Dashing Through the Snow

We woke up on Sunday to more snow. It was clear and the air was ccccold! I made breakfast again- bagel thins and smoked salmon plus we split an apple. We packed up everything and checked out of the resort before heading back up to Mount Bachelor. We wanted to get one more snowshoe adventure in before we headed back to Portland and rain.

It was much colder on Sunday and the snow was coming down hard. It wasn’t quite white-out conditions as we drove up the mountain but visibility was limited. Quite different than the previous day!

This time we went to the Virginia Meissner Sno-Park. We did part of it last year and really enjoyed it.

The snow was coming down even more. We trekked along the groomed trail (much easier than Saturday’s backcountry trek!) amongst the snowy trees.

That spot was popular with cross-country skiers and I could see why. It’s always groomed and it’s wide enough for everyone to enjoy it.

I even saw some blind skiers! There were two groups of them and each blind skier had a guide with them. It was fascinating to watch. What a cool job. I would love to be a guide of some sort. (I remember seeing a 60 Minutes piece on a guide for blind people who want to run. I thought it was really cool.)

The trail was fairly flat and then went up a hill. Instead of doing the same trail as last year, we took a different fork in the road and went down a hill.

The trail forked again at the bottom and we took the uphill climb into the trees to the shelter.

The snow was fresh and soft, like fluffy powder. We sunk into it a bit. It was a really cool trail winding through the trees and the white wonderland.

The wind was picking up and the snow was wet. Not exactly comfortable. But I was still having fun. We stopped many times for Michael to rest. His hips were bothering him.

The trail uphill was steep and the snow was soft. We sunk down in a lot of places. You have to really be careful that what you’re walking on is stable and there isn’t something like a huge crevice or lake underneath you!!!

We arrived at the crest of the hill and saw the shelter amongst the snow drifts and trees. It was like there should have been cherubs singing as the shelter came into view!

It was packed!! There were so many people in the shelter that there was no room. There had to be at least 30 people taking refuge in there. We decided not to stay. 🙁 I was a little disappointed because I enjoyed it so much last year.

We headed back to the trail and took a different route back–The Mistletoe Trail back to the main trail. (Last year we took the Manzanita Trail.)

The wind and snow was pelting us pretty badly at this point. It wasn’t miserable but it wasn’t my favorite part. I did not have my face shield like Michael did. I sadly left mine at home. But I did have my goggles, which helped (and Michael had forgotten his goggles at home!).

Michael and I held hands (as much as we could with puffy snow gloves on) and walked side by side the rest of the way back.

Stats:
Time:  1 hour 40 min
Miles: just over 3

My heart rate monitor didn’t work so we used Michael’s. I typically burn about 60% of whatever he burns. I burned about 500 calories, he burned over 800.

Virginia Meissner is a great place to play. We both decided that next year we’d do that trail first since it’s a little easier and just plan on packing lunches and spending more time there.

The snow was really coming down in Bend. We grabbed sandwiches at Jimmy John’s in Bend and then headed back to Portland! The drive home was uneventful until we got to the top of Mount Hood. It was dark, snowing hard and the traffic came to a screeching halt.  We sat for some unknown reason for a good 25 minutes before the traffic started moving. It was so slow, driving 15 mph the entire way!

We had a fantastic vacation and we were able to enjoy ourselves without spending much money (which was our goal). The resort was perfect, the food we ate was good and we couldn’t have asked for better snow!

QUESTION: Where are you going on your next vacation?