Saturday, February 9, 2013

Skyline Lake February 9, 2013

Snow shoeing is not Derrick's favorite outdoor activity. However, in the winter there aren't many other options. After a bit of negotiating, I convinced him another snow shoe trip was in order and sure enough he had a great time!

The destination this time was Skyline Lake, again very near Stevens Pass. We parked in the north lot and hit the trail. You follow a groomed road up so snow shoes weren't even really necessary for a lot of the hike. It was a fairly gradual climb with increasingly nice views. We reached the end of the road at a tower (cell phone maybe?). At this point you have a nice view in several directions.

Here we mistakenly followed a smaller trail that we thought was leading to the lake. We soon realized it didn't quite seam right, but were almost at a high point so decided to keep going. We got up to a nice little summit where we met a few snowboarders and back country skiers. It was their tracks we followed. They were getting ready to hit some backcountry slopes so we took over their spot and had a nice lunch.

The views were great and the weather was quite cooperative. We decided our high point was more exciting than the lake so didn't bother to make a stop there on the way down. We realized later that the turn off to the lake is actually before you get to the tower. On the way down we attempted a mini glisade without much success. However, we did manage to amuse many other groups who were on their way up.


We found a snow hut along the trail. Derrick decided to climb on in and take a picture.

Derrick actually enjoying snow shoeing


Panorama from our view point

Snowy trees and ski runs


King of the mountain!


Lunch time


Derrick being a poser

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Lanham Lake February 3, 2013

We were starting to feel a bit too stationary this winter and decided it was time to head to the mountains. Sam, Sarah, Derrick, and I agreed a snow shoe trip was in order. We set our sites on Lanham Lake a relatively short hike near the Stevens Pass Nordic Center. This is a nice hike for two reasons; low avalanche danger and free parking!

It felt great to get out and stretch our legs. The hike in was pretty easy, gradual climbs through the snow covered forest. The lake was frozen with deep snow all around. We saw a few other groups, but were able to pick a nice area by the shore to have lunch. We all decided this would be a good place to come for winter snow camping.

On the way down Derrick and Sam were having way too much fun with impromptu glisade shoots. I don't think they could go more than 50 feet at a time, but it was pretty amusing. All in all a great day out in the mountains!

The four of us on the lake shore