Bend - Mt Bachelor and the Deschutes River

Deschutes River, just upstream of Bend

We spent the past weekend in Bend. Skied Mt Bachelor, hiked along the Deschutes River, and enjoyed Bend's downtown. For much of the time the city and surrounding areas were ensconced in a freezing fog, while just out of town it was 20 degrees warmer and brilliant sunshine. The PNW has been stuck in a pattern of persistent high pressure, keeping Pacific storms out for the last few weeks. As a result, air is stagnant, fog builds, heavy snow pack settles and sublimates away, and we all enjoy a string of dry days (when the fog burns off). Some time in the next week or two the pattern will break down and the storms will return. I almost miss the rain ... almost.

From the summit of Mt Bachelor, looking east to the fog and a distant Newberry Crater