Mount Hood, Oregon - Winter Hike at Sunset

Today was a gorgeous winter day in Portland, Oregon. It felt like spring with the sun shining and temperature above 50°F. Katie managed to get off work early, so we decided to go on an impromptu adventure up to White River SnoPark on Mount Hood. We left a quarter after three hoping to make it before sunset at 5:09 PM. With light traffic, we arrived at the SnoPark at 4:30 PM. Area map.

   

The views were amazing. The few clouds present were breaking up when we arrived, giving way to blue skies as the sun went down. There were only a handful of other people at the SnoPark, including a cross-country skier and his dog. The snow was fairly packed, so we decided to leave our snowshoes behind and hike on foot. We came across a huge boulder that I managed to scale up while Katie snapped a photograph.

   

We continued hiking for about three quarters of a mile, stopping frequently to gaze at Mount Hood. It seemed close enough to touch. In hindsight, snowshoes would have been helpful on our hike. The snow was mushy due to the warm weather the past week and made traction difficult wearing only our boots.

   

As nightfall set in, we took a few more pictures before turning around and heading back down the mountain. We brought our Petzl headlamps, so we quickly made our way back to the parking lot. It was downhill all the way back and almost steep enough in one section to sled down on my back. We will remember this short adventure for a long time to come. It is not often we get the opportunity to take in such spectacular views during our Oregon winters. The Lord is good.