I left the Hyatt Lake Reservoir on Route 66 east of Ashland at 11:30 AM. There were snow machine tracks to follow for the first hour or two. After that, cutting through several inches of new snow got increasingly tough on the skinny classic racing skis. Apparently these trails are not traveled as much as I anticipated by snow mobilers. I thought for sure there would be lots of people out on a Sunday.
It stared to snow harder around 2:00 PM and eventually my ski tips disappeared below the surface of world class Cascade crud. Snow was sticking to tops and bottoms of my skis, reducing my movement to glorified snow-shoeing. I hit the Pederson trailhead on Dead Indian Memorial Highway at 6:30 PM and phoned a friend in Ashland for a rescue mission. 30 minutes later I was back in the Ashland Motel drying out gear. I had gone only about 25 miles.
Not sure what I am going to do now. With the new snow it will take another window of sun to regain the melt freeze cycle, which is needed for this trip concept. I may take a bus back to Portland, or hitch hike to the east side and see what it's like over there.
I have heard about several cabins on the trail where you can stay. Using these would help minimize gear carried. Right now I may have too much gear to go fast enough.
