Snowshoeing at Clark Creek

Yesterday the kids and dogs and I went snowshoeing at Clark Creek on Mt. Hood. It was beautiful! You can't ask for a much better day on the mountain unless there is a lot more snow and a bit more powder. It was quite iced over but the temperature was amazing, the skies were blue, and we had the wood almost completely to ourselves. This was a prescheduled event for the Dane group which is usually a great turnout. This time around there were just three members plus my kids. Of course our honorary Dane was along, Vegas' new sidekick brother, Leo.

After arriving in Sandy around 8 am to rent snow shoes at Otto's and then heading to Safeway to wait for anyone who might not have RSVP'd but was going to show, we headed out at 9am for Clark Creek. Jenny and Marlie rode with us and at 10 on the dot, we arrived at Clark Creek. Much to our surprise, there was only one other vehicle parked at this snow park. We waited about 15 minutes for Jeff to show up and, in the meantime, Vegas delighted in running a muck.

We had thought Clark Creek was a lot of wide open flat spaces but instead it turned out it was right in the woods with several intersecting trails and slight dips and rises as we wound through the trees. With three first-time snowshoers, we had hoped for flatter surfaces. Nonetheless, a great time was had by all and here are some pictures that show just how awesome of a day it was.

Vegas was eating snow here. You could find her pretty regularly on her knees, boots flopped underneath her body, chomping away. 

Sinbad enjoyed his first time in the snow. He hails from sunny Arizona. 

You can see along the river the snow pack wasn't very deep. 

It looks like Vegas was hanging over the edge but she really wasn't. 

This is Marlie, one of Vegas' oldest gal-pals. 

Note: I originally designed this blog to track training progress and highlight the truly athletic animal that Danes have the potential to be. This post is a little out of my norm but I included it because it was fun, is a huge part of Vegas' life, and still results in physical activity that is good for her body that helps to keep her in shape. The way she launches herself through the snow, dives into the deeper banks, has to pull her legs out of deeper snow, and is almost always in motion continually amazes and astounds me. It's a wonder I haven't had to carry her home yet. Of course the end of the day had her sleeping soundly on her mama's bed, resting up for her next adventure.