Snow! - Breitenbush Lk to near Jeff Park Ridge - 10/22/16

[neilsonw]

I really wanted to get one last high-elevation snowshoeless trip in since it seems like yesterday might have been the last shot til 2017. I only had guesstimates about where the snow would start (ideally not on the road) but it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day.

Left a little late, around 7:15, but that earned me a foggy sunrise somewhere near Scio:

Road 4220 is as bad as they say, and a pain to drive, but it's doable:

Turns out the snow started immediately before I hit the campground/trailhead.

Funky curved rock formations:

Ruddy Hill (?) and Olallie Butte peeking over

Pyramid Butte

I always look for pikas around scree slopes but have never found any and only heard them once or twice. UNTIL TODAY! SO CUTE!

Better view of Olallie:

Long story short, the snow depth turned into 1-2 feet and it made for some slow travel, uphill at least. I ended up hitting my turnaround time and having lunch just slightly off the PCT (I think--there was this white stuff covering it) with a grand view of Park Ridge, though it obscured Jeff itself. Just a reason to go back sometime I'm just gonna dump the photos:

Oh, and I stumbled upon these in the midst of the 1-2 other sets of footsteps on the way back...

Timed it perfectly again I guess, since I drove back to hit sunset somewhere near Scio again:

What a great trip, even for only 5.6 miles. Thanks for looking

[-Q-]

ahhhh, when the @$#&% did this happen?!?!
There was no snow when I left Portland for florida on 10/14. The previous weekend I hiked to about 7500 on hood...all dirt.
Q does not like snow

[Chip Down]

ahhhh, when the @$#&% did this happen?!?!
There was no snow when I left Portland for florida on 10/14. The previous weekend I hiked to about 7500 on hood...all dirt.
Q does not like snow

I'm a little surprised to see your post. I encountered snow on Hood maybe around 10/2, and from looking at forecasts and ski-area reports I gather it's been quite snowy up there. I guess there's been some melting, or it's higher than where you were, or it's been regional/spotty. Anyway, overall it's my perception that this has been one of the snowiest octobers I can recall. I had two must-do trips high on Hood this year, and I'm tremendously grateful I was able to bang them out on the last weekend of Sept and the first weekend of Oct.

But anyway, back to the OP, great pics, and congrats on spotting a pika.

[-Q-]

ahhhh, when the @$#&% did this happen?!?!
There was no snow when I left Portland for florida on 10/14. The previous weekend I hiked to about 7500 on hood...all dirt.
Q does not like snow

I'm a little surprised to see your post. I encountered snow on Hood maybe around 10/2, and from looking at forecasts and ski-area reports I gather it's been quite snowy up there. I guess there's been some melting, or it's higher than where you were, or it's been regional/spotty. Anyway, overall it's my perception that this has been one of the snowiest octobers I can recall. I had two must-do trips high on Hood this year, and I'm tremendously grateful I was able to bang them out on the last weekend of Sept and the first weekend of Oct.

But anyway, back to the OP, great pics, and congrats on spotting a pika.

On October 8 I hiked from hood river meadows to elk meadows, up gnarl ridge, up lamberson butte, then off trail up gnarl ridge to near that HUGE boulder. Thats gotta be near 7500 or so (no maps handy to check). Forgot that I did step on some snow, but it was only like a small 10 foot patch. Very minimal. Nothing like this report on Jeffy.

To the OP, thanks for posting pics of road 4220. I have avoided that one over the years. Good to see some additional pics of it.

[Chip Down]

...that HUGE boulder...

Some readers might find that too vague, but I know the one. Near the northern foot of Newton-Clark, within sight of Tie In Rock. I've been known to refer to it as "that big-ass boulder".

(apologies to the OP for the off-topic banter)

[justpeachy]

Nice! I love that third photo down, with the fog hanging out in the trees below.

[ssinfo503]

Great photos. I really love that area.

[neilsonw]

But anyway, back to the OP, great pics, and congrats on spotting a pika.

Nice! I love that third photo down, with the fog hanging out in the trees below.

Great photos. I really love that area.

Thanks all!

To the OP, thanks for posting pics of road 4220. I have avoided that one over the years. Good to see some additional pics of it.

No problem! It turned into a pair of small streams where the tire tracks are for a large part of it, and had several mini-ponds in the low parts The quality is just compounded with its length, and it turned into a 45 minute affair for 6-7 miles.

[romann]

Beautiful pictures! Things turn really nice with fresh snow, but it does make travel more difficult. I've been just south in Jeff Park that same day, and while it was snowy, it wasn't nearly as bad (or good, depending on how you see it) - about 6-8 inches, some bare ground, some deep drifts. You've been much higher of course and on shady side.

[neilsonw]

Beautiful pictures! Things turn really nice with fresh snow, but it does make travel more difficult. I've been just south in Jeff Park that same day, and while it was snowy, it wasn't nearly as bad (or good, depending on how you see it) - about 6-8 inches, some bare ground, some deep drifts. You've been much higher of course and on shady side.

Thanks! I was curious to know what it was like down there since I didn't make it past the ridge to see. And I only saw three other people all day, and two of them had guns. haha!