The Birthday Trip

Mt Hood January 4, 2014

My friend Deb took me skiing thirty years ago on my 40th birthday. I hadn't skied since I was twenty-three, and it was a blast! A month or so ago she asked if I wanted to celebrate my 70th the same way and I loved the idea! Yes! So we made plans to leave early in the morning and have a full day of skiing before collapsing in front of the huge fireplace at Timberline Lodge. It was all going to be perfectly wonderful...skiing, relaxing, eating in the fancy dining room and spending the night in the lodge. 

But there was one problem...snow conditions couldn't have been worse. It hasn't snowed for weeks and the top of the mountain was partially bare and runs were icy....a recipe for disaster.

So we decided to hike The Eagle Creek Trail in The Columbia River Gorge. It's on the way to Mt. Hood and is one of the prettiest hikes I know. The air was about 35degrees and the trail was a bit muddy, but not bad.

After a few hours of hiking along the canyon wall,  we found a nice place for a picnic, Deb laid out the spread...she even had a celebratory blanket to sit on! Deb is like that...attention to
details!

What we didn't realize was that while we enjoyed our lunch, the temperature was dropping. In a wet canyon filled with waterfalls and mist, the difference between above freezing and below freezing can be a life or death situation.

As we "hiked" out, everything was glazed in ice...




...including the trail and the cable.

Here's Deb...clinging to the cable for dear life.

If I knew how to put videos on my blog (and I intend to learn soon) you would hear gales of laughter. We got ourselves into some hilarious positions! Spread eagle, bobsled, crouching crone...whatever worked to keep us on the ledge! We looked pretty funny and I love nothing more than a good laugh when someone is out of control! We both were! In fact there were a few brave hikers heading up as we headed down and they asked if we were OK. What are a couple of crones doing up here on a day like this! they must have wondered. But all's well that ends well and we had a great day despite the conditions.

And so begins the new decade... of  No Ordinary Days!