Destination: Timberline Lodge

Mt. Hood photo taken by a college prof of mine, S. Polozov. Loved it!

In the mythic tradition, the Mountain is the bond between Earth and Sky. Its solitary summit reaches the sphere of eternity, and its base spreads out in manifold foothills into the world of mortals. It is the way by which man can raise himself to the divine and by which the divine can reveal itself to man.

~Rene Daumal

One aspect of my job that I enjoy is the outings. Don't get me wrong, they are at times difficult to coordinate and for that matter, implement. You'd think, "oh, let's take this group of 5-10 people to a museum, garden, resturant, no problem." Usually that is not the case...first you've got to figure out where to go, take into account weather, timing, participants that are appropriate for the outing. Then comes asking them all and answering their questions, assuring them it will be fine, then at times mapping out the order that they need to be picked up in, call caregivers, and the list goes on. That is all in advance, not even day of prep (which is a whole other story). The prep work for them tends to be the greatest hassle, but once I am on the bus and on the way, all is good!

Today, I took a group to Mt. Hood, specifically, Timberline Lodge. I had never experienced this place. I've many times looked up to the mountain from the city and am just in complete awe of such an amazing, beautiful beyond words, fixture in this city. I have gotten close to the mountain, heard stories and seen stories of people getting lost in the wild of the mountain, but I needed to see this untamed wilderness for myself.

I also knew that many of my participants may not have had this experience (found out on the bus that of the 12 of us on the bus, only 3 of us had never been that close--I tried!). So up the mountain we went. This was our destination:

Timberline Lodge. The photographer is unknown, but I swear this picture was taken today. The clue: the car parked in the center of the picture, facing out, closest to the building on the right side...it was in the same place today...weird!

History lesson (courtesy of the ever trusted Wikipedia): "The lodge was constructed between 1936 and 1938 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project during the Great Depression. Workers used large timbers and local stone, and placed intricately carved decorative elements throughout the building.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Lodge on September 28, 1937. (side note: if we'd waited 20 days we would have been at the site on the 72nd anniversary of the dedication).

The dedication ceremony was five months before completion of the lodge interior February 1938, when it opened to the public. It took extra expense and effort to make the lodge appear presentable for the dedication.

Lifestyles Northwest published a story about the history of Timberline Lodge in its February 2005 issue, based heavily on interviews with the family who have operated the lodge for fifty years. The story noted that in the lodge's early years, it had had four different operators, none of which was willing or able to maintain it. By 1955 Timberline Lodge was closed and in disrepair.
Richard Kohnstamm, the patriarch of the family that currently operates it, remembered those difficulties as being due to financing problems arising from the fact that the government owned it. Kohnstamm decided to maintain the place as if he owned it himself; he lost money during his first five years of operation, but his timing turned out to be fortuitous, since he began operating it only a few years before skiing started exploding in popularity in the late 1950s. That popularity helped the family generate a profit starting in 1960. Kohnstamm, "The man who saved Timberline", died at the age of 80 on April 21, 2006. Richard's son Jeff is now the Area Operator of Timberline Lodge.

The 1980 movie The Shining, used aerial shots of Timberline as part of its opening scene. Film of the exterior of the Timberline Lodge is also used for some establishing shots of the fictional Overlook Hotel throughout the movie."

Good history lesson, right? On to pictures:

If there is an emergency, please put on your oxygen mask before helping your neighbor... Let's not have an emergency on the outing, but we'll plan for it anyway! Also, enjoy the trees at Mt. Hood's timberline.
The view from the bus. You can faintly see Mt. Jefferson between the rear view mirror and the tree closest to center.

The peak in all of its glory. It had snowed over the weekend, so there was a nice dusting.

True majesty.


I have ambitions to climb here. Not to the top, but to the snow line. Maybe if I get on it I can do it before snow again this year...maybe next year...

ElderPlace bus with the mountain in the background.

I know you all want to go an the next outing with me and my folks, right? I knew it! We do welcome visitors.