In a tradition started in 2007, I once again organized a Christmas tree run with NAXJA and the PNW Backroad Drivers to take place in the Goat Mountain area of the Mt Hood National Forest on a nice Saturday in December. For those of you with calendars and a good memory, this was the day before the snow started falling in Portland.
The plan was to meet in the parking lot of the Estacada Ranger Station at 9am. Slowly the numbers added up until we had 12 rigs, mostly Cherokees with a few other makes tossed in for good measure. The most notable thing from there was NAXJA member Torx's fancy new tires, brand new 35" BFGoodrich KM2's, which put my stock 28" tires to shame.
Shortly after nine, we hit the road, first going south on hwy 211 then east and up Hillock Burn road. We stopped about the 1800 foot level to air down our tire to make driving on the snow easier.
After airing down, we headed straight for the towers atop Goat Mountain, though we briefly stopped at a former gravel pit while we waited for some stragglers to catch up. A few members of our party took the opportunity to play around on the snow covered hillside.
From here on, I was breaking trail through the snow.
We stopped at another wide spot to let the group gather together again after a short slick section when another group of NAXJA members caught up with us including KarlVP in his nicely built XJ
The final push to the summit has a short steep section on it that proved to be too difficult for some. Only the right mix of throttle and control could successfully get you up the slope. Fortunately, I was one of the few with that correct mix on this particular day so I was able to make it up to the towers.
Karl was another of those lucky few.
From the summit you look down on Clear Lake a small alpine lake which is itself accessible via other roads in the area.
And another member of the alternate party playing around on the difficult back slope to access the towers.
Once we got back down to the main road (FS 45) most of the group headed for town but there were a few of us who had the goal of getting a Christmas Tree so after saying goodbye to the others we headed off in search of a stand of trees I'd seen on a scouting trip a few weeks earlier. As the afternoon progressed, the snow started falling heavier and heavier until visibility was down to less than a tenth of a mile. As we pulled into a quarry in the area of the small stand of Christmas trees, I was able to snap this picture of my friend JuniorXJ.
And another of JuniorXJ having fun in the fresh deep snow.
And PNWBDA member Pudding99
And 88manche taking his own turn
Once we'd gotten our trees we decided to head back the way we came. We'd originally planned to keep going but the snow was falling so fast we weren't confident of our ability to keep going. Heading back, our tracks were already mostly obliterated.
We stopped at a small wide area to talk for a few before heading down the hill and I was able to get this shot of our group stopped there.
L to R, Nick, his girlfriend and Terry
And one final shot of my Jeep shortly before we stopped to air our tires back up (and when I discovered my compressor no longer worked)
I know I had a lot of fun and though my tree was a bit small, I was glad to have it and it came with a story, unlike something bought in a lot. Next year I'm going to scout out a tree ahead of time so I know what to get when I'm there and I can spend more time having fun.
-Ryan
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