Morning at Timberline

I've been wanting to get to the mountain for some uphill skiing practice.  My winter 2014 bucket list includes another trip to Illumination Saddle, doing better in this year's skimo race, and finally summitting Mt. St. Helens on skis.  Of course, in order to accomplish these ambitious goals, I need to get my butt in shape.

And the only way to do that is to strap on skis, and slog up a slope.

Poor, bare Mt. Hood

Although the snowpack thus far has been less than stellar, there comes a time when you can't continue to wait for perfect conditions.  You have to get your hiney out there and make the best of it.

Ready for some uphill travel!

So despite the crappy, icy snow, last weekend found me at Timberline Ski Area, sticking climbing skins on my skis, and shuffling up the cat track paralleling Magic Mile's groomed ski runs.

Follow the cat track

The good news - it was a lovely, sunny, blue sky day.  The bad news - the wind was absolutely howling, already blowing strong gusts in the parking lot.  That didn't bode well for Mt. Hood's higher elevations, where I was headed.

Skiing selfie

But it felt good to be on my skis, huffing and puffing up the side of Hood.  The exertion of skiing uphill quickly warmed my body.  Although extremely barren of her white coat, the mountain still looked fabulous.  I enjoyed watching snow-riders zip down the adjacent ski run.  And when I tired of this, experimenting with my camera's self timer offered a nice distraction.

My lovely tele skis

Clear skies meant great scenic views - of Mt. Hood in all her craggy glory, of historic Timberline Lodge getting farther and farther below, and vistas of foothills and mountains to the south.  If you can't have fresh powder, sunny weather is the next best thing.

Hood is getting closer

Although starting out gasping for air, I quickly settled into a rhythm and began to enjoy my uphill trip.  I was happy to discover my fitness level was better than expected.  Guess my three-times-a-week running routine is doing something.

Timberline Lodge and Mt. Jefferson

Of course, when there's views like this from behind, how can you not feel great?  Despite the wind (which wasn't dying down in the least) I was glad to be outside on my favorite mountain.

Front view selfie

To break some of the monotony, I set my camera in the snow, activated the self-timer, slid back downhill, and then shuffled back towards it.  The timer was programmed to fire five shots in succession.

After two tries, I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple shots I liked.  Such as the one above.

I cut off my face but captured the mountains

Or this one.  Yeah, my face got cropped out, but the camera did capture a bit of the mountain scenery behind (and my right ski tip).

Hard working legs

And this one's fun too.  A sunburst shining just above the right knee.  And an up-close and personal image of my hard-working legs.

Snowcat and Silcox Hut

After fooling around with silly selfies, the wind picked up, and prompted me to get serious about reaching the top of the Magic Mile lift.  From Timberline Lodge, it's a climb of 1000 feet.  I put the pedal to the metal, and before I knew it, the lift house came into view.  But first, I passed by the Silcox Hut, a mid-mountain shelter turned into rustic overnight lodge.  Guests are escorted here via one of Timberline's lovely red snowcats.

Rocky slopes

Although I'd intended to climb all the way to the top of the Palmer Lift, another 1500 feet higher, the screaming wind, and icy slopes convinced me it was time to turn around.  Stripping off my climbing skins in the strong gales wasn't fun, but I managed to get everything switched without losing any gear to the wind.

It was a slow, shaky trip to the bottom.  The icy snow and rocky slopes kept me constantly on guard.  The only decent snow was found on two narrow groomed runs, which were crowded with skiers and boarders.  Forget trying to do tele-turns - I switched into survival skiing mode.  I just wanted to get myself down unscathed!

Skiing down on ice

Although I entertained the thought of one more trip up the Mile, by the time I reached Timberline Lodge, I was done.  I had no desire to fight the crowds and icy snow a second time.  Despite many photo breaks, I'd climbed 1000 feet in an hour.  Not the speediest, but a good start for little ole me.

The winter is still young, and I know there will be more chances for uphill skiing practice.  This day's trip was a good start.  And, as always, I was glad to be outside on a sunny, winter's day!

Sharing with:  Our World Tuesday and the 52 Photos Project.

New Year's Day on the Beach

I always spend New Year's Day on the slopes.  I had every intention of continuing this tradition January 1st, 2014.  I even skipped the evening's festivities, and went to bed before midnight, in order to be well rested for my ski day.

Happy New Year!

But the lack of moisture that's plagued the PNW continued through the holidays.  When my alarm rang the next morning, my enthusiasm for sliding on rocky slopes and icy snow had waned.  I decided to bag my trip and sleep in.

Bear takes in the salt air

Now I had an entire day with no agenda.  Not wanting to waste a holiday sitting around home, I needed to formulate a plan B.  Then the beach beckoned......

Time for the pups to play

I love photographing the Oregon coast.  And it had been awhile since I'd visited.  Grabbing my camera gear and the dog, I pointed my car west.

Pawprints in the sand

The shoreline just south of Cannon Beach is my favorite part of the coast.  For today's trip, I decided to visit Arcadia Beach.  Sandwiched between Cannon Beach and Hug Point, it was a perfect choice for an afternoon's ramble.

Foamy waves

I'm lucky to live a mere hour's drive from the coast.  In no time at all, I was pulling into Arcadia Beach's tiny parking lot. 

A BIG splash!

My dog Bear also loves the beach.  Once I was stopped, he instantly rocketed out of my car.  Bear got onto the sand and ran forever.  Then he sniffed everything in sight, and made friends with a couple other dogs.

Shell pieces

I, on the other hand, was busy with my camera.  There were a myriad of photo subjects to capture!

Beach scenery

Although high tide covered much the beach, other things caught my eye.  I noticed waves crashing on some rocks offshore, creating large, frothy splashes.  It took a little time and patience to capture one of the bigger swells, but I was rewarded when a giant wave hit, creating an enormous white fountain.

Lone rock

Bear and I slowly ambled down the soft sand, heading towards Hug Point.  It took me awhile, as there were many distractions.  Such as this lone rock, staring out to sea.

Half a sand dollar

And this partial sand dollar buried in the beach (does that make it a half-dollar?)

Splashing waves at Hug Point

Finally, I reached the rocky outcrop and basalt shelf of Hug Point.  The shelf  is an old wagon road, blasted out of the rock.  At the turn of the century, people used the beaches as roads.  The shelf enabled travel across Hug Point during high tide.  I visited the other side of Hug Point last May, and blogged about it here.

Hungry shorebirds

There's a bunch of tidepools full of sea creatures at Hug Point's base.  I noticed a huge flock of little birds pecking around in these tidepools. There must've been something really good to eat in those tidepools, because the birds were not deterred by anything.  Even when waves flooded the beach, the flock stayed put.  Made for easy photo subjects.

Colorful rock layers

Since the tide was still fairly high, I didn't venture out on Hug Point's rocky road.  I turned around and headed back to my car.  It's always amazing the things you discover on your return trip.  Such as these colorful layered rock cliffs.

Beach views

Although the cloudy skies didn't make for the greatest light, the late afternoon winter sun did supply a small streak of gold on the horizon.

Golden late afternoon sun

Which, in the right conditions, lit up the beach's sand ridges brilliantly.

My doggy and I

I came home with a tired, but happy dog, and a camera full of wonderful beach images.  A great way to spend the first day of 2014.

Although I would've rather been skiing, a day at the beach is always a good second choice. 


Sharing with:  Saturday's Critters and Weekly Top Shot and I Heart Macro.

The Ornament Trail

2020 Update:  Since this post has been generating a lot of views lately I wanted to provide some updated information.  This area was extensively burned in the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire and as of November 2020 has still not reopened.  So please don't go looking for this trail because the area is closed and it's extremely likely this trail doesn't exist anymore.

I'd heard rumors.  Seen mentions in trip reports on the Portland Hikers website.  Even read an occasional blog post about it.  Finally, curiosity piqued, I wanted to see it for myself.

What, you ask?  Why, the famous Christmas Ornament Trail!

A surprise in the forest!

Deep in the forests of the Columbia River Gorge, there's a place where Christmas Ornaments dangle from trees.  Many hiking groups have a holiday tradition of visiting the Ornament Trail and adding to its collection.  But nobody has yet divulged the exact location of this magical spot.  So I had to do a little detective work to determine its whereabouts.  Although my research didn't uncover the precise location, it gave me a good general idea of where to go.

Wahkeena Falls without ice

On the Sunday after Christmas, I recruited my friends John and Young to join me for an exploratory hike.  They're such good sports!  Who else would accompany this crazy lady in search of a hidden ornament trail?

Young taking some photo ops

We began our quest on the Wahkeena Trail.  Having visited already twice this fall, it was familiar ground.  This time, I almost buzzed past the waterfall, but Young wanted to get a couple of shots.  It was amazing to think just two weeks ago this place was a huge sheet of ice.

Fairy Falls in the fog

Continuing up the Wahkeena Trail, my friends and I ran into a thick fog bank.  We didn't bother to stop at the nearby Gorge viewpoint, as there were no views that day.  Pausing briefly at lovely Fairy Falls so Young could get a photo, we resumed our climb through foggy woods.

The first of many trail junctions

The Wahkeena Trail switchbacks relentlessly, but it does get one to the top of the ridge quickly.  Before we knew it, my friends and I had climbed over a thousand feet, and had reached the top of the fog bank.

Coming out of the fog

Above the clouds, all was clear.  It was nice to be able to see more of the forest again.

Let's hug this big ol' tree!

The Wahkeena Trail topped out, and became a fairly flat ridge run.  Heading towards the Multnomah Falls/Larch Mountain Trail, Young and I had fun checking out the enormous old growth fir trees that lined our path.  We thought this old grandpa tree deserved a hug!

Beautiful woods above Multnomah Creek

We followed the Wahkeena Trail until its intersection with the trail above Multnomah Falls.  An incredibly beautiful area, this path followed a rushing, whitewater Multnomah Creek.  Huge mossy trees lined the creek, and bright green moss-covered boulders could be found everywhere.

Crossing the rickety bridge

Our exploration continued upriver, towards Larch Mountain.  Although I've hiked this trail many times towards Multnomah Falls, this was the first time I'd ventured in the other direction.  The forest and creek were an absolute delight!  Tons of ferns, more green mossy trees and boulders, and an absolutely beautiful stream.  I couldn't get enough of all this spectacular scenery.  We crossed the creek on a rickety damaged bridge (a sign warned hikers to cross one at a time) and continued our upwards climb.

The trail was a rocky shelf above the creek

The final leg of our quest was up an old road that intersected with the Larch Mountain Trail.  The Trails Club of Oregon had a lodge somewhere off this road, and my friends and I decided, if nothing else, we'd hike to this lodge, have lunch, and turn around.

We found the Ornament Trail!

The road was long.  The distance seemed to drag on and on without any ornament sightings.  I began to doubt my research, and told my friends if nothing else, at least we'd get a good hike.

It was past noon, and everyone was getting hungry.  John had just started to suggest stopping somewhere to eat, when Young exclaimed "Hey, I see an ornament!"

Photo time!

There, hanging from a tree on the roadside, was a small Santa boot tricked out with holiday decor.  Up above, some colorful balls dangled from a tree branch.  Woo-hoo!  We'd found it!

Walking thru Christmas all over again

Our hunger forgotten, Young and I pulled out cameras and excitedly began taking photographs.

Lots of decor on this tree

The trail dived into some thick, mossy woods.  Following it further, we discovered more and more brightly colored ornaments hanging everywhere.

John checks out an unusual garland

There were all kinds of decorations.  Someone had strung a colorful garland between two trees, high above our heads.

Little red disco ball

Some of the colorful balls glittered with raindrops.

Old mechanical parts make great ornaments

Other hanging ornaments were more practical.  These were parts from an old pump.  Made a great star!

So do old cookie cutters

And someone apparently donated their old cookie cutters for the cause.

Fa la la!

My friends and I had an absolute blast walking the trail, discovering more and more colorful Christmas decorations around every bend.

I'm not sure who maintains this lovely display.  Since the Trails Club lodge is not far away, it quite possibly could be something their members maintain.  But John did run into an older gentleman, hard at work hanging more decorations, who said he wasn't associated with the club.  We got the impression anyone could contribute an ornament or two.

Huge tree toppled by landslide

After a fun photo session, a quick lunch break, and a second short trip through the ornament trail, Young, John and I headed back down the trail to Multnomah Falls.  We passed by a recent landslide, and I captured this shot of a giant tree that had fallen across the trail.  The power of nature is amazing isn't it?

Merry belated Christmas!

A successful quest!  I'd sought and found the location of the famed Christmas Ornament Trail.  My friends and I are already planning a Christmas 2014 return visit.  And next time we'll bring some holiday decor of our own.


Stats - 10 mile round trip loop, 1700' elevation gain.

Sharing with:  Weekly Top Shot and I Heart Macro.