Pineside Big Tree Loop

While I was off in Olympia being all democratic, Lloyd skied Teacup with the gang again on Saturday. I went to bed at a decent hour and was aching for some exercise on Sunday. It was still a little gray after the light snow, but the sun was trying to crack through. It didn't take much convincing for me to get into my layers and grab my gear.

We kidnapped Fred in Husum, drove up to Pineside Sno Park in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and did the Big Tree Loop. It was a glorious day, perfect couple of inches of snow on top of the old crust. There were a few other skiers with their dogs that we met along the trail. It was packed enough that the dogs didn't have to stop too often to lick the snowballs off their feet.

The sun was shining on the tops of the pines. This picture doesn't look near as good as it all looked in person. After weeks of gray skies, it was wonderful to see some sun.

About half way around the nearly 5 mile loop you get to the cutoff for the Big Tree. It's a huge Ponderosa Pine, the biggest in the state. It gets its own sign and everything telling how big it is. You cannot take one picture of it. Since I'm not terribly skilled in merging photos, here is a shot from the bottom, with Lloyd and Fred, and Brindle relaxing on top of Lloyd's skis. The photo under that is the top way up there. It is a big tree, for sure.

The run back from the Big Tree is great, a long easy downhill that was a little slow because of the fresh snow, so you actually had to work a little to get up any speed. Then at the end you have 0.7 miles of uphill to get to the parking lot. Gets the old heart pumping, and sets your mind for refreshment after the skiing.

We finished up the day at Hooba's for ribs and beans and beer. That hillbilly smoker is working overtime...Thanks to all the people who didn't show up for Saturday night ribs, because there were enough for all of us on Sunday!

As we headed home, the skies were clear, Mt. Hood was visible in all her splendor. Temps were dropping fast with the clear skies, and it was in the teens by the time I went to bed.

Monday morning was spectacular. Underwood Mt was all sunny and frosty look with very chilly temps. You can kind of see it through the trees. If it has to be bone chilling cold to have the sun, I'll take it!

There is way to deal with the cold. I went down to put in the spa chemicals, and couldn't resist a soak, which was very helpful after the skiing Sunday. Posting these today make the rainy day more tolerable. It's warm again. But it's a rainbow rainy day, with an almost constant pot of gold just down the hill from the house. I know you want to come over and relax...Come ON!