Calendar

Past Activity

Fawn Lake

  • Start date: 02/04/2017

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 02/04/2017

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

The trail starts out heading west though an open area with widely spaced lodgepole pines. After crossing a snowmobile road, the trail steepens, enters a Douglas fir forest and then veers south at a Y, going counterclockwise up the hill. After about 2 miles, the trail levels out and opens up into another area of lodgepole pines, with a final steep section shortly before reaching the lake. After stopping for a lunch break, we’ll follow the same route back. The trail through the Douglas firs can be icy and we may need to go around several blow-downs. Depending on weather, trail condition, and energy level, we may make a loop by skiing from Fawn Lake to Pretty Lake and then down the Pretty Lake Trail.

  • Event Leader: Brian Hamilton

  • Event Leader Phone: 541-343-6550

  • Event Leader Email: red.gray@comcast.net

  • Assistant Leader:

  • Event category: Trips

  • Area Type: Mountain

  • Departure Location: South Eugene High School, 19th & Patterson

  • Rating: Difficult

  • Roundtrip total drive miles: 144

  • Season: 2017

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: Skis, boots, & poles. Layered, cold & wet weather clothing (no cotton), including waterproof outer layer, warm hat, gloves, & extra pair of gloves. Lunch, snacks, & water. Sunscreen & sunglasses. Map & compass.

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 7

  • Member Fees: 1

  • Elevation Gain: 920

  • Non-Member Fees: 5

  • Committee: Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

The temperature was above freezing all day. It snowed, it rained, and we even got a glimpse of the sun. There was a little bit of new snow on the lower sections of the trail, but after the junction with the Pretty Lake Trail where our trail turned north, we began to run into patches of hard snow and ice under the Douglas firs. When the trail turned to the west and started to flatten out, conditions were great with about 4 inches of fresh snow. We reached Fawn Lake after 1-3/4 hours of skiing and took a short lunch break. Instead of skiing over the icy patches on the way back, we decided to head up to Pretty Lake and make a loop out of the trip. Unfortunately, by following compass bearings we kept running into areas that were too steep or thick stands of trees that made us veer off course. At one point, we saw fresh ski tracks. “Oh, look! Someone else has been here. Let’s follow their tracks.” And then, “Oh wait, those are our tracks.” We saw a big hill and after rechecking our maps, we knew it separated us from Pretty Lake. We figured we would skirt around the hill and ski down the drainage to intersect Cold Creek, but when we saw Fawn Lake again to our left, we said “To heck with it! We’ll just go back the way we came.” At least some good came out of meandering in the woods like Moses and the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years: There was more time for fun in the snow, we reached the critical point where time spent skiing was greater than time spent driving, and it snowed enough during the time we were going around in circles that the icy patches on the trip back to the trailhead had a nice cover making them much more pleasant to ski over. All in all, it was another great day to ski!