The first ~half mile is a road, ok to walk in boots, occasionally sank. But snowshoe is much easier. The first junction has a sign. Blue diamonds on tree. 2nd is a 4-way junction and a map showing that we are at the east end of the map at Mark 5. Quite many loop trails you can do here that's shown on that map. We continue straight and out of the map. You definitely want snowshoes now. A mile or so later, another junction, signed. We met a lady here with a full pack. Turn right here. At this point, we have already entered Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. Next is a small lake. No snow on tree branches. So far, the grade is very gentle. No more footprint.
A few of the ladies downloaded GPS maps, so we knew where about we were going. But there's no marking, no sign of any trail. Just snow, quite soft. After skirting to the east, where the slope is not as steep, we picked our way up. Gets quite steep, but good view. We decided to turn around just few steps shy of the end of this ridge. It's steep enough that rocks poke out of snow, so hard to walk on snowshoes. I picked my way up grabbing on branches, until I could poke my head above. The top is still further, but gentler. Too wooded to see any view. So came back down and had lunch with the group. Nice view, but too cloudy. Jefferson is completely covered. On a clear day, Three-Finger Jack is very close by, and 3 Sisters should be clearly visible.Some of us removed snowshoes getting down this steep slope, but I found it easier with snowshoes (except above where we lunched), as the snow was reasonably deep and soft to support our weight. Lisa and I were the fastest coming down, and both of us had snowshoes on.
Back to P&R before 6pm. Sunny and warm in Portland! Total about 9 miles. 2100'?
