Weather was much better than expected, with plenty of blue sky, and temps certainly felt warmer that the 'high of 30 degrees' that the weatherman promised.
Upon my arrival at about 10:30am there were only about five or six cars parked at the trail head. Even though it's early in the season, I expected a lot more (and more did show up, later).
Just after my arrival at the TH, a SUV pulled up and a group piled out of the car. They sounded like a group of people just getting to know one another. I inquired if they were a Mountaineers group, but learned they were actually a local Meet-Up group.
A short while later I met another solo person with snowshoes who was just getting started. I'll just refer to him as DMS for this Trip Report.
The first half mile or so was packed enough for easy walking without snowshoes but it did eventually become softer snow and a lot deeper so the snowshoes were a necessity (if you didn't bring skis).
DMS and I leapfrogged each other a couple times through the first two miles or so but ended up just pacing each other and chatting about previous outdoor recreation trips and agreeing that 'more' is never enough.
The route was well established and easy to follow.
Ultimately we reached the end of the broken trail just a short ways after the end of the logging road (on my map anyway).
DMS wasn't ready to give up yet so he started breaking trail, following the faint trough that remained after all the recent snow. I followed right behind him, but decided to call it quits at about 4,300 elevation. I hadn't done a very good job of eating and felt the beginning pangs of leg cramps coming on.
While having a snack break, I noticed a pattern of lines on a nearby hillside. Not sure what it's from but I'm guessing it's a result of how the hillside was logged.
DMS opted to continue onward, knowing we were getting pretty close. We wished each other good luck and parted ways.
All in all it was a fantastic day on the trail and I look forward to finishing that last half mile or so in the next couple of months.
Parking for this snowshoe route is at the Gold Creek Sno-Park which requires a daily or annual permit for your vehicle. Enforcement begins about November 15th and continues until mid April or May, depending on snow levels.
GPS Tracklog from this trip:
7.6 miles.
Next outing is scheduled for Dec 12th... or the 19th. Stay tuned!
Happy Trails!
~E
The lines on the hill are indeed from logging. Cable logging. Evidently, when the trees are dragged up the hill on cables, it scrapes the hillside down to the bedrock and nothing grows there for quite a while. If that hillside is Kendall Knob, then I believe it was logged at least 20 years ago. Doesn't look much like a renewable resource.
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