Summer FINALLY starts....

Government Camp is now the hopping little ski town it returns to be every Summer. From skiers, to snowboarders, vacationers to locals, we have it all in town right now! We also have the SUNSHINE and WARM WEATHER to go with it all, it is definitely time now to GET OUT and enjoy the season and all that there is to do OUTSIDE. Those hot city days are coming soon, and there is no better way to escape the heat, than coming to Mt Hood to paddle on a local lake, or take a bike ride on Crosstown trail, where the trees provide a nice built-in air conditioner. We rent inflatable canoes, hard shell kayaks and mountain bikes by the hour, half day and 24 hour rentals. We also deliver the boats to local Mountain lakes, so really, now you have no excuse. Come visit us! We are ready to point you in the right direction and enjoy providing up to date trail, campground and sightseeing information. Let us help you with your stay on Mt Hood. One stop in our shop and your trip will be planned, so what are you waiting for? Summer is happening NOW!

Mt. Hood Adventure hike to Trillium Lake

What a gorgeous day for our hike around Multorpor Mountain to Trillium Lake and back through Summit Meadow. I had the honor to try and keep up with these two lovely ladies, but ended up eating some of their dust! It was fun for them to let me know that we traveled 26,059 steps along the way, and burnt 1,395 calories. These walkers can walk and we had a fantastic journey. I hope to see them again in the future. The flowers are starting at the 3700' elevation in Government Camp and the sunny patches that come through our beautiful canopy. We traveled just over 7 miles with memories to look at all along the way. Come in and see us so we can get out there together, or we can help point you out to a few secret spots!

Mt Hood Adventure goes to Bald Mountain!

With some of my walking lately, I figured that I would be able to walk to Bald Mountain on Top Spur trail #785 with just patchy snow. I was wrong. Still quite a bit of snow, but with GPS and some awareness you can get to the southern portion of trail which is dry and leads you to the early wild flowers of the season.
Before you get there you will find that it is going to be a fantastic Beargrass year. Depending on which book you read you will find that Beargrass blooms every other year to 7 years apart, so seeing a flower load of this beautiful plant is well worth getting outside! The leaves of this plant are super strong and used for making baskets, clothing, hats, and I am sure a lot of other useful tools. The flower itself is like smelling your own feet, a little stinky but you can stand it!
I thought I would be able to drive all the way to the trailhead without hitting snow, but once again I was wrong. I am fortunate enough that my hiking boots are able to handle unplanned obstacles and walk a long way. With no shovel and solid snow, I parked and walked close to a half mile to the trailhead. Hoping that it would be patchy snow, bare trail, patchy snow, then the views I was after. Not a lot of parking at the snow at the snow line on the road, so if the one parking spot is already taken, your road walk to the trailhead may be longer. I would say two weeks from now will be primetime flower time and the road will be for sure melted out. Most likely still some snow on the trail in two weeks, but patchy.
Still up to 3 and a half feet in places. Maybe saw bare trail three times before we got far enough south that it was completely melted out. Ther are blazes (and my footprints) on the trees for the short Top Spur portion, but once you reach Timberline Trail #600, you are on your own. The best thing about getting out early is that the buttes are already in bloom and if you wait until the trail is completely melted out, so are the flowers! By all means, 10 essentials, being prepared and aware, and experienced if you are going to head out into the wilderness when the trail is not completely visible, or anytime for that matter. Be sure and be safe!
Larkspur, Paintbrush, Trillium, Wild Strawberry, and much more is out and about. Get on out there before the bees do. It is nice now, but one week it will be breathtaking.
This is one of my favorite views of the Mountain, and looking across to Yocum Ridge, my absolute favorite place on the Mountain! Maybe I will see you up there, but hopefully not! You can see the trail ends up bare by the time you make it out to the south so pack up your lunch and get the out of the city!!

Mt Hood Adventure on Zigzag Mountain trail

I needed to get out of the office and outside yesterday. Things are a little off and there is no better way to calm down and think than to walk around in the forest for a while. The plan was to leave, right now, and walk from my cabin over to Zigzag Mountain trail #775. 5:30pm I left. Depending on snow, my usual loop on this trail would take me to West Zigzag Mountain trail #789, then junction with that trailhead on road 27, and then the 5.1 mile walk down the road to the junction with Pioneer Bridle trail #795 along Highway 26, then back on down the road to where I sleep. Right around 16 miles and I knew I would be spending half of the time enjoying the darkness.
I must have been taking a break and lying down for this photo, lie down to look at what I saw!
As expected there was still snow, but you can bounce from patch to patch without losing the trail. There were a couple of longer strectches but as long as you are aware of your surroundings, you won't have to leave bread crumbs. This is all said if it is in the daytime. Night fell on me while I was still in the snow patches and I was not sure how much I would find ahead. No GPS with me this time as I walk this route a couple times a year but I always carry map and compass along with the rest of my 10 essentials.
Flowers were out and it is definately time to be logging your mileage. If you wait to long, you will miss out on those first flowers. I missed out on the few Avalanche Lilies that I passed, but did see Star Flower, Common Indian Paintbrush, the Rhodies are blooming, and I think it is looking like a pretty good Beargrass year. Probably half of the Beargrass had stalks shooting up. There were Yellow Violets, Trillium, Fairly Slipper, and much more. Go outside.
I had a fast paced walk after dark was falling and wanted to make sure I was able to pass most of the snowy section before I got in to deep. It worked out good as I made it to West Zigzag trailhead up road 27 at 9:00pm, took a little break and was road walking for the next 5 miles. A gorgeous walk at night or during the day on road 27. Always deer, as there were last night. It was just their eyes reflecting in my headlamp, but they were there. It was a successful walk around and I was able to think a little clearer the more elevation I gained and the darker it got. The moon walked with me the rest of the way home and I walked into my cabin at 12:30pm for a midnight snack and a dream!

MT HOOD ADVENTURE IS READY FOR SPRING!

The songs of the Varied Thrush now replace my winter alarm clock. It is much easier to wake up with the sun and a lot harder to catch and push the snooze button on the top of one those birds heads. The smell of Skunk Cabbage is in the air, Trilliums white flower polkadots the forest floor, and the sun is calling everything else out! Coltsfoot, Indian Plum, Salmonberry, and Yellow Violet are also offering color at lower elevations. False Solomons Seal and May Lilies are popping up and about ready to bust out. It is time for you to start busting out on the trails and logging your lower elevation miles right now. There is nothing like walking with the first flowers and then finding yourself still walking with the last berries. Oh yeah, it is odd that I find myself still walking with the first snow and even with it up to my eyeballs! Follow those flowers up to the higher elevations for some of the most spectacular views that you can see anywhere in the world. Go outside! Get out! Enjoy!

MT HOOD ADVENTURE VALENTINES!!!

There is nothing more romantic then sharing a triple chocolate cupcake with the one you love! I was worried that there was going to be chocolate all over everybody, but it was a very successful indulgence. The wine went down nicely, in fact these super nice people were able to finish every last drop! We started a fire that hopefully continued well into the night! It was an absolute pleasure to spend the evening with the Tuebner's and the Sanow's.

MT HOOD ADVENTURE FINDS WILD ANIMALS IN THE FOREST!

I was out for a snowshoe, enjoying the peacefulness of the forest, when six wild animals came out of nowhere! I was scared at first, shaking in my shoes from the sight of these small mammals, but then saw that they had their parents with them and I knew everything was going to be ok. I offered up some hot chocolate and found that these super nice people had traveled here from South Dakota and Florida. The Kenney's and the Spector's had traveled a long way to enjoy the sights and sounds of the most beautiful Mt. Hood National Forest. I tried to get them to stay the night in tree wells and never go home but they did not want to stay with me. Maybe next time. All of my best wishes to my 10 new friends.

A CRAZY WINTER AT MT HOOD ADVENTURE!

It has been a crazy winter so far this year. No snow, lots of snow, snow in Portland, rain, and two weeks of beautiful sunshine! With that sunshine we also had inversion and low lying clouds to the south and southeast. We have been able to ride our snowmobiles above the cloud layer and witness some crazy views. Mt. Jefferson, Three Sisters, and other peaks way out to the south. Our guests, and myself, have pretty much fallen over backwords with what nature has had to offer. We are receiving a little more snow which will make the trails a little nicer, and then expecting more sunshine. This week would be a great time to get out there with us!

There has not been anything dripping from the clouds, but the trees have been sucking the moisture out of the these low lying pillows and fog. There was up to 6 inches of flock layering at least one side, if not the whole tree completely! Every day there is something new to see.

It is a winter wonder land even though there has not been any snow. LET'S GO!!!

What a day!

It is a fabulous day here in Government Camp. The skies are blue, the slopes are groomed and it's LADIES NIGHT at Skibowl!! Ladies ski or ride for only $14 from 3-10 pm!! Don't forget to check out the giveaways inside the Starlight Lodge sponsored by Atomic and Betty Rides. The forecast is calling for more sun and the roads are clear getting up here. Take a day off of work, call in sick, just come up and soak up the January sunshine with the rest of us. There's no better weather to go on a snowmobile tour than sunny, opening still available for this upcoming Holiday weekend. Don't stay at home, GET OUT and come play with us!!

Forcast calls for FUN in the Sun in January!!

The sun is poking through the clouds here in Government Camp this morning. The rain is on it's way out and we are so happy to see it go!! Of course, we would all prefer some fresh snow, but come on, admit it, it it's not gonna snow, wouldn't you rather have some sunshine shining? The sun makes all snow activities more inviting, but don't forget your sunglasses!!

Snowshoeing and cross country skiing has kicked off to a great start so far, lots of new people interested in trying each sport. We enjoy helping people get into winter activities, that maybe were never into it before. Are you the parent that drops their kids off at the Mountain to just go sit at a lodge all day, waiting for them to come back in, hours later, and say they are finally tired and ready to go home? Why not try cross country skiing or snowshoeing? There are plenty of trails in the area, for all learning abilities, and we would be happy to help you find the one that is right for you. Looking for a groomed trail to try cross country skiing? A trail you can take your best furry friend snowshoeing on? Give us a call, or better yet, stop by! We have maps to look at and plenty of free information, including a complimentary map of Government Camp and the trails in the area. If you are one that doesn't like to go at it alone or just want to be extra safe and go with a guide, we can set up on a guided tour, with a little advance notice. We offer two or four hours, snowshoe to bonfire, or get Chopper out on his cross country skis, for goodness sake. If you are coming to the Mountain and have any questions, get bored while your here, or just need a place to stop and get warm, we're your place to come! The fire is on and the coffee and hot cocoa is just down the hall at the High Mountain Cafe. We'll see you up here.....

MT. HOOD ADVENTURE BRINGS YOU BLUE SKIES!

You could be right here! This is me atop Frog Lake butte with majestic Mt. Hood in the background. Blue skies are here for the next week and offering us the perfect opportunity to get outside and explore. Whether you are on snowmobile, snowshoe, or cross country ski's, we can help get you out there! Go by yourself or take us along with you. From the otters and the lakes, to the look out tower and higher elevations, we can point you in the right direction. If you are staying in town, play on the tube hill, take a sleigh ride, or listen to great music at the Ratskellar. See you outside, Chopper