Snowshoeing Snoqualmie

Even though spring is in full bloom here now, a few weekends ago winter was till very much alive in the mountains - and probably still is. My Mom has been to visit us in Washington many times now, but she's rarely visited in the winter season and we've never done any snow-centered activities. Being a Wisconsinite, she gets plenty of that at home! Kevin and I have never actually done much in the way of winter sports here either, although we used to do quite a bit of skiing / snowboarding in Wisconsin. You've just got to do something in the winter there to keep from going stir crazy. This year, we really wanted to try to do something in Washington, too. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the snow a little bit. Not the every day kind that you have to endlessly shovel for four months, but the kind that's pretty and refreshingly bright and crisp.

So, we decided to snowshoe! We rented snowshoes from Second Ascent, which is just a fantastic place. I'll happily give them all my money for any outdoor related gear anyway but they also happen to have a really great rate. Highly recommended.For our routes, we decided to choose something relatively flat and free of avalanche danger. This was our first time out after all. So, we set our sights on hiking the trails around the Lower Gold Creek Basin Sno-Park. You can read all about it from the Washington Trails Association website. 

We set out fairly early on Saturday after a customary stop for road-doughnuts at Top Pot. This trip required us to go through the Snoqualmie Pass and we knew the forecast was for snow. No one was too worried, though. We know how to drive in snow right? And it's a major highway so it has to be plowed and salted right? As we got further and further into the pass, the snow really started to come down. Everyone was driving much more slowly and visibility was low. But, the road was still plowed and salted and it seemed completely doable. Nevertheless, I started to freak out a bit and curse myself for not buying pair of snow chains. Wait, let me rephrase that. All of the other drivers started to freak out and pull over in large groups to attach their snow chains. Which in turn made me freak out. Was I missing something? Why were there cars in the ditch? It must be much worse than it looks right? And be getting even worse up ahead? Uhh...not so much. I have no idea why those cars ended up in the ditch or why people were attaching snow chains with so much fervor. Sure, it was slushy and you had to drive slow...but we made it to our destination (and back down later) with not even the slightest slip or slide. Maybe I'm still missing something and seasoned Washingtonians will scoff at my assessment and naiveté but I just don't understand what all the fuss was about. 

Anyway, back to the snowshoeing. We did arrive safely despite the snow and bundled up to hit the trails. It was quite windy where we parked, but as soon as we got into the woods the wind died down and we warmed right up. It was snowing the whole time we were out, which was both ideal and not ideal. It was beautiful in itself, but also meant we didn't get any mountain views as we hiked. The trail was a bit busy, but not too bad. A few of my favorite parts were seeing the cozy little snow-covered cabins that are tucked into the woods along the trail and seeing all of the happy dogs that people brought along with them on their hikes. Hiking always makes me want to get a dog! They just look like they love life so much while they're jumping around in the snow or trotting next to their owners as they cross country ski. 

After snowshoeing we made our way back to North Bend, where we'd booked a night at the Log Cabin Bed and Breakfast. It looked like a cute place online with decent Yelp reviews and fit the bill of sleeping three. I won't discuss it much, but instead be brief and just say DO NOT STAY THERE. It's weird and overpriced with a very misleading website. At least the room we stayed in. One of the many strange details was a vine of ivy that had forced it's way through the ceiling joist from the outside. So. Weird. 

Sunday we decided not to snowshoe, but rather to just do a hike. We headed to Twin Falls, a trail Kevin and I had hiked in the summertime once. It continued to snow and the trail was snow-covered almost the whole way, but we didn't need our snowshoes. We did about two-thirds of the trail then turned back and headed back home. Overall, it was a good first foray into Washington winter sport. Maybe next year we'll finally make it to a proper ski hill, without a stay at the Log Cabin Bed and Breakfast I might add.