I’d been snowshoeing one other time in my life and it was a fun afternoon with a group of chatty women;
Rare Earth Adventures guided tours
and the sun was shinning high in the sky reflecting off the snow making sunglasses a necessity not just a fashion statement. Snowshoeing was a workout but it wasn’t as demanding as a spin class or boot camp, it was fun fitness. This year I had read about moonlight snowshoeing and that sounded like a creative spin on this already very likable snow sport.
I rounded up 3 other warm bodies, umm I mean friends, scanned the calendar for the next full moon and scheduled our moonlight snowshoeing adventure with Rare Earth Adventures. The price included round trip transportation, snow park permits, guide, gear, snacks and beverages.
Our snowshoeing trek took us to Trillium Lake on Mt Hood. A great place to sled ride or snowshoe by day with the only light being shed at night coming from the moon and stars. The park is not wired for lights, except for the parking lot, so unless you’re very familiar with this terrain I wouldn’t suggest a night hike or sled riding for that matter!
We geared up in our snowshoes, grabbed our poles, hand warmers, head lamps and backpacks that carried water and any other little extras we thought we might need; and set off under the fleeting light of the full moon. The main trails are so packed down that snowshoes really aren’t necessary. As you descend down the main path into the interior of the park veer off the snow of the packed paths and put those snowshoes to good use. Snowshoes are to designed to disperse you’re weight evenly over a larger surface so when you step down into the cold soft snow your foot, and therefor you, don’t sink waste deep. One safety precaution we learned was to be watchful of the tree wells, where the snow has warmed up and receded or sunk around the base of trees, this snowy area is the least predictable as far as stability because of it’s tendency to warm and soften.
Moonlight snowshoeing with Rare Earth Adventures
We hiked for about an hour and yes you can move pretty quickly with snowshoes on, you can even run in them! The first 20 minutes were the coldest on our hands, even with hand warmers, but within 20 minutes of hiking they warmed up. Although we did question if they were truly warming up or getting ready to fall off! Luckily the blood started pumping and our digits were once again at a comfortable state of normalcy. About an hour in we came across some cabins in Summit Meadows. These cabin can be rented year round and you can snowshoe, cross country ski, sled, or simply relax and look at the snow fall from inside your cozy cabin in the woods.
Just beyond our path we noticed, in the dark distance,what appeared to be an igloo. So we did as any good explorer would have and trekked over to take a look. It was an igloo with a beautiful warm fire burning in the center and a solid packed snow bench circling the perimeter with walls that reached over our heads and an open roof to let the smoke out and the moonlight in. It was the perfect place to stop and uncork a few bottles of wine while getting to know our hiking companions a little better. We even had some cabin dwellers come join us for a breath of fresh air and oddly enough a song or two. I wasn’t sure if it was the wine, the cold temps or the igloo had transported us back in time to Woodstock, oh well – it is Portland and weird things do happen and I do so love that about this city.
After tapping out the wine and realizing whoever magnanimously built this igloo with it’s glorious warm fire burning brightly for us to inhabit for a brief while hadn’t left us any additional firewood – we decided now was a good time to trek back to the van and call it a night. To our surprise, but not to our guide, the trek back was 3/4 of the way up hill! My disclaimer here would be the wine will either help power you up the hill or numb you enough that you won’t notice when your digits so start to freeze.
Snowshoeing is a fantastic snow activity to enjoy with friends and to wonderful opportunity to connect with the snowy terrain especially if you’re not a skier of any sort. Moonlight snowshoeing was a beautiful, peaceful and highly enjoyable activity and I’d give it two numb-thumbs up!
Just remember if you’re not familiar with the terrain, be safe use a guide like Rare Earth Adventures or any other of the guides that responsibly tackle these adventures.
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