Loomis Adventures

In an effort to take advantage of the relatively good weather promised on Sunday, Jason and I decided to venture to Cooper Spur and snow shoe 7.4 miles round trip to the Tilly Jane A-Frame Cabin and Cooper Spur Stone Shelter. We left Portland early and arrived at Tilly Jane SnoPark just below Cooper Spur Ski area around 8 AM. Cooper Spur is located on the Northeast side of Mount Hood approximately 23 miles South of Hood River, Oregon. The parking area was nearly full when we arrived, with most vehicles having obviously been left for a day or more.

My friend Matt and I spent Sunday snowmobiling and snowshoeing around Bonney Meadows. We had been hoping to go climbing over the weekend, but the weather did not cooperate, so we chose snowmobiling instead. We set off early, arriving at Frog Lake SnoPark around 7:30 AM. We were the first in the SnoPark besides a few overnight vehicles. Our plan was to snowmobile about 18 miles to Bonney Meadows and then snowshoe about half a mile up to Echo Point. Bonney Meadows is on the Southeast side of Mt. Hood about 1.5 miles NW of Boulder Lake.

Now that my toes are almost back to normal nearly a year later, I figured it was time to tell my story and share pictures of my frostbitten toes and their subsequent long recovery. It's not an experience I would wish on anyone, so hopefully this will serve as a warning to help others avoid frostbite.

Katie and I took the day off Friday to spend the weekend at Hall House, part of the Fish Lake Remount Depot. It's a historic site with a handful of structures including two cabins (Hall House & Commissary Cabin) which can be rented during the winter. The first building on the site was a roadhouse built in 1867. Hall House was built in 1924 as a summer residence for forest supervisor C.C. Hall. The area was used as a remount depot by the Forest Service from 1905 until 2005 when the last packer and pack string came through. Today it serves as an interpretive site.

I have been eager to go snow camping this season and the opportunity presented itself this weekend. Since Katie is not fond of snow camping (she has a hard time staying warm), I went with my friend John. We packed up and left my house around 6 AM Saturday, destined for Skyline SnoPark (Mt. Hood National Forest). This SnoPark is off Hwy 26 SSE of Government Camp, Oregon. It's popular with snowmobiles, offering access to the areas around Clear Lake and Timothy Lake.

We booked two nights at the Clear Lake Lookout Tower six months ago as dates fill up very quickly. The Forest Service opens it up for reservations in the winter months only, as it is still an active fire lookout during the summer. Clear Lake Lookout is located Southeast of Government Camp, Oregon. The trail starts from the Skyline SnoPark. It's about 3.6 miles from the SnoPark along FSR 42 and then up the 240 spur road. It's popular with snowmobilers, snowshoers, and cross-country skiers, so be sure to share the road.

Last night the weather finally turned colder and over a foot of fresh snow fell in the mountains. Our friends Tyler and Holli met us at our house Saturday morning a little late due to icy roads. We hitched up our snowmobiles and headed to Frog Lake SnoPark, which is about 7 miles Southeast of Government Camp off Hwy 26. Traffic was horrible and after about 2.5 hours we finally made it to the SnoPark. It was already quite busy, but we found a place to park and unload the sleds. It was partly sunny and temperatures were in the upper 20s.

The weather has been sunny and cold, so the snow from November's storms is very consolidated up on Mount Hood. My friend Matt and I have been eager to climb and decided on the Leuthold Coulior route on Mt Hood early Saturday morning. This a technical route that starts at Timberline Lodge (same as the popular non-technical South route). Leuthold Couliour is to the West (climbers left) of Illumination Rock. Our plan was to climb up Leuthold Couloir and then return via the South route (approximately 7 miles round-trip).