Canyon Creek Winter Backpacking

I zipped my sleeping bag up as I wiggled inside. I pulled one arm free and glanced at my watch. 6:30. Huh. Well....I guess it's bedtime? Earlier in the day, one of my final errands before leaving town was a stop at the library. I picked up a book they had on hold for me thru the weekend. Since it was far too early for bedtime but too cold (20 degrees) to remain stationary outside of the sleeping bag, I pulled out my library book. Every twenty minutes or so, the hand holding the book became too cold and I had to switch, pulling the popsicle fingers back under the covers to warm up. Then I read over two hundred pages before ten o'clock when it was finally deemed late enough to go to sleep.

If you don't already have one, these Luci solar lanterns are the best.

Sunlight was slow to reach the canyon. In fact, Matt and I were up well before any hint of daylight reached the forest floor. Fog rose from the valley and before long, we climbed into full sunshine. Ice chunks melted from the trees, sending large clumps onto our heads and packs. Matt and I were both thankful to have hats on to cushion the blow.

Mountain panorama

We have traversed this trail in through all four seasons. Summertime is best to run it all in one day. Spring means very wet feet, and fall brings some incredible pops of color. However, our trips in the wintertime have been the most beautiful and memorable.

Winter Wonderland!

Every time we visit, we take a photo at this spot. It has been fun watching that tree grow.

Best kind of frost

Once we hit the magical elevation that changed the landscape from a lush and mossy green to winter wonderland, my heart swelled. I really do love this trail best in the winter. Mountains are incredible under a blanket of snow.

Cute mountain man

Looking up the canyon

With winter off to a slow start, much of the trail was covered in a dusting of snow, enough to make things pretty but didn't require trudging through anything deep enough to slow us down. We did hit some icy patches where runoff had frozen overnight but even those were manageable.

Awww yeah. This is why I sleep outside in the cold.

Seven miles in, we reached my favorite camping spot. It was about two o'clock and we debated continuing on. I was already hooked on my new book, so we agreed to set up camp and find a sunny spot to read.

Scouting for a camp spot

To avoid melting the snow under our tent, we like to line the bottom like this. I didn't realize how long I've been saving those marathon foil blankets until I unwrapped this one to find it's from my first marathon, back in 2009!

Home sweet home, complete with down booties

Ugly spot. For. sure.

We found a few large granite boulders free of snow and sat down. Despite the temperature hovering around freezing, it felt downright balmy in our reading spot.

Sunshine, mountains, a book, and snacks, what more does a girl need?

Not what one thinks of when picturing winter camping, but I'll take it!

Then the sun shifted behind the mountain and the air suddenly felt twenty degrees cooler. We retreated to our sleeping bags. Thus began the same game as last night: One arm out, one arm warming up. Switch. Repeat. I finished my book just as it became too dark to read. Matt dozed.

Tent view

Now sufficiently chilly and anxious to get out and do something, Matt and I prepped dinner. After I poured boiling water into my freeze dried macaroni and cheese, I stuffed the bag under my coat. The warmth was perfect. After ten minutes, it was time to eat. Even better! I don't know why, but I truly look forward to this meal every time I go backpacking.

Why yes, 15 degrees is perfect picnic weather.

Gourmet dinner

After dinner, the winds picked up, pushing the fifteen degree air down to feel even lower with a windchill and we decided to hit the tent again. This time, Matt and I had our own hot water bottle to keep us nice and cozy. We told stories until bedtime, trading off at crucial plot junctions. It was a lot of fun. Alder the Moose sure has some wild adventures.

Packing up quickly

Thawing breakfast in our pockets

Sunday morning, the air outside was still. I looked out the window to see if the forecasted snow had begun. Sure enough, it had. I punched the tent wall and watched the accumulation break free and slide to the ground. Since this trail is several miles down a road not maintained in the winter, we took this as our cue to head out as soon as possible. Tucking frozen protein bars into our pockets to thaw, we skipped our planned oatmeal and coffee and headed out.

Umm, it did not look like this yesterday.

Canyon Creek

I love this guy and not only because he offered to carry the heaviest of our gear. :)

This is about the point where my camera started to fail...

The Sinks.

The return trip, despite a two thousand foot drop in elevation, was slower than our trip in. Ice coated all the rocks, and under a fresh blanket of snow, it was tough to see what would be slippery.

Someone else has been out on the trail this morning too!

Winter wonderland.

Accumulated snow grew more sparse as we descended and soon we were back in the lush green forest.

Aaaaand back to moss.

Final creek crossing before the trailhead

Now three hours into our day and still without coffee, we hopped in the car and headed for Weaverville, the quaint mountain town that always serves as our post-adventure refuel stop. Stationed on each side of the pass were CalTrans workers, waiting for the accumulation to start so they could monitor the need for chain restrictions. We indulged in a pizza buffet and some coffee before retracing our steps over the mountain pass and heading for home. Rain turned to snow at the very top. An hour later, the road would be closed due to multiple accidents and spin-outs. Perfect timing.

After a full forty-eight hours spent in sub-freezing temperatures, the warm car felt amazing. I drifted off to sleep as Matt drove. By the time I woke up, we were almost home. What an awesome weekend!

Favorite shot of the trip

A White Christmas

Christmas was Zoey's favorite holiday. She inspected every box that came in the mail, she loved sleeping under the Christmas tree, and most of all, she loved playing in the wrapping paper as we opened gifts. When the week of Christmas came around less than two weeks after we said goodbye, I found myself wanting to skip the holiday altogether. Merry and bright? Most wonderful time of the year with loved ones near? SHUT UP! IT'S NOT WONDERFUL!!!! The dark cloud of grief followed me wherever I went but it was especially prevalent in my living room next to the Christmas tree. Instead of spending the holiday comparing it to all the others, Matt and I decided to do something we'd never done before: leave town for the holiday.

Matt opened a few presents early, because, surprise surprise!, he got a new set of skis for Christmas. It just so happened that Matt had four days off the day after the only snowstorm of December hit southern Oregon and didn't take long to convince him where we should go. We piled all our favorite snow gear and holiday treats into the car and headed east.

We chose the Union Creek Resort near Crater Lake as our home base. The hotel was a charming old European style one in the middle of nowhere. Spartan in amenities but perfect for what we needed. Without a TV or wifi, we spent the daylight hours skiing and the rest of the time cozy under the covers with a book. Aside from our chocolate Advent Calendar, we forgot all about the fact that it was almost Christmas.

Arriving late in the afternoon, we didn't have time for much more than a short hike to check out the Rogue River Gorge. It was a pleasant three mile walk that made me excited for what would come next. Compared to the previous week where I spent all my time crying and dreading my first holiday without Zoey, it was nice to finally look forward to something again.

Saturday was officially the first day of the long holiday weekend. We checked the forecast and the desk clerk at the lodge pulled up the webcam at Crater Lake. Blue skies and sunshine. We knew that Crater Lake, the highest thing around for miles and miles, made her own weather sometimes so if we wanted those conditions, we would have to hurry. By 8am, our car was headed up the mountain.

Compared to last year, or any other in all my wintertime visits to Crater Lake, snow was almost nonexistent. Used to snow banks twice the height of the Subaru, it felt more like an October visit than December. Despite that, there was still plenty of snow for skiing. The sun had warmed the top crusty layer a bit so it wasn't even icy. It was perfect!

We stopped for a snack at our turnaround point and enjoyed the view of Wizard Island and the glassy mirror surface of the lake. My heart was still sad, but little by little, the distraction helped lessen the pain.

Grumpy worms also help my mood.

We returned the way we came, arriving at eight miles for the day by mid afternoon. We had a quick snack at the cafe on the rim before driving home for more time with our books and games. I made it through three books during our trip and it felt so nice to unplug from the world while still enjoying the comfort of a cozy bed and hot shower.

Instead of chicken pesto wraps again (we brought these from home) we opted for a trip across the road to Beckie's Diner. After the desk clerk casually mentioned the word "pie" to Matt that morning, I knew we would have to visit at least once. Dinner was surprisingly delicious given our proximity to Nowheresville, but after playing outside all day, most anything tastes amazing.

The next morning was another early one. The weather wasn't quite as nice, so we took our skis to the SnoPark instead. I'm still not used to the idea of having designated places to play rather than just puttering around on my own wherever I want, but the state spends the day use fees on grooming, so that's pretty cool. Thousand Springs somehow connects to the park at Diamond Lake and someday I'd like to explore that as a longer trip idea. But for this trip, we only had time to get more acquainted with this particular park.

Freshly groomed trail! Merry Christmas to meeeee!

Since the forecast was for freezing rain, we had the place to ourselves. Normally we have to listen for the hum of approaching snowmobiles since the trails are shared use, but the air was quiet and still, nobody out there but us.

Trading crystal clear lake views for a forest of snow loaded trees was perfect. Around every turn, the scenery grew better and better. Once we reached five miles, we stopped for a snack before turning around.

It wasn't until our return trip that Matt and I both realized that this would end up as our longest ski in the Lower 48. We have both had many 10+ mile days on cabin trips in Alaska, but none quite as far in Oregon or our home state of Michigan.

Despite improved overall fitness, skiing still doesn't feel natural anymore, but by the time we returned to the car, it almost did. More frequent trips would surely help, but we don't live near enough to the snow to make it a regular thing.

Yup, still in Oregon.

By the time we returned to the car, the rain had picked up and we started our drive home. On the way there, we made one last stop for pie. Since it was Christmas Eve, we split two pieces of different flavors. Given one more day, we might have made it through the entire pie flavor menu. Oh well, a goal for next time, now that we know how good it is!

While this Christmas held none of the usual traditions and held an undercurrent of sadness, it turned out to be one of my favorites.

The Numbers: Looking Back at 2017, Looking Forward to 2018

Twenty-seventeen turned out to be a pretty big year. It all started with a construction project at my local track. Trees fell on every lane and the safety hazard left behind made it too dangerous to use. I subbed all my track workout plans for tempo runs and fartlek runs on my local bike path.

If I were to assign a theme to 2017 it would be getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. That tempo run you're most afraid of? Actually training for a 5K because running that fast for three miles makes you want to cry? That's where you've got the most to gain.

My goals for 2017 were to try something new, namely a triathlon. After about a month of weekly swims, I found that I don't especially love the pool like I thought I would. I learned to swim when I was very young and became pretty good at it through my teen years, but with my left arm as it is now, it's not especially fun anymore. Swimming became a reminder of my handicap and I didn't love that.

A season of weekly lactate threshold runs brought an unexpected 5K PR on a hilly course just before I ran the Boston Marathon. From there, my plans began to shift. Boston came and went, a race I was proud of finishing strong, but the warm weather left me craving a finishing time that reflected those hard months of training.

Summertime was about 5K training. A gnarly bout with poison oak delayed the start of the season, but I hit a sweet spot through July and ran a personal best at both 5K races, finishing the summer with a time nearly two minutes faster than my previous record.

It was also my first female overall win in a couple of years!

That training dovetailed nicely into half marathon training. I hit a few hiccups through that training too. Both wildfire smoke flaring up my asthma and the eventual cancellation of my goal race landed me with a half marathon race on my home course. Despite having a really bad cold the week leading up to it, I still managed to pull off a performance indicative of my training, knocking my PR down by over three minutes.

After that race, the biggest goal of the year took hold: a sub-3:20 marathon. All the calculators predicted this based on my shorter distance times, but knocking ten minutes off my time seemed daunting and impossible. Nevertheless, I trusted myself and my training and everything came together (including the weather, which is rarely ideal for CIM) and I achieved a time I never before thought I was capable of hitting. Instead of wondering whether I'm hitting my genetic ability plateau, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm not aiming high enough. I'm looking forward to exploring that in the upcoming year.

The cornerstone of every distance runner's plan is anchored in mileage. By August, I knew that I wouldn't top my totals from 2016 due to lower mileage during 5K (vs. 50K) training, but I was surprised to see that I'm not as far off from last year as I thought I would be. I spotted 1,329 kitties in 2017 too.

Performance-wise, I ran a new PR at every distance I attempted this year. Progress didn't always come in a linear fashion, but by New Year's Eve I had achieved everything I had set to do and more.

As for 2018, I'm still deciding what to do to achieve the goals listed above. In late December, we said goodbye to Zoey. The holidays were mostly about avoiding any traditions Matt and I had that included our kitty so we left town and went skiing instead.

Grieving dampened my enthusiasm for pretty much everything so recovery was slow. Distraction was the best motivator so I at least got out for some miles here and there, sometimes drawing fun shapes with my GPS track.

The new year greeted me with influenza. I have been on the couch pretty much all week. Once I get my mojo back, we'll talk more about goals.

How did 2017 treat you? What's your biggest goal for 2018?