nightfoam
Adventurer
I was beginning to get annoyed with all the snow storms passing up the Portland area SO, Keegan (my brother) and I decided to take off for the week between Christmas and New Years.
Monday we headed out from Portland, stopping at Best Buy in Springfield for a memory card for my new GPS before heading over Willamette Pass. The highway was snow-covered for at least
50 miles but it was nice, dry snow and 4x4 was essentially unneeded.
We continued down to Klamath Falls for the night. I woke up around 3am to see fresh snow outside.
BTW, don't stay at the Econolodge in Klamath Falls. It is really cheap for a reason. Worst night of sleep I've had in a long time.
Tuesday morning, after breakfast in K-falls, we headed east on hwy 140, going over the passes of Bly Summit, Quartz Mountain, Warner Mountain and Blizzard Gap as we headed SE into Nevada.
We then headed north to Fields, where we checked into our room and grabbed a late lunch and took a bit to catch up with Sandy and Tom. We headed north to visit Alvord Hot Springs in the snow. Headed north, as the road was muddy and slowly becoming covered in slush, I lost control in the slick conditions and ended up in the ditch on the right side of the road. Fortunately, I was able to find a stable spot in the ditch where I could drive out just a few hundred feet down the road.
The hot springs were kinda miserable. Only the pool that is out in the open and exposed was warm enough to sit in so we both had a decent accumulation on snow in our wet hair. It was really cool seeing the Alvord covered in snow. I had no clue what conditions were like under the snow so we stayed on the road.
We headed back to Fields and settle in for the night. I'm told it was quite windy but I didn't hear anything all night. We awoke to a few scattered snow flurries and a bit of sun light! At breakfast we discovered that it had snowed all around us including over a foot of new snow in Burns. Based on road conditions the previous night, I decided I didn't want to go with our original plan, taking the White Horse Ranch Road east to Hwy 95 then up through JV to Vale. However, at breakfast we were told the road (205) across the mountain to the Catlow Valley was drifted over and that we would have to wait for the plow to come through.
Fortunately as we finished up breakfast, the plow came into Fields. The driver told us the road was now passable but there were patches of ice over the top and plenty of snow further North. We thanked him, paid and headed out. There were spots where the road was indeed slick but with a little four-wheel-drive wasn't a problem. We stopped south of Frenchglen to stretch our legs and throw a few snowballs.
As we dropped down into Frenchglen, the snow virtually disappeared. Luckily for us, as we continued to Burns, the snow came back and so much more!
Crossing Malheur Lake.
Bales of hay covered in snow.
Removing some of the lots of new snow in Burns.
The snow was too much for some places.
After picking up a new snow hat (I'd lost my old one) we headed north on 395 for John day. We passed through some places of pretty inclement weather including snow falling so heavy visibility was down to less than a quarter mile.
After grabbing lunch in John Day, we headed NE, first on hwy 26 then hwy 7 through,,, well not really through anywhere. We did pull off in an old ghost town.
We headed over some more snow-covered passes and passed by Sumpter on our way to Baker City.
We spent the night in Bakery City then headed East to my girlfriend's parents farm, just across the Snake River from Weiser, ID. We were there through the weekend before heading home on Sunday.
It was kinda nice getting back to the snow free Portland area but I'm already ready to get back out and play in the white again.
Monday we headed out from Portland, stopping at Best Buy in Springfield for a memory card for my new GPS before heading over Willamette Pass. The highway was snow-covered for at least
50 miles but it was nice, dry snow and 4x4 was essentially unneeded.
We continued down to Klamath Falls for the night. I woke up around 3am to see fresh snow outside.
BTW, don't stay at the Econolodge in Klamath Falls. It is really cheap for a reason. Worst night of sleep I've had in a long time.
Tuesday morning, after breakfast in K-falls, we headed east on hwy 140, going over the passes of Bly Summit, Quartz Mountain, Warner Mountain and Blizzard Gap as we headed SE into Nevada.
We then headed north to Fields, where we checked into our room and grabbed a late lunch and took a bit to catch up with Sandy and Tom. We headed north to visit Alvord Hot Springs in the snow. Headed north, as the road was muddy and slowly becoming covered in slush, I lost control in the slick conditions and ended up in the ditch on the right side of the road. Fortunately, I was able to find a stable spot in the ditch where I could drive out just a few hundred feet down the road.
The hot springs were kinda miserable. Only the pool that is out in the open and exposed was warm enough to sit in so we both had a decent accumulation on snow in our wet hair. It was really cool seeing the Alvord covered in snow. I had no clue what conditions were like under the snow so we stayed on the road.
We headed back to Fields and settle in for the night. I'm told it was quite windy but I didn't hear anything all night. We awoke to a few scattered snow flurries and a bit of sun light! At breakfast we discovered that it had snowed all around us including over a foot of new snow in Burns. Based on road conditions the previous night, I decided I didn't want to go with our original plan, taking the White Horse Ranch Road east to Hwy 95 then up through JV to Vale. However, at breakfast we were told the road (205) across the mountain to the Catlow Valley was drifted over and that we would have to wait for the plow to come through.
Fortunately as we finished up breakfast, the plow came into Fields. The driver told us the road was now passable but there were patches of ice over the top and plenty of snow further North. We thanked him, paid and headed out. There were spots where the road was indeed slick but with a little four-wheel-drive wasn't a problem. We stopped south of Frenchglen to stretch our legs and throw a few snowballs.
As we dropped down into Frenchglen, the snow virtually disappeared. Luckily for us, as we continued to Burns, the snow came back and so much more!
Crossing Malheur Lake.
Bales of hay covered in snow.
Removing some of the lots of new snow in Burns.
The snow was too much for some places.
After picking up a new snow hat (I'd lost my old one) we headed north on 395 for John day. We passed through some places of pretty inclement weather including snow falling so heavy visibility was down to less than a quarter mile.
After grabbing lunch in John Day, we headed NE, first on hwy 26 then hwy 7 through,,, well not really through anywhere. We did pull off in an old ghost town.
We headed over some more snow-covered passes and passed by Sumpter on our way to Baker City.
We spent the night in Bakery City then headed East to my girlfriend's parents farm, just across the Snake River from Weiser, ID. We were there through the weekend before heading home on Sunday.
It was kinda nice getting back to the snow free Portland area but I'm already ready to get back out and play in the white again.
