Powder Day - Snowmobiling To Olallie Lake, Oregon

I have been looking forward to shredding some gnar pow on the snowmobiles and finally the weather has cooperated. Two to three feet of snow has fallen in the Mt Hood area over the past couple of days. The weather forecast was a little tamer for Sunday, so my friend John and I decided to go out and ride toward Olallie Lake from Skyline Sno-Park. This area is right between Mt Hood and Mt Jefferson.

Download route (one-way) as shown in map above in Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format or GPX format for use with GPS units and mapping programs. Disclaimer.

It is about a 34 mile ride all the way to Olalllie Lake, so we decided to get an early start, leaving my house just before 6 AM. Skyline Sno-Park was already about half full with plenty of overnighters and people arriving just for the day. We unloaded the snowmobiles and off we went. But before we even got on the trail I had my first mishap of the day. Instead of going the main way out of the Sno-Park (trail that parallels the backside of the Sno-Park), I led us to where I thought there was another way. Turns out that route had been obscured by a small snow berm from snow plowing and all the recent snow. I ended up trying to go up and over it, but quickly realized I was riding half on packed snow and half on deep powder. The end result was that I got stuck. John helped me pull my sled part way down the berm, where I was able to gun it up and over the top.

   

We stopped at Clackamas Lake for our first break and enjoyed the winter scenery. It was a gorgeous day with partly cloudy skies, no wind, and a temperature around 24°F. We continued on to the Warm Springs cabin where we built a small fire and warmed up while enjoying a snack.

   

   

No one had been past the Warm Springs cabin since all the recent snow fall so we were on our own breaking trail. This was my first time in really deep powder and my snowmobiles did a great job even though bigger longer sleds would have definitely been better. We really noticed the higher engine RPMs as the track had to spin faster to get any kind of grip on the loose snow. Top speed in the powder was maybe 55 mph while I have done 95 mph on groomed trails before. It was a blast.

We came across three large snow berms in the middle of the road. We stopped at the first one and walked around it to find a path for the snowmobiles. I got gutsy on the second one and flew right over the top (literally). I was caught off guard as I realized there was at least 6 feet between the bottom of the snowmobile and the ground. Luckily the sled did its job and landed safely below with only a minor bump to my good knee. John saw me fly over and simply disappear, so he went over a little more cautiously (smart guy).

We continued for awhile longer, fighting the old jeep ruts hidden beneath the fresh snow. They made if more difficult to keep the snowmobile upright as it wanted to dip into the ruts and tip over. We decided to turn around after about 19 miles and headed back to the Warm Springs Cabin. We passed two other snowmobilers on our way back. I had wanted to try and stop on top of the second snow berm to take a picture, but my timing was off and I got stuck just before the top. I pulled my snowmobile down a little ways and then gunned it up and over.

After eating lunch in the warm cabin, we decided to try going further down the road, hoping the other two snowmobilers had broken trail. We had to go by the snow berms again, but this time I took it easy on the second berm, or so I thought. Somehow I slowed the sled down, but the combination of gravity and forward momentum threw my body up over the handlebars and windshield and safely into the soft snow. I was a little stunned, but quickly stood up laughing.

Unfortunately the other two snowmobilers had only gone about a half mile further than us and also turned around. We were having too much fun in the powder so we continued another mile or so before turning around again.

   

Before going back to the sno-park, we made a detour to Summit Lake where John and I had snow camped last year. The lake appeared frozen, and there were other snowmobile tracks so we zipped across and back.

   

From Summit Lake we then rode over to Timothy Lake and turned around at the dam.

By the time we made it back to Skyline we had ridden over 60 miles and burnt over half a tank of gas. What a blast! As we were loading the snowmobiles back on my trailer, we chatted with a couple other snowmobilers who said they had also been enjoying the great weather. We said bye and tried to pull out of our parking spot, but all four tires were spinning in 4x4 Low. The guy we had been talking to came over and tried to help shovel, but that didn't work. Next he rode his sled over, attached a tow rope to my truck and away we went. What a funny way to end our adventure. I have yet to meet an unpleasant or unhelpful fellow snowmobiler. Maybe if everyone had a snowmobile the world would be a better place.

Gear List

'02 Polaris 500 RMK Snowmobiles
Osprey Variant 37 Pack
GMAX GM76X Helmet
Smith Phenom Turbo Fan Rx Goggles
FogThief Helmet Anti-Fog Device
Columbia Men’s Bugaboot Max Electric Boots
Columbia Men's Echochrome Ski Pants
Columbia Titanium Hightail II Softshell Jacket
Columbia Sportswear Men's Peak 2 Peak Jacket
Columbia Powerfly Down Puff Jacket
Head Digital Sport Liner Gloves
Outdoor Research Ambit Gloves
Columbia Men's Fast Trek Fleece Hat
Balaclava
Petzl TIKKA XP 2 Headlamp
HighGear ATF8 Altimeter
Olympus Tough TG-1 Camera
Lifeline Aluminum Sport Utility Snow Shovel
First Aid Kit
iPhone w/NeoTreksGPS
Suunto A-10 Compass