Stephen here,
Even though it was 20 years ago, I can still remember looking forward to this trip for weeks. The snow around Mount Hood was finally clearing. This weekend was going to be it…my chance to finally mountain bike some of the trails on the east side of Mount Hood. I had been looking forward to this all winter.
I woke up to a typical Portland, spring day. It was cloudy…but it’s always cloudy in Portland. I threw my bike on top of my car and headed up to Mount Hood.
(MTB got me into the outdoors where I quickly discovered backpacking)
As I drove, I noticed that the clouds were changing. No longer was it a flat, gray sky. It was turning dark.
“No big deal,” I thought, “I have ridden in the rain a ton.”
Boy, was I wrong. Sometimes you learn lessons the hard way.
I rode through the trees for about 8 miles and came to a clearing where I saw a clear view of the incoming storm. The sky was even darker and I decided I had better turn around, “just in case”.
About 10 minutes later, the temperature rapidly dropped and it started pouring down rain. Not a typical Portland or Seattle mist where you almost can’t tell if it is raining or you are sweating. No, this was a full-on, Phoenix style, monsoon rain.
Within a few seconds I was drenched and the temperatures continued dropping to just above freezing.
In less than an hour I had all the symptoms of stage 1 hypothermia…uncontrolled shivering…and I could barely use my hands. I had no feeling in my fingers.
I threw caution to the wind and pushed myself to get to the car as fast as I could. Riding a mountain bike in these conditions is hard enough, it is even harder when you can’t feel your brake levers and your hands can barely move to actually make yourself stop.
Thankfully, I made it back to the car in one piece without slipping into stage 2 hypothermia. And thankfully, I did not need search and rescue to come and get me.
That wasn’t the case for everyone that day. I found out a few days later that the Portland SAR team rescued two other bikers that same day in stage 2 hypothermia from the same area was I was riding!
I learned some really hard lessons that weekend; lessons that I still follow 20 years later. I always bring the right gear for the weather and I plan on the weather being worse that I expect.
Still tearing it up 20 years later!
Now when I go out I have the confidence that my gear can handle the weather that I am facing. And with age, hopefully I am a bit wiser, and I don’t push myself into dumb situations. There have been numerous times since that incident on Mount Hood where I have stopped a trip early or turned around and not pushed things.
Interested in seeing what and how I like to pack for a fall hike in the Pacific Northwest? Check out my personal clothing list
Happy Trails!
Stephen Johnson
Founder
Glacier Peak Studios
Handcrafted with Love in Spokane, WA.
Tested on real dirt in the rugged and beautiful mountains of Washington and Idaho.
“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” — John Muir
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