On Saturday, March 12th, the CONC group split into two: the Longs whose goal was Sun Notch, and the Shorts who headed straight to the rim. The forecast predicted sun until noon, when a front was expected to move in and bring snow later in the afternoon.
The Short group was happy with their decision in spite of high wind gusts up to 40 mph, but the views of Wizard island were fantastic. On their return, they were content with “meandering” in the snow around behind the lodge, going nowhere in particular.
The Long group braved the icy snow on the East Rim road, skiing 4 miles up to Sun Notch. They made it before the clouds rolled in and were rewarded with exceptional views of Mt. Thielsen and Wizard Island, plus a perfect lunch spot. The sun softened the snow for their descent, which was fast but extremely fun.
Once back down, they they had time to drive to the rim, where they experienced the afternoon’s wind gusts and falling snow!
Everyone trickled back to the Prospect Hotel in time for a social hour in the parlor and a dinner of prime rib or salmon.
On Sunday morning, we were reminded of the chaos that much of the world is suffering through by a carved peace sign in the breakfast servings.
It had snowed a bit over night, which turned to rain in the morning. Still, that bit of precipitation did not stop many from hiking to nearby Mill Creek Falls and Pearsony Falls on the Rogue River.
