Sunday, November 27, 2011

Dot on the Horizon


Whenever we go skiing or hiking with Eric he is way ahead of us, looking like a little dot on the horizon.  He has incredible energy and love for the great outdoors.  This is the first of several intermittent posts about the staff at High Camp.  It is fitting to begin with Eric since he has been coming to Scottish Lakes since he was eleven!  His family always skied up from mid mountain, so when he started to work for us he had never been on a snowmobile.  Now he is an expert driver and a veteran of the Scottish Lakes staff.


At Western, Eric is earning a double major in Environmental Science and Environmental Education with a minor in Biology.  He recently created a presentation called "Life in the Freezer".  This is not about our life at High Camp...it is about how animals of the Cascades have adapted to live in the snow for six months of the year.  He focused on common animals of High Camp:  Douglas Squirrel, Yellow Pine Chipmunk, Golden Mantle Ground Squirrel, Snowshoe Hare, and Black Bear.  We will be featuring each of these animals in future blogs on High Country Cache.

Eric will be on staff over the holidays and plans to offer our guests a peak into "Life in the Freezer".  His enthusiasm for animals and the outdoors will make this opportunity very special!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Let the Games Begin!


Our good friends, Zeke and Laurie, along with their sons, Maxwell and Isaac, came up to High Camp to celebrate Don's birthday!  Well, they also helped us get ready to open this coming Wednesday.  The snow was deep,  30 inches!  We shoveled decks, ran snowmobile tracks and cleaned the lodge.  Later that night the hot tub and sauna felt great!


We are very excited to start our eighteenth season!



There is still a lot to do!


We earned a ski at the end of the day!
Chris 



Saturday, November 19, 2011

So, what's it like?


When you have never been to Scottish Lakes High Camp, you wonder what your trip will be like.  Well,  Brian and Erica are friends of High Camp.  They brought  a group up last February and had a wonderful time.  Enjoy!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Snow Rodeo...First Ski!

After the first big dump the snowmobile ride to High Camp is like riding a bucking bronco at the rodeo!  There is no base and the snow gets deeper as you work your way up the mountain.  We were mired several times, but we perservered.  It was a beautiful day with light clouds and some blue sky.  Snow began to fall hard for the trip down the mountain, but not until after we went out on our first ski of the winter season.

Don happily skis up High Country trail after fighting the snowmobile all the way up to High Camp.  As we ski, we feel the stress fall away and the peace of the quiet, snowfilled forest fills us up.

Turning off onto Roundabout we are surprised and pleased with the snow cover!  This snow has created a good base with few rocks and logs under our path.

That feeling of gliding through the new snow!  It is just plain FUN!  Only the beginning of an awesome winter season!
Chris



Monday, November 14, 2011

Early Winter at 5,000 Feet in the Cascades



Getting to experience the many moods of the changing seasons is one of the best things we like about High Camp.    Each year the excitement of the impending winter really hits us with that first significant early November snowfall.     With over a foot of snow on the ground today and another 12" or so coming with the next storm on Wednesday we are a bit crazy with anticipation for that first time out on our skis.   Stay tuned!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Cleveland

Lonesome ridge

Snow Frolic


Igloo on Mccue

I am at a meeting in Cleveland.  Fun, interesting, great friends...but it is cold and I can't stop dreaming of snow in the mountains.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Still Waiting for Snow -- A Great Hike to Dusty Lake

So what did we do on a sunny day in early November when there is still not enough snow to go sking at High Camp?    We headed for the North Central Washington desert to do a little hiking.   The six-mile round-trip to Dusty Lake, located just above the Columbia River, between Quincy and Vantage, turned out to be a wonderful day to get out the hiking boots and enjoy the great outdoors!  

We are hearing that snow is going to arrive this weekend.   Hopefully we'll get that first 10-12" we need to make our annual first ski on the High Country trail.



Saturday, November 5, 2011

How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck?



Well, our wood is in!  All 30 cords.  Over the past two weekends we had 38 volunteers help us chainsaw, haul, split and stack the wood for High Camp.  Thank you so much!!!!