Return to Hager Mountain Fire Lookout, Oregon - January 8-9, 2022

• See my previous post on Hager Mountain fire lookout for more details about the route
• There is no avalanche forecast covering this area.

After a short stay in Bend and Lapine and a ski day at Mount Bachelor, we drove south on Saturday, January 8, 2022, to Silver Lake, Oregon, to return to the Hager Mountain fire lookout in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. A fierce storm had raged on Thursday and Friday, January 6 and 7, 2022. Sunshine and blue skies greeted us on Saturday. Forest Road 28 to the trailhead for Trail #160 or Fremont National Recreation Trail was plowed and turned out to be an easy drive.

Some equipment failures delayed us so I was overjoyed when we finally arrived at the fire lookout on Saturday afternoon after climbing laboriously uphill through fresh powdery snow. (Occasionally due to wind patterns and sun, some slopes were more wind-swept or packed down.) We found the fire lookout encrusted thickly with rime that dramatically extended in frozen streamers revealing the prevailing wind direction. 

And the winds had buried the fire lookout's stairs and deck in snow. Testifying to just how powerful the winds must have been: the woodshed was filled with over 6 feet of snow forced in through cracks and around the door frame; and the outhouse, despite being basically a metal box, was also filled with snow that had been driven in through a small vent in the wall. The snow had completely covered the toilet! 

After shoveling out the fire lookout, the woodshed and the outhouse we settled in to enjoy the magnificent views of Mount Shasta, California, to the south, and Oregon's volcanoes to the northwest. A golden and red sunset gave way to starry skies. Lights blinked in the distance-- on the vast flat plain of central Oregon we could pick out the town of Silver Lake and the occasional headlights of a solitary car.

On Sunday, another sunny day, our ski descent back to the trailhead was fast and fun: with snow now covering the entire route we could ski downhill except for a few spots where herring-bone steps or side-steps were required. It only took about an hour to cover the 4 miles and 2,000 foot descent. We swooped downhill enjoying our turns through the widely spaced trees. Eventually in the final mile or so the trail slopes very gently downhill and no turns were necessary. I glided silently along and suddenly was back at our car. Farewell, Hager Mountain, and until next time!