January 13 & 14, 2024
I'd say about 60% of the time it snows or there's inclement weather during my birthday weekend. This year was one of those years. Andy planned a weekend snowshoe and hiking trip at Government Camp near Mt. Hood and Tunnel Falls just east of Portland. We drove down to Portland Friday evening well aware the region was experiencing an Arctic chill, but didn't anticipate any moisture. As the night went on the weather forecast changed from 2-4" of snow to 8-12", then less snow due to freezing rain. Saturday morning news was not great. Freezing rain and ice pellets in Salem up to 1/4" was now heading north to Portland within the hour. So, sadly, we decided to skip the trip to Mt. Hood, canceled all plans as everything was closed, and headed back home for the rest of the weekend. It was a long drive to stay at a hotel for one night. If you're counting we're now 0/2 on planned hiking trips in the Portland area.
We made the most of the drive back home and visited Billy J. Frank Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in Olympia and hit up a couple breweries in Tacoma we've been meaning to try (E9 & 7 Seas).
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| Billy J. Frank Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge |
Bummed the next day but still wanting to take advantage of a dry, chilly, sunny Sunday, we decided to hike up to Rattlesnake Ledge. We arrived at the huge parking lot at 9:30 am to fewer than 10 cars. The trailhead starts at Rattlesnake Lake Recreation Area which is a large day use area with picnic tables, stoves, and other rec trails. No pass required. The lake itself appeared to be dry but also frozen.
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Dry/Frozen Rattlesnake Lake
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The 4.0 mile hike itself was quick, about an hour up and 45 minutes back down. Temps were in the teens so I bundled up at the start. It wasn't a bitter cold, though. There was very little wind and eventually had my insulating layers off within 25 minutes. I had flashbacks to covid days when my glasses would fog up from having my nose and face covered. It felt like I had to alternate between risks of foggy sunglasses and not being able to see the trail/tripping, snow blindness, and frostbite. Me? Exaggerate?
There were a few icy areas along the way which made me thankful to have yaktrax. I noticed a couple people coming down with just sneakers somehow.
