Arctic Blast 2008 – A Hike in a Winter Wonderland
“Snow!” the Portland television weather forecasters proclaimed exultantly. I cast a skeptical eye at the television, as they anxiously replayed the impending arctic scenario over and over again. Why is it, I thought, that it always seems that when they predict it, nothing happens? So I wasn’t too concerned with this latest breaking weather alert.
In a day’s time, however, we had indeed received about two inches of the fluffy white stuff, followed by a dangerous glaze of freezing rain. Portlanders, normally shy about getting out and about in icy conditions, hunkered down during this initial blast. But Mother Nature had made arrangements for the best, which was still yet to come.
We woke up the weekend before Christmas with a blizzard of white swirling around our house. A drift of nearly three feet was tucked up against the south side of the house, delivered by the howling winds. The forecasters were right- this was a full-scale red alert in the weather department- a record-breaking snowfall that smashed totals from 40 years ago.
Nearby Rocky Butte, a 612-foot-high extinct cinder cone, towered just a stones-throw away from our house and seemed to be a great perch to take in the storm action, provided we could make the summit. It beckoned, flocked in snow and promising great views. Brad, my husband, and I looked at each other- the decision was made! What else were we doing, since he wasn’t going to work? An expedition to the summit was launched to combat our growing cabin fever.
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