Today, being full bluebird and all, Mount Shasta was easily in view to the south. One of the things I like about snowshoeing here is that the big views start very soon after you leave the trailhead. The ski area parking lot was already filling but mine was the only car at the Sno-Park when I arrived there moderately early. With today predicted (correctly) to be a full bluebird day above the stagnant air clogging the valley floor, I headed up to the Sno-Park to have another go at McDonald. Last December, we started out for McDonald Peak, which is west of the Grouse Gap and just north of the Siskiyou Crest, but stopped short once we saw the peak enveloped in clouds. Thanks to plentiful snowfall these last two years (the current base on Mount Ashland is over 120 inches!), we've been able to use it for several snowshoe trips involving Grouse Gap Shelter and the summit of Mount Ashland. The Mount Ashland Sno-Park, despite being at 6,600 feet, is usually readily accessible with little, if any, winter driving drama. I thought some sun-drenched snapshots from that trip might cheer up our more northerly OHers. Right now we're in the middle of a Pineapple Express, but at the end of January we had a one-day break that let me get in a snowshoe hike to McDonald Peak. While those of us down here in the southern provinces haven't escaped Winter's wrath, we have had a few amazingly clear days between storms during which we could leave our simple dwellings and wander around outside. After seeing Don's most recent TR about conditions at Eagle Creek, I continue to be amazed at how much snow and ice have hammered the Gorge and Northern Oregon.
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