There aren’t many better ways to get some solitude than heading off into the snow covered wilderness for a night of winter backpacking.
This was my first time snow camping and luckily I waited for a weather window where it was clear, windless and dropped to only 25F overnight. Starting at Barlow Pass Sno-park I followed the Pacific Crest Trail for about 4 miles to Lower Twin Lake were I had a nice lunch of tuna onigiri. I then hiked around the lake and up to Upper Twin Lake for a total distance of about 5.75 miles. After setting up camp, I watched the sun go down and kiss the top of Mt. Hood which was the only part visible from camp. Luckily I had my drone and surprisingly the lake is not within the wilderness boundary so I sent it up to capture the last of the glowing pink light before heading to bed to the sounds of a Barred Owl (Strix varia).
I have a full length 15-minute video of the trip that will be available tonight. Let me know if you’d like the link. 😊
Note: All drone footage was taken from outside the wilderness area.
Filmed: February 2022