Basecamp Trek to the Pittock Mansion: 2/8/14

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Sean Thomas
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Joined: February 25th, 2012, 11:33 pm

Basecamp Trek to the Pittock Mansion: 2/8/14

Post by Sean Thomas » February 9th, 2014, 8:11 am

First off, I'd like to say I absolutely love reading the snowlandia reports from around the city. Keep em coming PH :) With snow on the brain(and in the gutter :D ) Jojo and I set off early from basecamp(home) to satisfy an urge to see the mansion and the park covered in snow. The route we took from the house meant hiking about 2 1/2 - 3 miles to reach the Marquam Trail near Council Crest. From the crest we followed the Marquam Trail over to the start of the Wildwood and followed that up to the Pittock Mansion. But first!! There must be some obligatory snowy sledding pics that were taken the day before/ in the afternoon after the hike :D I forgot how to use one of these things, turns out it is gravity operated and requires a hill, or you just don't go anywhere :( :roll: :D


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On Friday morning Jojo and I headed over to Kelly Park in SW to bomb the massive snow hills up there. It was great to see all the youngens enjoying the snow:


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Jojo getting ready to test out that tubey on the slopes of K2, err i mean Kelly Park:


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Back at basecamp, the dogs were more than happy to romp around in the snow:


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Snow, fire, earthquakes, tsunamis it doesnt really matter. The ball is all that matters in life:


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Condor is a retired racing Greyhound and he could care less about the ball, although he was pretty bouncy in the snow after he stole Joie's earmuffs :lol:


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Alright, onto the hike :D On our way up to the Marquam Trail we passed by some local b-ball courts to do a little cross training:


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Check out the snow drift that built up against this stairwell:


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Once we reached the Marquam Trail it was like stepping into a Winter Wonderland all over again:


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This Doug Fir(right) looked really pretty next to a Western Red Cedar and its low lying branches:


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Conditions on hwy 26 looking east where the trail crosses the freeway:


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Getting closer:


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Booooooooooooooooo!


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We took a quick detour to visit an old legend of the PNW woods, Peggy:


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There are also pay stations up at the archery range now lol. Seems that lot is a little small but oh well? By far the most beautiful part of the trip was the section above the Japanese Garden. It was amazing!


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This sign was dead on yesterday :)


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After crossing burnside we slogged up to the Mansion to see what we could find:


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There were a few brave souls who had driven/hiked some of the road to get up there. The mansion was also closed due to the weather but the grounds were fun to see covered in snow. On our way back we cut off through the arboretum to shorten the trip home a little bit, taking us through more winter wonderlandish type scenery :D This was of course made even more amazing by the fact that there were tons of tree species from all over the world, docked with powder on every branch:


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On our way back up the Marquam Trail I got sick from eating too much snow(oops, im under a tree)


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I think im addicted:


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Closing in on the last mile of the fifteen or so that we covered and I was beginning to tarp out. Good thing the sled magically appeared out of nowhere to gravitate me home:


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Actually the school was taking on a very Tundra-ish feel with the snow blowing off the rooftop:


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Thanks for reading :) I hope everyone is safe somewhere and/or out enjoying the snow. Looks like it will be warming up soon.

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rainrunner
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Re: Basecamp Trek to the Pittock Mansion: 2/8/14

Post by rainrunner » February 9th, 2014, 6:09 pm

Another great shot of you throwing snow into the air! Way to go getting out and enjoying the snow.
The mountains are calling and I must go.
John Muir

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sprengers4jc
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Joined: October 22nd, 2013, 11:35 am
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Basecamp Trek to the Pittock Mansion: 2/8/14

Post by sprengers4jc » February 10th, 2014, 7:31 am

Looks like you all had a great time! I especially love the pictures of the trees and how peaceful they look covered in snow, and the bit about gravity being required to move the snow tube. So glad your braved the arctic blast and made it safely back to your 'base camp' :lol:
'We travel not to escape life but for life to not escape us.'
-Unknown

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Chase
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Re: Basecamp Trek to the Pittock Mansion: 2/8/14

Post by Chase » February 10th, 2014, 8:11 am

Peggy and Pittock in one trip...you did well!

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Sean Thomas
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Joined: February 25th, 2012, 11:33 pm

Re: Basecamp Trek to the Pittock Mansion: 2/8/14

Post by Sean Thomas » February 10th, 2014, 11:57 am

Yes, we barely made it back to base camp after that one! I thought about crawling up into a ball next to Peg and waiting for rescue in the harsh uninhabited lands of the Zoo lot. Or maybe Jojo was just relieved to not have to drag me around anymore ;)


Another yes to throwing snow in the air! If you cant make a snowball to toss at your girlfriend(who has already dumped snow down your back lol) then its just more fun to make a mess and let the wind decide where it goes. :D

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