White River Canyon & the Beginning of "Adventure Season"

It should come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog that I’d be excited with the onset of winter and the outdoor opportunities it brings. The weekend before last, we kicked off “Adventure Season” with a nice 5-mile snowshoe hike at the base of Mt. Hood (down in OR).

We decided to hit White River Canyon and make it a church-wide invitation, so folks who hadn’t been snowshoeing before could get the experience. We were blessed with fabulous weather, low-risk avalanche conditions and great group of 13 intrepid adventurers, young and old(er). I would describe this hike as leisurely. There was one significant climb near the end, but once we reached the top we were treated to an area that was chock-full of great sledding slopes and excellent views of Mt. Hood.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the hike (click through for captions and more details).