Mt Hood Corridor Day 2

[olivermoss]

Because the weather was going to be rough, I changed plans and decided to go up to Timberline Lodge on the middle day so I could be doing things, but be out of the weather. I had food on me, but as usual they were able to feed me.

Two things about Timberline Lodge - 1) It was used as the exterior hotel shots in The Shining, but the inside is completely unrelated. 2) It was a WPA project so it's a ski lodge, but also a National Historic Monument. There's a little ranger station on the bottom floor. People can spend time in the lobbies and exhibit areas as long as they don't bring in outside food or try to sleep.

Plan was to work a while in the lobby, have lunch and then do some photography. But, being at a high elevation just after I'd been sick for so long didn't mix well and I left early. So, I didn't really have time for pictures. That did leave me some time before dark to poke around in the woods some more.

Lower area with the ranger station:



Outside:



Main lobby:



Pic of one of the little nooks there:

Comments

[dine]

I haven't been to Timberline in absolute ages, but it still looks so neat. I always enjoyed their version of fire + Xmas music in the background. used to air on OPB every year, but I'm not sure if it appears anywhere anymore.

is there still a St. Bernard in residence there?

[olivermoss]

It's a really neat space!

I didn't see a dog, so I don't know

[mistressofmuses]

Elevation can definitely be rough.

A neat place - I like the little nook. It looks like it would be a nice place to get some work done. (Er... not in a The Shining way, though.)

[olivermoss]

If I am going to be hiking somewhere like Crater Lake, I usually go up to Timberline to run the steps to condition myself to the altitude. I am mostly a sea-level dweller so it can pack a wallop.

Yeah, I like getting some work done there, but all work and no play...

[mistressofmuses]

It's wild what a difference elevation makes. Denver being the "mile high city" means I'm used to some amount of elevation, but I still notice a difference between my norm and when we go up into the mountains.

Be careful with any axes in the lodge, I suppose!

[olivermoss]

Remind me to acclimate if I ever even think about the Rockies!

I haven't been to Denver in ages. I was younger then but not only did I get dizzy skiing but my Dad got altitude sickness bad enough that he would up in the ER.

I am convinced that non-acclimated tourists having their hearts beating a bit faster is why people always seem so unhinged at places like the Grand Canyon. Like they feel a bit worked up to start with and spiral easily.

[mistressofmuses]

Definitely need to acclimate! If you make that potential trip to Estes Park at some point, definitely give yourself adjustment time!

Oof, yeah. Especially when you're doing anything super physical, like skiing/climbing/hiking, the altitude can smack you down hard. Yikes that it was bad enough to go the ER for him! I know we had a couple people who had some bad bouts of altitude sickness (though not ER worthy, fortunately) when we did our archeology dig, even just with the change from our norm to the higher country of the site.

That is genuinely not a bad theory... the number of people who make bad or weird choices about things like going off-trail and getting lost, even when they're typically reasonably experienced, or just in general behaving weirdly, even if they don't do anything dangerous. It messes with you!

[olivermoss]

People underestimate / deny the impacts of elevation because it's an invisible debuff. For me there is a huge difference between 6k and 7k feet up, something in there is a tipping point for me. There are gyms here that have low pressure rooms to help people acclimate for trips.

[mistressofmuses]

Yeah, it is very much an invisible impact, and a lot of people just don't seem to be aware of it at all. They feel sick, or just "off", and don't even consider elevation as a factor.