As we prepared for our 2009 OHSU Sunriver trip, we thought about which activities we'd like to participate in once in snow country! Last year we went cross-country skiing around our classmate Britt's house, which was really fun! This year, however, it was reported that there would be little snow (if any) by Britt's house in La Pine. Keeping this in mind, we weighed our options. We could go snowboarding on Mt. Bachelor, go horseback riding, go cross-country skiing elsewhere, or we could try snowshoeing! We chose the latter! Intrigued by this new sport (new to us, that is), we did some preliminary research by looking on Craigslist and calling REI to check availability and what the going prices are. REI's shoes proved to be too expensive (even the shoes on sale!) and we felt too inexperienced to buy from someone on Craigslist. We decided to play things by ear and perhaps rent once we were in Sunriver.
We began our 4-hour drive to Sunriver soon after class. It was a clear and beautiful day. It hadn't snowed much since Arctic Blast 2008/Snowpocalypse a few weeks earlier. The only recent precipitation had been lots of rain! It was a pleasant drive, and we stopped at Black Butte Lodge to enjoy the view (gorgeous sunset!) and grab a quick dinner (delicious restaurants!).
View from Black Butte Lodge
We then drove on to Bend and then Sunriver. Around Bend, we stopped at WalMart (don't tell anyone!) since we had read online that they had affordable snowshoes. They didn't carry them in-store and recommended Big 5. We had trouble finding Big 5 but stuck to it, and we're glad we did! They had one pair of cute pastel purple women's snowshoes left, one pair of poles left, and one orange and black (almost Blazer colors!) pair of men's shoes. We were on the fence, but we decided to just go for it! True, the equipment wasn't dirt cheap, but we viewed it as an investment. Rentals around about $15-$20, so we figured they'd pay for themselves after a few trips to the snow. Also, we wouldn't need to buy lift tickets...we'd save hundreds of dollars! ;)
With new equipment in hand, we continued our drive to La Pine. As predicted, there was very little snow coverage...only a crusty layer of ice remained. The following day we went to Meissner's Snow Park and tried out our new gear! We chuckled, too, since we'd learned about Meissner's plexus and Meissner's corpuscle in class...I guess we're true nerds and were drawn to more things named after this Meissner!
We couldn't have asked for better conditions! It was blue sky and the perfect temperature. We appreciated the crisp air since we got hot snowshoeing--it's such a great workout whew! We had heard that one burns a lot of calories snowshoeing (even more than running) but couldn't really imagine this to be true. Well, just a few minutes in the snow turned us into believers! It was strangely satisfying romping through the slightly crusted-over snow...the way we'd break through the surface ice and sink a few inches in the untouched powder beneath (we off-roaded it!). Our poles proved invaluable (luckily, Britt had an extra pair to lend us!). They were a perfect addition and really quite helpful as we wove between trees and used them for support on uneven ground.
This park had some snowshoe trails that we followed. We also made some of our own. :)
We eventually made it to a quaint little warming hut. We met other members of our party, Greg, Britt, Angie, Sam, Trevor and Dom. They had been cross-country skiing and had been there awhile already, enjoying the warmth of the wood stove. After spending some time there we headed back to the parking lot.
Snowshoeing was so fun! We were so pumped about our new equipment and activity and promised ourselves we'd go as often as possible. Just as we felt when we bought bikes together, we were excited about learning about the culture of our new sport! We joked that we'd subscribe to Snowshoeing World or whatever the most popular magazine is for avid snowshoers.
We headed back to Britt's for a relaxing evening full of yummy food, board games, Rock Band, and plain ol' hanging out.
The following morning, we left Britt's and headed back to Portland. On our way back, we stopped at Lost Lake. It lived up to its name as it was quite difficult to find! The driveway was pretty much nonexistent and looked more like a turnout on the highway.
There were at least 2-3 feet of snow! We climbed up to the snow and put on our gear. We explored the grounds, admiring the misty beauty of the lake and the pristine powder surrounding and covering the pine trees. We noticed a beautiful, lacy green lichen hanging from the pine trees as well. Surrounded by white, the whole setting reminded us of Narnia, especially with all the mist.
Satisfied with our time at Lost Lake, we headed back to the car and headed home. What a great first couple of snowshoeing experiences! We can't wait for more! Till next time!
Three Sisters and Broken Top as seen on our drive home
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