Trip Report: Mirror Lake Snowshoe, Mt. Hood Wilderness
When: 01/10/2018
Location: Mirror Lake
Conditions: Cold, mild winds, snow, and poor visibility
Duration: 2 hours (2.9 miles round trip)
Difficulty: Moderate
Kid Friendly: Yes
Pet Friendly: Yes
Usefull links: www.oregonhikers.org
The Full Report:
Snowshoeing has been the name of the game as of late with winter conditions at Mt. Hood improving, and after snowshoeing Bennet's pass on a Next Adventure outdoor school trip, I was revved up to try another classic trail, Mirror Lake. This time around, I set out with my friend Ed to go on a two-person snowshoeing mini-trip that would hopefully be followed by a Joe's Donuts run on the way back through Sandy. So, we headed out early in the morning, and from Portland drove a bit over an hour to our destination. When passing through Sandy and in search of some pre-trip energy, I recommend a local breakfast burrito shop that's located in a shell gas station before Joe's Donuts and near a couple local snow rental shops. Despite the hole-in-the-wall feel of getting a burrito at a gas station, the food is delicious, cheap, and made by the local family that owns the station (it was also incredibly filling I might add).
Access to Mirror Lake can be a bit tricky as the trailhead doesn't offer too much parking, and it's honestly a bit safer, despite how crazy it sounds, to park at Ski Bowl, then walk a half a mile to the trailhead on a small path behind the highway guardrail. Since it was a weekday when we hiked, the parking lot was fairly empty, and we only encountered two other groups of snowshoers on the trail. For our mini-hike, Ed and I were brandishing MSR lightning ascent and Tubbs Flex Ridge snowshoes. Both options were lightweight (one is made of plastic, the other of lighter steel) and durable for this type of quick in-and-out hike. Similarly, we made sure to carry many layers for this hike as temperatures were in the 30-degree range and weather could change suddenly (i.e bring multiple synthetic base layers, water resistant/insulated pants, gators, down or synthetic jackets, a rain shell, and absolutely no cotton). I highly recommend going to www.nextadventure.net for a guide to gearing up for winter trips. As a side note: make sure that before parking for extended periods of time at Ski Bowl, you have a daily or annual snowpark pass displayed in your window.
After suiting up, we trekked the half a mile along the highway 26 guard rail to the trailhead. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a narrow, but sturdy bridge that marked the beginning of a slight incline in the trail. The trail was gorgeous, and the trees and vegetation were frosted with glistening snow. The trail was so quiet you could hear a pin drop if you listened carefully, save for the obnoxious crunching of our snowshoes. As we walked along the trail we could also hear a nearby creek that, despite the frigid temperatures, was still flowing with a healthy vigor. We found the beginning of the hike to be somewhat flat, but after the first clearing where you can view the highway below, the incline begins to ramp up to moderate difficulty. We rested at this clearing and happened into another couple of hikers who kindly took our photo. After a brief water break, we continued through the winding switchbacks and walked up to a small junction with a wooden trail marker (1.4-mile point) that read "Tom Dick and Harry Mountain" with an arrow pointing to the right. If you wish to extend your hike and view Mirror Lake on the way down, you can follow the right path, but for those solely looking to reach Mirror Lake, crossing the bridge on the left is the correct path to take. We crossed the bridge which was somehow even narrower than the previous one we entered the trail on and continued another half mile to Mirror Lake. Keep in mind that you might want to take your snowshoes off to cross the bridge as the width of snowshoes can act as an impediment to crossing and there is only railing on one side of the bridge with the other side exposed to rushing water. Either way, take care when crossing.
We decided to break out our snacks after finding a nice spot on what would probably have been a shore if not for the blanket of snow that covered the ground this time of year. After about 30 seconds of eating near the lake, we heard rustling in the trees around us and realized we had been surrounded by a hungry troop of "Robber Jay's." As humans have been hiking in natural areas and feeding animals, birds and other opportunistic species have been habituated to humans. Unfortunately, while it may seem "cute" when a bird grabs snacks from your hand, this actually hurts its chances of surviving as it may solely rely on humans for food and lose its interest in hunting to survive over time. As a test, my friend Ed held out his hand as if he had a snack, and a Robber Jay landed on his outstretched fingers with a puzzled look on its face upon finding a bare glove below. Even without food in his hand, Ed repeated this gesture and each Jay took its turn landing and then fluttering off when they found that his hand was only the tool of a cruel pavlovian experiment. As a general wilderness PSA, please refrain from feeding any animals on the trail (soapbox over).
We noticed footsteps in the middle of the lake where others had crossed and decided to cross ourselves to the opposite shore. Despite some hesitation in the beginning, Ed convinced me to walk across the frozen pool, which scared the living daylights out of me (cross at your own risk by the way). Upon reaching the other side, we headed back to the previous junction and graced down the hills we had just climbed. If you have never snowshoed before, make sure to take care when walking downhill with snowshoes. It can be easy to trip yourself up if you walk too quickly and because the body of the snowshoe moves independently of the foot harness you're cinched into, it can catch on rocks. After a quick jaunt down the to the trailhead, we tiredly walked back along the freeway to our car. In the end, we decided to skip Joe's Donuts because of how tired we were after the trip, but made an agreement to make a run the next time we were out.
The Full Report:
Snowshoeing has been the name of the game as of late with winter conditions at Mt. Hood improving, and after snowshoeing Bennet's pass on a Next Adventure outdoor school trip, I was revved up to try another classic trail, Mirror Lake. This time around, I set out with my friend Ed to go on a two-person snowshoeing mini-trip that would hopefully be followed by a Joe's Donuts run on the way back through Sandy. So, we headed out early in the morning, and from Portland drove a bit over an hour to our destination. When passing through Sandy and in search of some pre-trip energy, I recommend a local breakfast burrito shop that's located in a shell gas station before Joe's Donuts and near a couple local snow rental shops. Despite the hole-in-the-wall feel of getting a burrito at a gas station, the food is delicious, cheap, and made by the local family that owns the station (it was also incredibly filling I might add).
Access to Mirror Lake can be a bit tricky as the trailhead doesn't offer too much parking, and it's honestly a bit safer, despite how crazy it sounds, to park at Ski Bowl, then walk a half a mile to the trailhead on a small path behind the highway guardrail. Since it was a weekday when we hiked, the parking lot was fairly empty, and we only encountered two other groups of snowshoers on the trail. For our mini-hike, Ed and I were brandishing MSR lightning ascent and Tubbs Flex Ridge snowshoes. Both options were lightweight (one is made of plastic, the other of lighter steel) and durable for this type of quick in-and-out hike. Similarly, we made sure to carry many layers for this hike as temperatures were in the 30-degree range and weather could change suddenly (i.e bring multiple synthetic base layers, water resistant/insulated pants, gators, down or synthetic jackets, a rain shell, and absolutely no cotton). I highly recommend going to www.nextadventure.net for a guide to gearing up for winter trips. As a side note: make sure that before parking for extended periods of time at Ski Bowl, you have a daily or annual snowpark pass displayed in your window.
After suiting up, we trekked the half a mile along the highway 26 guard rail to the trailhead. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a narrow, but sturdy bridge that marked the beginning of a slight incline in the trail. The trail was gorgeous, and the trees and vegetation were frosted with glistening snow. The trail was so quiet you could hear a pin drop if you listened carefully, save for the obnoxious crunching of our snowshoes. As we walked along the trail we could also hear a nearby creek that, despite the frigid temperatures, was still flowing with a healthy vigor. We found the beginning of the hike to be somewhat flat, but after the first clearing where you can view the highway below, the incline begins to ramp up to moderate difficulty. We rested at this clearing and happened into another couple of hikers who kindly took our photo. After a brief water break, we continued through the winding switchbacks and walked up to a small junction with a wooden trail marker (1.4-mile point) that read "Tom Dick and Harry Mountain" with an arrow pointing to the right. If you wish to extend your hike and view Mirror Lake on the way down, you can follow the right path, but for those solely looking to reach Mirror Lake, crossing the bridge on the left is the correct path to take. We crossed the bridge which was somehow even narrower than the previous one we entered the trail on and continued another half mile to Mirror Lake. Keep in mind that you might want to take your snowshoes off to cross the bridge as the width of snowshoes can act as an impediment to crossing and there is only railing on one side of the bridge with the other side exposed to rushing water. Either way, take care when crossing.
We decided to break out our snacks after finding a nice spot on what would probably have been a shore if not for the blanket of snow that covered the ground this time of year. After about 30 seconds of eating near the lake, we heard rustling in the trees around us and realized we had been surrounded by a hungry troop of "Robber Jay's." As humans have been hiking in natural areas and feeding animals, birds and other opportunistic species have been habituated to humans. Unfortunately, while it may seem "cute" when a bird grabs snacks from your hand, this actually hurts its chances of surviving as it may solely rely on humans for food and lose its interest in hunting to survive over time. As a test, my friend Ed held out his hand as if he had a snack, and a Robber Jay landed on his outstretched fingers with a puzzled look on its face upon finding a bare glove below. Even without food in his hand, Ed repeated this gesture and each Jay took its turn landing and then fluttering off when they found that his hand was only the tool of a cruel pavlovian experiment. As a general wilderness PSA, please refrain from feeding any animals on the trail (soapbox over).
We noticed footsteps in the middle of the lake where others had crossed and decided to cross ourselves to the opposite shore. Despite some hesitation in the beginning, Ed convinced me to walk across the frozen pool, which scared the living daylights out of me (cross at your own risk by the way). Upon reaching the other side, we headed back to the previous junction and graced down the hills we had just climbed. If you have never snowshoed before, make sure to take care when walking downhill with snowshoes. It can be easy to trip yourself up if you walk too quickly and because the body of the snowshoe moves independently of the foot harness you're cinched into, it can catch on rocks. After a quick jaunt down the to the trailhead, we tiredly walked back along the freeway to our car. In the end, we decided to skip Joe's Donuts because of how tired we were after the trip, but made an agreement to make a run the next time we were out.