33. Snowshoeing at Trillium Lake, 2/27/11

Trillium Lake is a classic winter sight, and not something you would expect to find so close to a highway. The wide sweep of the frozen lake surface lends a natural sense of drama that you might think exists only in nature calendars. In fact, Trillium Lake and the view of Mount Hood beyond has been featured prominently on hundreds of picture-postcards, book covers, and, yes, calendars. Once you get there you’ll understand why. The broad expanse of the lake opens the skyline to reveal Oregon’s tallest volcano in all its majesty.

I discovered that snowshoes do not slow you down but have opened up the outdoors to new adventures in the winter months. We were not alone – many folks discovered that Oregon’s winter landscape is inviting and easy to travel through with a pair of snowshoes strapped to their boots.

Trillium Lake – according to many is one of the best beginner sites around. If you are a beginner, allow a full day for your hike into Trillium Lake. Bring a lunch, energy food, and lots of water – as aerobic as it is, you lose a lot of water – it is important to remain hydrated.

Snowshoeing is a lot of fun and very easy. They say, "if you can walk, you can snowshoe.” The walking gait of snowshoeing is slightly different than regular walking. You have to keep your feet further apart and lift your feet farther off the ground. This becomes automatic after a few minutes, but it does work some different muscles. I usually walk 3 miles a day broke up into 2 different walks; this 5 mile hike is quite the hike and about three-fourths of the way through I was D-O-N-E! The only thing that kept me going was the thought of the “Snow Cap” hot chocolate that was waiting for me at The Mood Hood Lodge.

Keri and I rented out snowshoes (Jan had her own) at a rental shop in Sandy for $13. The rentals included poles as well. When the gal in the rental shop said that we have to have the gear back by 7 p.m., I was thinking we would be back well before that…was I shocked when we pulled back into the shop at 6:55. They say the hike should take about 3-1/2 hours and it took us about 4 hours, but I feel that was pretty dang good considering I had never done this before. Being that this was my first trip, I probably should have started with something shorter though.

The last bit of the 5 miles is a hill that gives you quite a workout, and I realized by this point I could no longer really pick up my feet and was struggling to get up the hill. I was so tired afterward but it was SO worth every step of it. I really feel that we accomplished a wonderful feat, and the Snow Cap hot chocolate was heavenly.

In all, we had a really fun day. I want to come back and see the lake again without the layer of ice! Keri and Jan talked about returning another winter and doing cross country skiing. I am not sure about that but we never know, do we?