Hager Mtn
This weekend, it was a good one.
The memorable bits, in chronological order, +/- style, which I got from Pam who I believe got it from Riz:
+ Riding over to Bend with Megan, who has agreed to be my Wintergrass buddy in February.
+ The chocolate milkshakes at the Oasis in Juntura (pop. 143).
- The not-so crispy fries that accompanied the milkshakes.
+ Watching a corpulent, heavily-bundled-in-flannel local rumble up on his 4-wheeler for dinner.
+ The Green Line pizza at Mondo Pizza in Bend.
+ $1 brownies at Mondo Pizza.
+ Squeezing 5 people into a Motel 8 room in Bend.
+ Deschutes Brewery's Jubelale and Bourbon Porter.
- Lemon Ale (a little Pine-Sol-y).
- Having the motel attendant threaten to kick us out for noise complaints at 1:30 am.
- Waking up way too early after a late night.
- Riding bitch seat all the way from Bend to Silver Lake.
+ G. Love on the stereo.
+ silver lake store... the sign
- Repeated turn-arounds on an icy Forest Service road in search of the proper parking area.
+ Hiking shoes + foot warmers + wool socks + plastic bags = semi-winter-worthy footwear.
+ Breaking in the new snowshoes!
+ Snow on the pine boughs.
+ Cougar tracks in the snow.
+ A seriously good cardio workout up the mountain.
- Spending most of the 4-mile snowshoe totally out of breath.
+ Stopping for a sushi lunch at treeline.
+ Maki sushi eaten like a corn dog as one fat roll.
+ A great game of Fuck-Chuck-or-Marry to get us up the last steep mile above treeline.
(I mean, really, Chocolate-Salt-Lime - TOUGH ONE!)
- My snowshoe straps freezing solid.
+ An outhouse with a view of the Cascades.
+ A snug, cozy lookout cabin with 360 degree double-glazed windows, a propane stove, a compact woodstove, a well-stocked woodshed, a couple of comfortable places to sit, and a wraparound porch.
+ Being able to see all the way to California to the south and to the Three Sisters to the north.
+ Sunset.
+ Spaghetti.
- Cleaning the spaghetti pots.
+ Hot strong coffee.
+ Passing a bottle of Jager.
- Passing a bottle of Seagrams 7.
+ S'mores.
- Tim's card game-teaching abilities.
+ Down booties.
+ My new really sweet 4-season Thermarest.
- Getting said Thermarest back into its stuff sack.
+ A nearly full moon.
+ A porch railing on which to set the camera for night shots.
+ Night shots of Silver Lake by moonlight.
+ Standing on the west-facing side of the cabin and gazing out into a wild dark horizon with not a single light from civilization.
+ Propane lanterns mixed with moonlight.
+ Live coals for the woodstove in the morning.
+ Sunrise.
- Being unable to string the lobster boxers up the flag pole.
- Last night's dishes.
- Needing a shower.
+ Chillaxin' in the morning.
+ Leaving behind a tidy cabin.
+ Galloping down through the deep powder.
+ Stopping to take pictures constantly.
- Most of them just looking like trees and snow, not the sublime light that I could see in person.
+ Making it back to the cars.
+ Putting on my cowboy boots again.
+ Homemade turkey noodle soup and french fries at the Silver Lake Cafe and Bar.
+ Izze and Kettle Chips from Wild Oats in Bend for the ride home.
+ A beautiful sunset on the way home.
+ Lots of good conversation with Megan.
- Rolling in exhausted.
+ A hot shower.
+ ... And, of course, taking hundreds and hundreds of pictures and having a few of them turn out really great. Check 'em out at Flickr, y'all:
(Haven't added descriptions to any of them yet - so if you want to know the context to the photos, check back in a day or so on the flickr album...)