Mirror Lake - Hiking in the Snow

The Kids

Thursday was an Adventure Day. I try to take the kids on one adventure day every time they have a break from school and periodically throughout the summer.  These days become more precious to me the older the kids get, because I have to ask them days in advance to set the time aside on their calendar.  As it was, Grant missed swim practice and Alli missed basketball practice just so we could all go.

Mt. Hood got hit with 20 inches of fresh snow on Tuesday so we opted to head there for a day in the snow.  It was a great choice since Newberg was socked in with an all day fog and it was crystal clear up at the mountain with bright blue skies. It just so happened that some of our best friends were vacationing on Mt. Hood, so we picked up Dawn and Jaci to go hiking with us.  (Blake and Davis were snowboarding and John was thrilled to have the afternoon to himself).

I have never purposefully hiked in the snow before and wasn't really sure what gear we would need aside from the usual backpack full of snacks and water.  When we arrived at the trail, temps were in the high twenties and the snow was abundant.  We all put our snow pants and winter coats on over our hiking gear and chose to wear our snow boots instead of hiking shoes.  This was the right choice, but it definitely made it slower going to hike in snow boots and full snow gear.

On a summer day, the hike to Mirror Lake is an easy 1.4 miles on a well-graded trail to the lake from the trailhead.  Add maybe .25 miles to walk around the lake and you're back to your car in about 3 miles, give or take.  However, in the winter you can't park at the trailhead.  The closest parking was almost a mile up the highway at Ski Bowl.  The extra mile to and from the trailhead along the side of the busy highway through packed snow made a normally easy hike feel excessively long.  Alli forgot her backpack in the snow by the car, so she and I got a bonus 1/2 mile of hiking to retrieve her backpack before we even made it to the trailhead.  #goodtimes

The little bridge you cross to start the hike

With that said, this entire day was a blast. The forest was magical. All the trees were dressed in a blanket of snow.  The trail was easy to follow even though it was packed with thick snow.  We trudged our way up to toward the lake, soaking in the periodic views of Mt. Hood and the magic of the snow-covered forest.  We were all hot and sweaty in our snow gear, but we cooled off the second we stopped at the lake for lunch.  We definitely chose the right gear for the weather conditions.

majestic trees

Dawn with the kids

Alli

Katie 

Paige 

Grant

Grant, who is in the best shape of all of us, forgot his backpack with food and water in the car.  He was hungry and hot and hilariously whiny, laying down in the middle of the trail exclaiming, "I can't go on.  I'm not going to make it."  I fed and watered him, helped him to his feet, and he made it up the last few switchbacks to the lake.  Grant drug his $10 sled all the way up to the lake just so he could sled back down the trail to the car.  That was his favorite part.

The view of Mt. Hood from Mirror Lake was everything we hoped it would be.  We sat in the snow and ate our snacks, then took a video of the kids singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  Hikers on the other side of the lake heard them singing and joined in the song.  After they finished singing,  shouts of "Merry Christmas" rang back and forth across the lake between the two groups.  ("The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.") While Grant was sledding back to the car, we girls hiked and sang every Christmas carol about snow that we could think of.  It was really fun.

from the trail - that white patch is a cloud bank that had the valley socked in with fog.

by the time we got back to the car, it was twilight. 

This woman is a gem... one of my best friends. 

Grant being Grant.

The mountain and part of the frozen lake.

all photos copyright of Jodi Stilp Photography LLC.  Do not use without permission.

Dawn and me.  We had to BEG the kids to get up out of the snow and take this photo. 

On the trail 

copyright Jodi Stilp Photography LLC 

Alli eating lunch

Aren't they cute? 

frozen Mirror Lake 

The trail continues up the ridge to the top of this mountain on the Tom, Dick and Harry Trail.  

Selfie 

Our girls are BFF's which is pretty fun considering Dawn and I spend so much time together. 

We joined the rest of the Smith's at their hotel suite for a picnic dinner before heading home to tell Curt all about our day.  It was another memorable "Smilp Family" Adventure and we can't wait for the next one.

Merry Christmas and happy hiking.

#hiking #hikingadventures #hikinginthesnow #smilpfamilyadventures