January 16, 2022
For my annual bday snowshoe adventure Andy planned a weekend a trip to Bend, Oregon. I hadn't been there since researching at Mt. Bachelor in college! Aside from snowshoeing, we ended up visiting a few breweries and ran along the Deschutes River. Such a cute small city.
It was a long ass drive to spend two days there so next time we visit we'll be sure to stay a few days longer! All the past trip reports about snowshoeing at Mt. Tumalo indicated that parking was limited and filled up quick. Luckily, Andy and I can be early birds for situations like this, so we woke up at 4:30 AM and when we arrived at the trailhead just before 6 AM it was already full except for one last glorious spot which we took immediately. Since we were unfamiliar with the area, we waited in the car until dawn so there'd be some light to guide the way.
While the Dutchman Flat Sno-Park northwest of the parking lot was indeed very flat, we opted to snowshoe east up to Tumalo Mountain. With no clear snowshoe trail, we basically just went straight up. We saw a handful of other folks but since we were all making our own paths up it ended up being a quite, clear and brisk morning perfect for a sunrise snowshoe.
It was sunny, clear and generally flat at the top with great views of Mt. Bachelor right next door, Sisters and Mt. Hood. We had a quick snack, watched a snowmobiler appear and disappear from the snowy edge (snowmobile areas are clearly marked off for safety), and snapped a few pictures before heading back down.
