Length: 5.9 miles
Elevation Gain: ~ -100 feet
Type: Out & BackSteps: ~12,000
Getting There
The parking lot only had about 10 cars. The lot is dry and clear of snow. A couple of visitors asked about the road being closed. LOL.. umm.. snow. I told them to try back in July.
The Hike
I opted for my winter boots and YakTrax, snow shoes were not needed. I forgot to swap out the feet on my hiking poles (I should have used the baskets). The trail was hard packed for the most part but the sun was making is slushy in spots.
It was a great workout and I keep moving except for a brief stop at the fishing pier. I was surprised I still have some reserve energy since I'd done the Hamilton Mountain hike the day before (6.5 miles).
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| Selfie |
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| Looking west at Mt Hood |
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| Looking east toward dam |
Backstory
I recall the first time I came here. I didn't know anything about the trail and was tromping around, crossing over (and probably damaging) the cross-country tracks. A couple people made comments then but I didn't understand what they were trying to tell me. Fucking oblivious newb :D. (there's a sign new the trailhead that states that walkers and snowshoers are to stay on outside (L) and cross-country skiers on the inside (R).
Then, there was the time I went out there in the afternoon and taking a circuitous route back to the truck. I'd only done the full loop once. There were some cross country skiers going the same direction but since I was in snow shoes I was soon alone on the west side of the lake, in the trees.
(Clockwise: The blue line is the route I took around the lake, the red line is the "escape route" back to the parking lot, the green lines is the segment that I missed).
Passed the A frames there's a right turn (green line) that I missed that takes you back to E Road 2656 and the parking lot. I ended up walking along a snow mobile road (E. Perry Vickers Rd), heading north towards Gov't Camp. (This was before iPhones but I got a Garmin GPS after this incident.) The skies were clear but it got dark fast when the sun went down. Fortunately the moon was out so I was able to follow the trail without a light. I had enough sense to bring extra clothing and some food but I was running on adrenaline, trying not to panic about being lost. I keep thinking the parking lot was around the next bend.
It could have been ten minutes or an hour but I finally heard some trucks going by on Hwy 26 somewhere above. so I just scrambled up the 45 degree hill until I reached the road. I walked along the shoulder back to the parking lot (about a mile). Mine was the last vehicle. I wonder how long before anyone would have noticed and come to look.
Looking at the map, I'm guessing I would have hit Hwy 26 in short order but still a reminder to trust maps not intuition and make assumptions. That's how we got lost at Coldwater Lake.
