Marksman 830 Hits The Barlow Pioneer Trail In The Dead of Winter 2015

[oregon]

The final leg of the way West on the Oregon Trail was a boat ride down the mighty Columbia River or, plan B, more wagon travel down the Barlow Trail thru the forests. This show plan B from Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood to the Salmon River outside Portland, Oregon with the capable flipper Marksman 830 blazing the trail on a brilliant Winter's day:

The "Castle" near the summit of Mt Hood:


Palmer glacier, year round skiing, ran this with two young sons and nephew on a tarp (glissade training the infants) years ago one evening after ski patrol went home:


Mt Hood as seen from vintage Timberline Lodge:


A reasonable rental home near the pass on the mountain where we stayed a few chilly nights:


Timberline Lodge. Notice the metal tunnel that is needed when the snow is deep. The snow is not deep now:


Big anvil in the lodge. Much of the hardware inside the lodge was blacksmith made:


The cold baby cold Salmon River moving swiftly over brightly colored stones:


Tree with moss:


Moss on ground with my trusty Marksman 830:


The brilliant Marksman tempting a chilly fate:


My hero terrific and unshaved younger son hydrating at altitude outside the day lodge at timberline on Mt Hood:


Thank you for looking.

 

[DesertChris]

That looks mighty cold!! And awesome too!!

 

[David Martin]

Thanks for these photos, Oregon. A beautiful place. DM

 

[oregon]

That looks mighty cold!! And awesome too!!

During the afternoon air temperatures rose above the 40s and you feel warm in the sun when sheltered from the wind. Mt Hood is 11,250' the tallest mountain in Oregon. It is an active volcanoe. I live on the Pacific Ring of Fire! Mt St Helens is just North a bit. The 830 worked flawlessly in the cold. Flipped without fail. :thumbup:

Thanks for these photos, Oregon. A beautiful place. DM

My pleasure Desert Dave. I so enjoy seeing everyone's neck of the woods. Your high desert scenes set my soul free in a way that the forests here cannot. Do you enlarge and frame any of your terrific hunting photos? That one of you holding the coyote up off the ground by your extended arm is unsurpassed by anything else I've ever seen here. Well done. :thumbup:

 

[RickJ]

Great Pics Oregon!

 

[oregon]

Thank you for your kind words. It was good to walk in the footsteps/wagon tracks of the early settlers in this neck of the woods. The Barlow Trail was a toll road for two years, beginning January 1, 1846. $5 for each wagon and $0.10 for each head of horse, mule, ass or horned cattle. This last stretch of the Oregon Trail is said to have been the most harrowing.

 

[David Martin]

Thanks. And I've read that the last stretch of the Oregon Trail was bad. Especially after visiting the place with your son and having a few of those dark brews. DM

 

[oregon]

OK, all right, LOL Desert Dave.

There were camp robber birds on the patio that would take food off of a patron's plate when they went to take a photo or glad hand a friend. Clever birds and fast! However, they did not take any of the drinks so we were safe from avian robbers. Ha! If you look closely you can see one flying in the last picture to his right.

Jacob, my son, has brewed many different kinds of malt beverages and he is good at it. His specialty is Mead. In this neck of the woods micro brewing has become a sort of art form. I am not a connoiseur like he is but twist my arm when I am thirsty, not working and well, err, ah, you don't have to force me to lift a cap. He can hold forth on aspects of a brew as if lecturing a class and it is fun for me to listen and follow his judgement details like a reverse engineer dismantling a machine.

Here is a photo of one of the camp robber birds working the patio that day:



link to video, 44 seconds, Salmon River, Wild Wood Recreation Area, on the Barlow Trail: http://youtu.be/qSHsbQ-J4Q4

 

[RAZORBLADES]

Excellent photos Oregon!

 

[oregon]

Excellent photos Oregon!

Thank you for your kind words. I would love to see some photos from your neck of the woods and your point of view. Yes I would.

The summit on Hood has hot gas venting from what I describe as points on a crown. You can only see it from proximity and not thru telephoto. My only serious solo Winter attempt at the summit was on a New Year's day many years ago now. Above the Castle the surface was windswept solid ice, like the cubes you get out of your freezer. My style was fast and light up and down so I had instep four-point crampons over running shoes. I was stopped by heart pounding outrageous buckets of fear as I got near the summit and the crevasse that blocked my way. I carried no rope or ice screws/hardware (only an ice axe). I watched for a few moments as others made their way past the crevasse. Close but no cigar.

 

[338375]

Great pictures Steve. Hood is a beautiful mountain, and being able to see it from Portland on a clear day, is the only good thing about Portland lol

On the days I go to Portland in the truck, and don't go over Santiam, I enjoy seeing it on a clear day... Sadly, every year she claims at least one victim that decided to challenger her..

 

[oregon]

Great pictures Steve. Hood is a beautiful mountain, and being able to see it from Portland on a clear day, is the only good thing about Portland lol

On the days I go to Portland in the truck, and don't go over Santiam, I enjoy seeing it on a clear day... Sadly, every year she claims at least one victim that decided to challenger her..

The mountain from a distance makes my heart sing a happy song. Up close, nearing tree line, it makes my heart race and it sings me a song of lust for exertion. A pointy active volcano in our neighborhood. Bend is my favorite city in Oregon and it wins that position hands down. Climb the South Sister in the morning and sit for a good movie within a stones throw of the drinkable Deschutes River. Ahhhhh, that is the life. You are a lucky man.

The North face of Hood is littered with crevasse. I had an invitation to one on one crevasse rescue technique from local who had climbed the highest mountain on every continent. Unfortunately, he died before we got around to it. Not on Hood, however. I've always told myself that I would refuse any rescue that I could not muster myself. Fortunately, I've never needed any of that. Coming off Hood, the last one to do so as far as I know that day, during a speedy arrival of a white out (I could not even see my feet but I had three compasses) after at least a month of terrific clear weather I stepped off the edge of the half pipe and fell about 20 feet planting myself deeply at the slopped bottom. The worst treatment handed out by any mountain to my dumb self.

 

[Stumps]

Very nice photos and narration!! Thanks!!

It's hard to believe there are places anywhere that are cold after my last backpacking trip in all the heat and humidity south Florida could muster.
There were so many mosquitoes trying to get inside my tent a couple nights that I had to put earplugs in to drown out the buzzing noise.

 

[jstrange]

Excellent photos, they bring back memories. The first time I was ever in snow was on Mt. Hood at the Timberline Lodge. I am a Florida boy, but my wife is from Eugene. We went up there on a trip to visit family. I thought it was neat that it is the hotel used for exterior shots in The Shining movie (Overlook Hotel).

 

[oregon]

Very nice photos and narration!! Thanks!!

It's hard to believe there are places anywhere that are cold after my last backpacking trip in all the heat and humidity south Florida could muster.
There were so many mosquitoes trying to get inside my tent a couple nights that I had to put earplugs in to drown out the buzzing noise.

There were no bugs. None. I saw no animal life what-so-ever in the forest near the Barlow Trail/Salmon River interface. Nice.

A small off-shoot of the Salmon River had tell-tale chew sticks, bark had been removed and eaten, of beaver who may have been under the bank. The Salmon River had this chilly swimming hole with a sandy bank:

 

[oregon]

Excellent photos, they bring back memories. The first time I was ever in snow was on Mt. Hood at the Timberline Lodge. I am a Florida boy, but my wife is from Eugene. We went up there on a trip to visit family. I thought it was neat that it is the hotel used for exterior shots in The Shining movie (Overlook Hotel).

The mountain lodges all have stories, spooky ones, I betcha. I stayed at the Old Faithful lodge (Yellowstone) near the haunted rooms, near because the actual rooms were well booked and I could not get either of them. I would probably scare the daylights out of any ghost!

Here is a para-skier working it near Palmer Glacier. They could go up and down and sideways without pause. A skilled sailor:

 

[338375]

I do consider myself fortunate to be able to live here. I love it... Beautiful mountains just to the west of us, and if I drive about 30 minutes east, I can disappear out into the desert which is where I spend a lot of my time.
I have never actually climbed any mountains. I would absolutely love to do it, and be able to enjoy the view from the top.
I've done some crazy/stupid stuff in my 53 years, but to be quite honest, I don't think I would have a problem going up, but the thought of the trip back down the mountain makes me a little nervous

Here are a few pictures I have taken from the truck over the last couple weeks. My phone usually takes really decent pictures, but for some reason using the zoom, they got fuzzy...

This one is Hood taken as I was going across the Rez... The rest are of the other mountains in the Cascade range that surround us.

This is a picture looking out my office window, going across the Santiam Pass.

 

[edbeau]

Some really great pictures from both of you. No hills here and a long drive to a mountain.

 

[oregon]

I do consider myself fortunate to be able to live here. I love it... Beautiful mountains just to the west of us, and if I drive about 30 minutes east, I can disappear out into the desert which is where I spend a lot of my time.

Bravo! All the mountains you could ever want and all you have to do is spin in place with your phone. I can see myself living at altitude and the high desert is such a place. Thank you for the terrific photos. I can actually smell the Juniper trees and see their fluorescent green moss. Yes I can.

Hey you must be politically tough to have your office, unlike mine, inspected by everyone with a badge: bug inspector, weigh master, highway patrol, safety officer, and you name it. Your office has a better view than mine. :thumbup:

A sculpture along the Salmon River trail:

 

[oregon]

Some really great pictures from both of you. No hills here and a long drive to a mountain.

You are awfully nice. Thank you.

This makes me thirsty for a rootbeer float: