Paulina Lake (January 2011)

My aunts insisted that we use their Sunriver house (click HERE for info and rental rates!) the second weekend in January, which happened to be Brad's birthday. Our first order of business was cross-country skiing to Paulina Lake a few miles southeast of the resort.
We'd heard good things about the area and made plans after looking it up online and in trail books. We parked at 10-Mile Sno-Park and decided to take the 3-mile Ponderosa Rim Trail to the lake and return on the 3 1/4-mile View Trail (we were never sure what the view was supposed to be... it was all very wooded).
There was lots of snow the previous holiday weekend but none since, so it was a bit icy in spots -- not the best conditions. But the heavily forested trail was very clearly marked and easy to follow. It's also a very popular snowmobile spot, so the sounds and smells of nature were occasionally interrupted by the roar and stench of two-stroke engines.
We followed a canyon ridge and could hear water below. After a while we saw this sign and thought we'd check out the falls.
What a payoff! The trip was worth it just to see the frozen falls:
I put on my puffy jacket and brought out my lunch while Brad went nuts with his camera and new filters.
When I was too cold to take it anymore, we packed up and skied the short distance to the lake. I thought I could smell a wood fire when I saw this sign. Boy, how the mind plays tricks.
But then we skied a short distance and spotted the restaurant - open with smoke drifting from the chimney!
It was late in the day, so we didn't want to use up daylight to go inside for hot chocolate :( Next time! The resort looked mostly occupied by snowmobilers, but the cute cabins and lake views sure looked tempting.
After getting more pictures, we hit the road and headed mostly downhill toward the parking lot. We checked the map along the way and appeared to be right on course. But then we arrived at a road and weren't sure where to go. The excellent trail markers and signs had vanished. We took our best bet and did come out right at the car. Not sure what happened to the signs right at the end.

The weather was excellent and the snow wasn't horrible. We enjoyed exploring the new trail and seeing the icy falls and lake. Next time, we'll go early enough for hot chocolate!

:)