It was just above freezing but fortunately there was no wind to speak of, so it didn't feel very cold. Coopey Falls hadn’t iced-up at all but spray was building some ice sculptures on branches overhanging the creek.
It was an overcast day, but not a particularly cold one (if you were dressed for it).
I passed a couple descending the trail and there were 1-2 people ahead of me, but otherwise this was one of those rare days when Angels Rest was largely deserted.
The Angels Rest trail was covered with maybe 1-2” of crusty snow up to its junction with the Foxglove Way Trail. The winter wonderland started a short ways up the Foxglove trail.
As I ascended, the snow got progressively deeper, finally leveling off at 12-18”. I didn’t have to posthole since someone had cut trail the day before. It was a good test for my new waterproof, insulated hiking boots – which worked just fine. I was really enjoying hiking in the snow except that the slightest touch of a branch would unleash a torrent of snow on me.
I continued on past Devils Rest to the really good viewpoint off the 420C trail, where, despite the overcast, I had a decent view over to Hamilton Mountain and Hardy Ridge – with Beacon Rock almost lost in the clouds and smoke.
Back at Devils Rest, I found that the Halloween decorations were still in place.
To make a loop, I turned right on the Foxglove trail to reach the Angels Rest trail E of the campsite. When I passed it, this spider was very much alive and heading somewhere with determination. How it survives on snow at 32F is a mystery.
As I got back to Angles Rest, the sun made a very weak, very brief appearance – just enough to add some highlights to the snow,
and to illuminate Silver Star in the distance.
There are, I think, many things to be thankful for, and being able to go hiking in Oregon is one of them.
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