Next Adventure Outdoor School led it's first Snowshoe Trip of the season last Saturday to Mt. Hood National Forest.
Big trees disappeared into the mists above us as we tromped over the snow. It felt like a walk in the clouds. Bright white snow contrasted with the fluorescent green of the forest.
We got a good dose of what winter can mean in the Cascade mountains. The temperature was comfortably above freezing, but that also means water in liquid state. The mountain hasn't seen much snow so far this season, but we found a good patch of it to play around in at 4000 feet of elevation.
There were many animal tracks in the snow. Deer, squirrel, and canine tracks were common, but the best were some big tracks across our tail, which looked to be mountain lion.
There wasn't much snow under the trees, so we kept to the open spaces where 6 inches or so had accumulated. After we turned around, we were amazed at how much more had melted off in such a short span of time.
Participants were given choices for the last leg of the tour. Part of the group opted to take off their snowshoes and hike through the dense, mossy forest, while others kept on snowshoeing back down to the van.
Always be ready for wet weather when heading out for a snowy adventure on Mt. Hood and the Cascade mountains. Wet and cold is much worse than just cold, so wear wicking insulated layers along with a waterproof/breathable shell. More comfortable is not just safer, it's more fun!
More snow is forecast to fall on the mountain (yay!). Next Adventure has more trips scheduled this winter to get you out there on snowshoes and cross-country skis. We provide transportation, instruction, and rental gear, in addition to a guided tour of the Northwest winter wonderland
Join us New Year's Day, or on any of our other
scheduled trips January-March 2014.
We also have a
Winter Camping overnight trip scheduled February 15-16, 2014.
Find out more and sign up online at
nextadventure.net/outdoor-school
If you already have a group of 8 or more, we can create a custom tour for you!
Contact us at
outdoorschool@nextadventure.net
Let it snow!
Next Adventure is a fully-insured licensed Outfitter and Guide with the State of Oregon. Next Adventure is an equal opportunity Recreation Provider operating under special use permit on the Mt. Hood National Forest and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, USDA Forest Service.
