After seeing Chip Down's photos from Table Mt. and especially Splintercat's taken of the ice from the Hood River area I had to get in on the action and see what I could find. I hadn't hiked Greenleaf Peak in quite a while so off I went.
There is a lot of logging going on off the 2020 road and I met two loaded trucks coming down as I was going up. For one of them I was able to pull far enough to the side to let him pass but for the other I had to back up over a quarter mile! No problem really, I'm just glad he had good brakes on that very steep hill.
Arriving at five corner junction we took the leftmost fork and in a half mile we were at the power lines and as far as we could go in my 2WD car. The snow was about 2 or 3 inches deep so walking up the grade to the actual trail was no problem. From there, it was a beautiful wonderland of ice:
Starting up the grade to the TH. 25 degrees and hardly a breath of wind.
The start of the trail - not that we could see it!
Mt. Defiance:
Mt. Hood with Indian Mt. in the foreground: We were hoping to be able to see some Fata Morgana effects from the inversion but no luck.
Birkenfeld Mt:
Table Mt. was socked in so we got no views in that direction but the mountain came out in all it's glory by the time we were back on Hwy 14 and heading home:
I zoomed in to see if Chip Down was up there but couldn't spot him:
dn
A chrystal paradise on Greenleaf Peak 121217
- Don Nelsen
- Posts: 4382
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
- Location: Vancouver, WA
A chrystal paradise on Greenleaf Peak 121217
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly
"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller
"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller
Re: A chrystal paradise on Greenleaf Peak 121217
Yeah, there's a tremendous extraction of logs up there right now. Encountering two trucks wasn't just bad luck; day or night, there's a parade of loaded trucks coming downhill (possibly a slight exaggeration, but that's been my experience). Interesting that they continue logging after sunset with artificial lighting. Fun to watch from a distance, looks surreal.
Surprised you got your car up that far. Last time I played it safe and parked about a quarter or half mile before the 5-way junction.
Surprised you got your car up that far. Last time I played it safe and parked about a quarter or half mile before the 5-way junction.
- Don Nelsen
- Posts: 4382
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
- Location: Vancouver, WA
Re: A chrystal paradise on Greenleaf Peak 121217
The one good thing about the logging is that they have vastly improved the roads up there. Still, it was a bit iffy in a couple of spots on that last stretch past 5 corners and in a couple of spots I thought I'd made a bad move but I made it - had to continue - no way to turn around!. Won't do that again with my sedan. I'll take the 4wd when I go back if there is snow next time.Chip Down wrote:Surprised you got your car up that far. Last time I played it safe and parked about a quarter or half mile before the 5-way junction.
In the past, I've taken the sedan all the way to the TH for the north approach to Table and no problems but that was under optimum conditions. I've driven my SUV all the way to the lowermost section of the power line road west of that spot too but even with 4WD, that was a stretch. The cars I usually drive are 18 years old+ so no big deal if I scratch them up or destroy them (but I'd rather not do that just yet!).
dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly
"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller
"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller
Re: A chrystal paradise on Greenleaf Peak 121217
Hey Don remember when we drove your 4WD BMW up and over the North side of Table then down the Powerline rd and came back to a flat then. Then when we drove back up to the North side of Table we realized the spare also has a slow leak! Fun TimesDon Nelsen wrote:
In the past, I've taken the sedan all the way to the TH for the north approach to Table and no problems but that was under optimum conditions. I've driven my SUV all the way to the lowermost section of the power line road west of that spot too but even with 4WD, that was a stretch. The cars I usually drive are 18 years old+ so no big deal if I scratch them up or destroy them (but I'd rather not do that just yet!).
dn
- Don Nelsen
- Posts: 4382
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
- Location: Vancouver, WA
Re: A chrystal paradise on Greenleaf Peak 121217
How could I forget!! Those were the days. (It was a Mercedes ML430 though - not a BMW) Was that the time we went with Anna in Boots? It's been a while.Guy wrote:Hey Don remember when we drove your 4WD BMW up and over the North side of Table then down the Powerline rd and came back to a flat then. Then when we drove back up to the North side of Table we realized the spare also has a slow leak! Fun TimesDon Nelsen wrote:
In the past, I've taken the sedan all the way to the TH for the north approach to Table and no problems but that was under optimum conditions. I've driven my SUV all the way to the lowermost section of the power line road west of that spot too but even with 4WD, that was a stretch. The cars I usually drive are 18 years old+ so no big deal if I scratch them up or destroy them (but I'd rather not do that just yet!).
dn
How is your schedule looking? I'm heading out almost every day starting tomorrow.
dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly
"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller
"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller
Re: A chrystal paradise on Greenleaf Peak 121217
It was back in 2010 Jamie was with us. Bob Bolton also for the first part of the day when we went up Birkenfeld.
Things you find in the woods
Things you find in the woods
- Don Nelsen
- Posts: 4382
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
- Location: Vancouver, WA
Re: A chrystal paradise on Greenleaf Peak 121217
Ok, yes - here are the photos I took on that day:Guy wrote:It was back in 2010 Jamie was with us. Bob Bolton also for the first part of the day when we went up Birkenfeld.
Things you find in the woods
What a great day in the woods!!
http://www.fototime.com/users/donnelsen ... d%20053010
dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly
"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller
"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller