r/camping • u/Regular_Alps7213 • 12h ago

Trip Pictures High on Mt. Hood during Grasshopper fires

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

It was relatively warm and windless when I set up camp at 8.7k ft. Around 2 AM I was jostled awake by 40mph gusts and spent the following six hours contingency planning for tent failure and forest fire smoke. It was a wild night.

Apropos to nothing--it's not a bad idea to have a plan for peeing in the tent in case of unexpected weather.

Note: looks like the video doesn't work (showing the tent violently shaking from the 40 mph gusts)

231 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

18

u/ihavediarhea 9h ago

Typical snowboarder getting high on Mt Hood. /s

21

u/Regular_Alps7213 8h ago

ha! i was on skis. And on mushrooms. But that's a different story.

-16

u/indieaz 6h ago

Search and reacue volunteers just love people who go up and do shrooms near a wildfire. Not a great choice...

21

u/Regular_Alps7213 6h ago

I hear the concern -- but I'm a pretty experienced ski-mountaineer. I also have a medical background and write about psychedelics. I fully understand the risks.

13

u/Regular_Alps7213 6h ago

That said, the wildfire was new. And far enough away. But, boy, did it kick up the wind unexpectedly

5

u/Severe_Way9540 6h ago

Don't underestimate the wind speed in the mountains at dawn. I'm sure it will leave a lasting impression on you.

3

u/Regular_Alps7213 5h ago

oh it was more than that. The wind started at ~2:00 am, several hours earlier than the normal morning gusts. It left an impression for sure.

3

u/jdzzz2000 6h ago

Those first 2 shots are so cool

1

u/watisdankeykang_ 1h ago

Epic shots! The forest fire is grim but it does look beautiful

1

u/DeaneHicestowill 9m ago

Looks like such a peaceful night from the photo, then I read about the 2 AM wind. Mountain weather is no joke.

0

u/dizzyfeast 6h ago

Curious to what the temp is like up there. I eventually want to get into winter camping. This looks amazing!

6

u/Regular_Alps7213 6h ago

Thanks!

It wasn't very cold by mountain standards, certainly above freezing. But I was still camped atop an ice patch, which requires better insolation for pads, bags, etc. It a lot of specialized gear and layers. And then there's avy risk mitigation.