GlassMountains Trip Reports

Low Snow Skate Skiing, Oregon, January 2012

January 11, 2012 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

So far this winter the Oregon Cascades have received little snow and what snowpack exists is getting thin and icy. We have skied on backcountry trails out of the Swampy Lakes SnoPark once. But the snow conditions continue to deteriorate as we wait for new snow.

Linda and I were fortunate to have purchased Mount Bachelor Nordic season passes when they went on sale last fall. We have enjoyed skiing the groomed trails there many times already this season.

Over past years Linda and I have taken “skate skiing” lessons at Mount Bachelor. Lessons were essential for me to succeed at this activity. Even so I found skating to be exhausting and sometimes frustrating.

[Read more…]

Bicycle Tour Around Mount Hood, July 2011

July 16, 2011 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

In July 2011 Linda and I joined three bicycling friends on a self-supported bicycle tour around Mount Hood. It had been two years since Linda, Doug Parrow, and I last rode a self-supported “loaded bicycle tour” together.

These bicycle tours involve loading a touring bicycle with bicycling and camping gear and riding a route without auxiliary car support. That previous tour started in West Glacier, Montana. It led east over Going to the Sun Road, across Glacier National Park, north to Waterton Lakes National Park, and back.

The Mount Hood Loop – click for more detail

[Read more…]

Swampy Lakes Nordic Trails

July 15, 2011 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

My local favorite backcountry ski area this past winter and spring was along and between the Swampy Lakes Nordic ski trails. The Swampy Lakes Sno-Park/Trailhead is located at 5800 feet in elevation. It is just north of the Cascade Lakes Highway (Highway 46) about 16 miles west from Bend.

Living in Bend, I have a lot of options for local backcountry skiing. Several Sno-Parks are nearby with a network of Nordic ski trails leading out from each. At higher elevation Swampy Lakes typically offers better skiing conditions than those at the lower elevation Virginia Meissner trail system.

Yet Swampy Lakes is better protected in stormy weather than areas higher and nearer Mount Bachelor. During weekends and holidays the Mount Bachelor highway traffic can be very heavy. It is helpful to get out of highway traffic lower than higher towards the Bachelor Nordic Center.

[Read more…]

Strawberry Mountains Solitude, Oregon, September 2010

July 13, 2011 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

Linda and I camped four nights at the Parish Cabin Campground over the Labor Day Weekend in September 2010. The pleasant campground lies along Bear Creek south of the Strawberry Mountains. Over the next three days I climbed five peaks located in the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness to the north. During these climbs I experienced unexpected but quite pleasant Strawberry Mountains Solitude.

Indian Creek Butte and Pine Creek Mountain from 'Roads End' — Indian Creek Butte and Pine Creek Mountain from ‘Roads End’

The peaks I visited were Graham Mountain, [Riner Basin-Slide], Indian Creek Butte, Pine Creek Mountain (East Peak), and [Berry-Norton]. These peaks are among Jeff Howbert’s Oregon 100 Highest Peaks, a list which had caught my interest and ambition.

[Read more…]

« Previous Page