Climbing Mount Hood/Fishing Deschutes River

We left for Government Camp, OR on Thursday after work, picking Doc up at the Portland airport along the way to climb Mt Hood.  We slept for a couple of hours and then got up at 1:30am to get ready for the climb.  We hit the parking lot around 2:30am and started the long slog up the mountain with only the light of our headlamps to lead the way (and Doc’s GPS).  The weather was less than cooperative and about 2/3 the way up the mountain we had to turn around because of 0* temps, 40+ mph winds, clouds and snow.  We walked back down and then threw on the skis after a bit and skied down to the parking lot in time for a cinnamon role by 7:30am.  The day was not a success in terms of summiting the mountain but we had a lot of fun in our attempt and its always fun to use all the gear that we’ve accumulated over the years.

The next day we headed out to fish the Deschutes River and spent the entire day on the river in a high desert canyon.  We each caught a few fish and it was hard to believe that we were only 1 day and 80 miles removed from the blizzard we experienced the day before.  The fishing was a lot of fun in a beautiful area, the climbing was a blast and Hood River, where we stayed, was a great little town that will be a must visit in the future.