Loomis Adventures

My job took me to Georgia this week where our carpet fabrication facility is. On Tuesday evening after work, I was able to drive up to Fort Mountain State Park for a short hike. The park is only about a 20 minute drive East of Chatsworth. The road quickly winds up into the mountains leaving the city far below. I went on a short easy mile loop hike to the summit of Fort Mountain and back. The conditions were calm with overcast skies and a temperature around 50°F.

After spending much of the winter enjoying the sights and peaks of the Northern Oregon Cascades, Jason and I decided to travel further South and snowshoe to Maxwell Butte on Sunday. We left early, hoping to avoid any Spring Break traffic and have the trail at least partially to ourselves. Our reward was a nearly empty parking lot. The only cars there had clearly been left overnight. The sky was high overcast with a slight breeze and 29° F temperature when we arrived. Maxwell SnoPark is located approximately 28 miles Northwest of Sisters, Oregon along Highway 22.

After a fun night snow camping at Devils Half Acre Meadow, Matt and I took off on snowshoes for Barlow Butte. Since we were camped at the base of the butte on the Western side, we chose to go almost straight up from there. Our route was about 0.6 miles each way. The temperature was in the mid 20s F with no wind and mostly sunny skies. This was one of those times I regretted not bringing my sunglasses.

On Friday night, my friend John and I headed off with fully loaded pulk sleds to snow camp at Devils Half Acre Meadow. We left my house at about 2:30 PM and set out from the Barlow Pass SnoPark at around 4 PM. Another friend, Matt, planned to meet us there just after dark. It's an easy 1.2 mile hike downhill to the campground, which was our destination. The campground sits right at the base of Barlow Butte. The weather was a comfortable 29°F with moderate to heavy snow fall.

I have been eager to get back out in the snow since returning from vacation in Kauai. The tropical climate was nice and we had an amazing trip, but I love the snow and mountains of the Pacific Northwest. My friend Tyler and his friend Holli joined Katie and I on a non-technical climb Saturday to Eureka Peak. The route ( 5 mile round-trip) we took begins at the Trillium Lake SnoPark off hwy 26 about 3 miles Southeast of Government Camp.

The weather changed for the worse on Thursday after our mostly sunny hike to Hanakapi'ai Falls on Tuesday. We decided to go ziplining anyway. We drove to the Kauai Backcountry Adventures headquarters off hwy 56 in Hanamaulu (SE part of island). At the warehouse we geared up in full body harnesses and climbing helmets. As we waited to leave, we could hear the rain pounding the metal roof. It was really coming down and sounded as though we were under a waterfall.

On Tuesday the sun was shining and we were up early (5 AM) securing hiking permits for our June Half Dome hike in Yosemite. This was our second day on vacation with my parents and grandpa. Since we had an early start, we decided it would be a great day to hike to Hanakapi'ai Falls on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai. The 8-mile round-trip hike starts at the end of highway 560 on the Northern part of Kauai. The trail becomes dangerous and nearly impassable during heavy rains, so the sunny weather worked in our favor.

I finally had a free day Sunday with okay weather for a solo climb up Mount Hood to Crater Rock. This was my first trip to this elevation on Mount Hood and my plan wasn't to climb all the way to the summit. I am saving that for a future trip. Mount Hood is Oregon's tallest peak at 11,239 feet elevation. It's known as Wy'east to the Multnomah Tribe. The route I took is known as the South Side Route and starts from the historic Timberline Lodge. It is about 6 miles to Crater Rock and back with an elevation gain of 4,000 feet.

After Katie and I returned from our overnight stay at the Barlow Butte Hut on Saturday morning, we headed out on our next adventure to Ghost Ridge. This is a fairly easy 1.6 mile (each way) trail to snowshoe. The first mile is along the Pacific Crest Trail. After that, the unmarked trail veers to the Southwest (to the right if coming from Barlow Pass SnoPark), away from the PCT.

Cascade Huts LLC has three huts for rent in the White River Valley and along Barlow Ridge. We had the opportunity to snowshoe two miles to the Barlow Butte Hut and spend the night Friday. We started at the Barlow Pass SnoPark around 5:15 PM just as the sun was setting. The temperature was about 26° F and there was no wind. One to two feet of fresh snow had blanketed the area during the week.