Hitting the Spot

We've all had that beer, meal or experience that has "hit the spot." Every once in a while, you may be lucky enough to have a whole weekend of good runs.

Our season-opener mountain bike ride and our first time riding Syncline was the first item to hit the spot this weekend. Our small Mosierite friend, Kate, got a new ride this week, so we met up bright and early on Saturday morning, crossed the Hood River Bridge to WA and headed east towards the trailhead for Syncline. We had a little trouble finding the trail, but we got to explore some cool, primitive roads, a beautiful sun-filled, blue sky and some refreshing views of Mount Hood. Kate inquires, "Ummmmmm. Where are we???"



We got situated and hit the trail. Being back on the bike was so awesome. The sun was shining and I was laughing a lot and saying "weeeeeEEEEEEeeeeee". The gorge, river and Mount Hood views from the Syncline area are awesome.


Our bikes were smilin' and laughin' at our skis. Shadow is all ready to go roll around in the woods for the next six months.


After an initial bomb through the trees, the trail opened up and snaked along the cliff's edge. Hairy. 'Sme!


Group shot.


We stopped for a little breather and lo and behold, down the trail rolls bossman Bryan from Summit Projects. Tell me this isn't a frickin' awesome place to go flyin' through:


We split up for the bottom part of the run. Kate, Bryan and I rode the "Maui Falls" section of trail, while Tom and Matt hit “Little Moab." Tom's McDonald's lunch on the way home and the mid-afternoon nap with the windows wide open and a hug from a small red bear is down as Hit #2.


Last night we had some people over for a few beers on the deck and then we headed out in the Hood. A few scorpion bowls, More Powerful Astronaut at the River City and homemade pancakes at 2:30AM were the highlights.

After a Sunday morning group breakfast at Shari's, which is always entertaining and quite filling, we hit Meadows for some spring skiing conditions.

The drive to the mountain was awesome–#3. Yesterday, we saw Hood from afar as we hopped around on our bikes and today we were going to get all up in that beotch. That's a good-lookin' mountain.

Hit #4–my best, most fun day on the mountain so far. I'm learnin'! The snow was perfect. It was warm and sunny. I went skiin' in the woods for the first time and it's the coolest!

Today the skis were laughin' at the bikes. Some late afternoon sun on the deck added that extra pop to my face freckles. A hot shower and coffee after all this excitement makes 5 big bullseyes this weekend.

Lucky dog that I am, I got to experience a whole bouquet of exactly what I wanted and/or needed this weekend. Damn aware that I'm damn lucky. :) :) :)

Mirror Lake

Our first winter in Oregon has FLOWN. I'm not sure where the time has gone. The snow, raging waterfalls, crisp air and clinging cloud fluff highlighted by peaks of morning sun that this winter has delivered can only be described with one word–epic.

But, I'd be lying if I said that the budding pussy willows, blue skies and t-shirt weather doesn't leave me longing for summer in all its glory. Thinking back to last June, when I first laid eyes on Oregon, I anxiously await the budding wildflowers, orchard blossoms and starry night skies.

A few weekends ago, we decided to get out for a nice, little snowshoe. I've been hitting up trails.com for the past 8 months, and it delivered once again. One of the top recommended snowshoe trails in Oregon is Mirror Lake–a 3-miler located right past Government Camp. We had a great time exploring the area surrounding the lake.


We climbed for an hour or so from the trailhead, sharing the trail with many people who were hiking their skis and snowboards into the backcountry. We stayed on the main trail for about the first mile and then veered off to play in some untracked snizow.


We climbed a bit and were rewarded with a nice view of Mount Hood.


We enjoyed some clam chowder near the top of Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain, while watching some skiiers and boarders rip it up on these backcountry slopes.


Tom admires the view of mirror lake with Government Camp, or "Govy", in the background. We slid down the hill to the lake and finished the loop. :) This will probably be one of our last snowshoeing adventures of this season!