Dublin Lake Overnight 3/24-3/25

[Amnesia]

This is my first post to this site, so here's my intro. My name is Sam and I love the outdoors and moved to Portland a little over a year ago. I was lucky enough to meet a hiking buddy and my good friend Greg lives here and is also like-minded. I've been able to experience and see a ton and can't wait for the next trip. That being said this was my first snow camp!

Greg and I started out from Eagle Creek after cruising around trying to find parking. We were very happy to have seen little sign of all those people after getting up the Eagle Creek Staircase. We wandered up FR777 to the waterfalls and the Tanner trail. The weather was great and it made for an easy climb up until we started hitting the snow in earnest.

Just after mentioned that someone snowshoed up this(making our journey easier), we ran into Jack and gang coming down. It was great having some tracks to follow and it certainly helped to get to the lake a bit quicker. Jack I will send you a message also but if you read this I think I have something that may belong to you or one of your group from that day. Once we reached the sign for the lake trail we didn't quite trust which way it pointed to be direct so we headed straight down hill and came into the lake from the upper drainage.

We quickly stomped out a tent site and got working on some food and Vortex IPAs before calling it a night. I managed to wake up to a full bladder, but also to an almost full moon and a sky full of stars. I also saw a shooting star right before diving back into warm layers of down.

I woke early and trekked all around the lake looking for a better way back up to the Tanner trail. I took some great pictures in the meantime and got a good view of Woolly Horn Ridge from the lake's lower drainage. By then Greg was up and we made coffee and breakfast before breaking down camp and setting out. The trek down was fantastic, the air was warm, and all of the snow had dripped out of the canopy already making for a drier journey than our hike to Wauna Point last week. We went out to the Point again and then back to the car. All in all a great journey and successful first snow camp!

Anyways, enough talking here are some pictures!

[retired jerry]

Nice!

I think I'll wait a few weeks for more snow to melt

Love the snow because you can see wildlife prints. When do you suppose that cat walked by?

Floorless tent? That's how I'de do it but many people would think that weird. Or no tent if there was no precipitation.

[Amnesia]

Funny you ask about the cat. We saw the tracks on our way down and they followed the trail for at least a 1/4 mile or more in both directions. The tracks were also over top of ours and Jack's group's tracks from the day before. Must've been following the scent of at least 6 delicious hikers.

Yes, it's a floorless tent and we used a Tyvek groundsheet and were pretty comfortable most of the night. I'm not used to being able to use a setup like that being from Virginia. The mosquitoes would render you bloodless and tired by morning!

[retired jerry]

I've seen that before myself and heard other people saying the same - cats are out there, stalking us, but we never see them and only know about them when there's snow to see their tracks.

Any cat that would bother us would be quickly removed from the gene pool so only the cautious ones are left.

Isn't it great here - hardly ever any mosquitoes

[Jeff_Portland]

On my hike up Ruckel Ridge on Sunday, I didn't have a thought about a big cat, but on the way down, I did get an eery feeling while walking by some cliffs. Luckily there is a lot to eat that is less difficult than human. Plus, I'm sure I stank something awful after sweating my ass off going up that hill.

[Amnesia]

Ruckel Ridge, now there's a hike! Hoping to get up there again very soon. Looked like a nice day you picked for it too!

I've always wondered as we're plodding up a steep grade, huffing and puffing, sweating, tired. Could a hiker in this situation be mistaken for injured prey? Food for thought on everyone's next solo hike!

[raven]

I doubt that the word "stalking" is appropriate to explain much cat behavior toward hikers. Curious, more likely. A cat doesn't get many chances to observe people and a wise cat is a stealthy cat.

One dark night in the Central Oregon Cascades a pair of eyes just off the trail and above me, reflecting my almost dead headlight that was barely illuminating the ground, turned out to be a curious elk. I assure you, the elk was neither waiting to pounce nor stalking me.

Tracks along a trail? The cat was traveling in that direction and the trail is less work than other paths. A round trip along a trail? The cat was returning along the easiest path after traveling in the other direction. You walking the trail is a reason for any wild animal to not walk the trail.

Stalking? Cougar normally ambush.

A sweaty tired hiker going up a steep ridge alone a potential main course? I've bet my life many times both day and night that I'm not on the menu.

Let's give the critters the same respect we would want to get from them. It is not a one-way zoo in which humans with cameras are the only observers.

[retired jerry]

I guess I was being a little dramatic with the word "stalking":)

[Amnesia]

I didn't mean to suggest that a big cat would actually want to eat my smelly butt, just lighthearted joking.

I love seeing the sites and sounds of animals in the wild and hold a very healthy respect for them and their territory.

[Get Out Backpacking]

Hey Guys,

I've had that feeling of being watched before. Once, on the Whitewater road hiking in the snow up to the TH to Jefferson park one winter. I also felt it in the Wallowas Mountains hanging out by Blue Lake with my Brother one September, it can feel sketchy for sure!