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!