / fell and sprained my thumb in the process. oops. i slowly nudged on until i was again in the sun, which FELT SO GOOD!
the rest of the day, i skied and fiddled around, making my way up to this lookout i've been to a couple of times and will be going to again a few times this year. on the way up to the lookout, i caught glimpses of the columbia gorge filled with fog, but no mountains since everything higher up was cloudy.
with such awesome, stunningly sunny weather, i briefly lamented that i wouldn't get to check out another lookout at which i'd hoped to camp. but i was mostly glad to have not bumped into anyone, though the occasional whine of snowmobiles in the distance eventually materialized into a few senior citizens who had groomed the trail for me nearly all the way back to the concrete - quite convenient.
oh, i also bumped into this little guy while i was on a little, often snowless (grr) trail – any clue who s/he is?
fifteen miles after my early morning spill and sprain i made it back to the road, which, though covered here, was again a real pain to descend while hauling my bag, skis, and sled for two robust miles. ick. though a good trap workout.
off to ice my thumb and dry off my gear....
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