Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

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weathercrazy
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Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

Post by weathercrazy » January 30th, 2015, 9:16 pm

Inspired by Gene's trip report http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... 3&start=10

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I decided to head up for a (hopefully) once in a lifetime trip to the top of Lost Lake Butte in January. I took a look at the visible satellite:
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I could clearly see the low clouds were covering eastern Oregon, but there looked to be a clear slot around the Lake...

Well, I was wrong. The low clouds and fog hung around and there was nothing to see.

Well, nothing to see at the lake level!

Full gallery:

http://weathercrazy.smugmug.com/Landsca ... utte-13015

I was hoping by the slight glow above, that maybe I'd be able to hike above the inversion and low clouds. Temps were in the upper 20s when I started around 3,300'.

The trees were coated in rime ice, but nothing too thick.

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Further up, things were getting more and more coated, and also the light above was getting better :)

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Finally, around 3,800', things were looking good! The sun was breaking through, and I knew I had a few hundred feet of elevation gain to go.

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Things were inspiring on the way up! It was hard to stop and take pics knowing the views above were going to be good.

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And finally, as temps warmed into the 40s, and the rime ice was dropping off in droves, I stepped up to the summit and this awaited me

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Um...I ended up staying at the summit for almost an hour...

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The fog was sloshing back and forth, occasionally rolling over the summit. The view of Hood was absolutely amazing.

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To the north and east, Adams and a fog bow

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Hardly any snow, though there was some above the 3,700' level, but nothing that required spikes or snowshoes.

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Look closely here and you can see a halo, well, around my shadow anyway.

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More impressive rays on the way down

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One section of the trail, right at a switchback, was particularly pretty with the rime ice as the east winds blew through. Everything facing the east was coated with ice.

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Hemlock needles:

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A note on the road...it was fine, though the road was very wet, so if it does get well below freezing, there could be ice. There was a lot of downed and split trees from what seems like freezing rain.

There is also a ton of logging going up there wow!
Last edited by weathercrazy on January 31st, 2015, 8:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

pdxgene
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Re: Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

Post by pdxgene » January 30th, 2015, 9:24 pm

Nice! For some reason the sun rays really hit good there.
My car still has a nice coating of dried mud from driving thru the logging truck mess. Oh well, the rain will wash it off eventually.. :lol:

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wsevert
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Re: Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

Post by wsevert » January 30th, 2015, 9:45 pm

Absolutely incredible photography!

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weathercrazy
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Re: Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

Post by weathercrazy » January 31st, 2015, 8:46 am

Thanks! It was an awesome day to be out!
wsevert wrote:Absolutely incredible photography!

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Re: Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

Post by justpeachy » January 31st, 2015, 12:37 pm

Gorgeous photos! You really lucked out! It's always fun to be above an inversion. :D

The lack of snow in the mountains is pretty shocking. :shock:

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greglief
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Re: Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

Post by greglief » January 31st, 2015, 12:46 pm

Very cool! Thank you for sharing this with us.

Greg

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weathercrazy
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Re: Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

Post by weathercrazy » January 31st, 2015, 7:42 pm

Thanks everyone. I'm sure one of those pics will be in my calendar for next year :)
greglief wrote:Very cool! Thank you for sharing this with us.

Greg

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weathercrazy
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Re: Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

Post by weathercrazy » January 31st, 2015, 7:44 pm

Thanks!

Ya, it's scary just how snow-free it was. I mean, if things get really dry after being buried by snow until May or June, I can't imagine what it will be like if things completely melt out in March!

I did this trail on October 9th, 2012 and we still hadn't had any appreciable rain that fall. I remember remarking it was like hiking in a tinderbox. Everything was so dry.
justpeachy wrote:Gorgeous photos! You really lucked out! It's always fun to be above an inversion. :D

The lack of snow in the mountains is pretty shocking. :shock:

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weathercrazy
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Re: Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

Post by weathercrazy » February 2nd, 2015, 8:45 am

I should ask, does anyone regularly hike with a thermometer? I think it's interesting to see the change in temps as you go up or through river valleys etc. Especially during an inversion.

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retired jerry
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Re: Lost Lake Butte (1.30.15)

Post by retired jerry » February 2nd, 2015, 9:11 am

I have cheapo thermometer on outside of pack. One of those you can put on a zipper pull. I glance at it occasionally.

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