XC Skiing Princess Loop

Upon arriving in the Gorge, we decided to learn a new winter sport each year. Winter 2006 was snowboarding; Winter 2007 was snowshoeing; Winter 2008 was snow sculpture¹. This winter the sport of choice is cross country skiing. (We are going to run out of sports that I'm willing to do but I figure there is still downhill skiing and telemark. With the addition of Anders, we will probably have to relax our schedule a bit anyway.)

In January, we went to Portland and outfitted ourselves with XC gear, partly courtesy of Christmas funds from Mike's grandfather. In just so happened that on that particular day the store was short staffed. A couple of employees had skipped work in favor of playing in the snow. We waited for about an hour with Anders in arms before we were helped. It actually didn't bother us; since we had a baby with us on our trip into the city, we didn't have any grand ambitions for the day anyway. We ended up with a sizable discount for being the "most patient customers" ever. A few more trips like this and this baby may pay for itself! (Okay, maybe not.)

Now it is April and we had yet to use our new gear. Our friends Kris & Amy were also eager to give XC skiing a try so we headed up to Mt. Adams. (Mike was under the weather and stayed home w/ Anders.) We found the super easy trail Princess Loop and had a good time falling.

Mt. Adams is always a big draw for snowmobilers in winter, and this day was no exception. At this particular Sno-Park, one truck stood out above the rest. Enormous, with hydraulic lifts and automatic tire chains. Wonder how much it costs?

- Corinne, Mike, and Anders Rocket

¹Doesn't really count. We just fell off the plan.