Snowshoeing

I started 2016 off with a bang.  Not literally.  I actually spent New Years Day in the Vegas airport working on my computer, and then finally back to the great state of Washington.  But the next morning, my friend called and wanted to try snowshoeing, so of course I was in.  Two days in, and already I was off on a new adventure.

I learned that snowshoeing is super fun!  I probably won't be venturing out on my own any time soon (uh, snowshoes are $$), but a nice beginners hike was right up my alley. 

We hit the road pretty early (I'm talking early for a weekend...maybe 8am) to try and beat the crowd, but outdoor people are morning people.  Although we missed the high traffic time, there were still a bunch of people that had the same idea as us.

There were hundreds (just a guess) of cars trying to park in a lot for about 15 cars, so everyone was parked along a narrow road, which left one lane of traffic for two lanes of cars getting throw.  With an icy road and big and small cars, it made for an interesting/stressful parking experience.

But ohhhh the snowshoeing fun!  We hit up Gold Creek Pond, because according to lots of online sources it is a good beginners hike for snowshoeing.

It was picture perfect in every way.  Snoqualmie Pass has gotten feet and feet of snow this winter, and had just had a fresh snow dump the week prior to our visit (up to 210 inches of snow had fallen as of Jan. 2nd), so we were standing on a good amount of snow on our hike.

The hike itself wasn't too long- maybe half a mile to the trail and about a mile around the lake, so probably 2-2.5 miles total.

Once we got to the pond, I kind of forgot that the pond would be iced over.  I don't know why I expected to see water.  A few people were out on the ice, but I didn't trust it enough to venture that far, especially since there were parts that weren't iced over at all.

The PERFECT day to be outside.  I was wearing 8 layers of clothing, so I wasn't too chilly except toward the end.

That's the bathroom hahaha

It was a little cloudy in the mountains when we were there, but that just made it more beautiful.  I definitely want to come back here in the summer when the snow is melted and the sunshine is bright.  The trail is wide and a great quick getaway to escape to nature.

LOVED it!  I'm so lucky to have friends who are up for these day hikes.  I still need to learn my hiking safety tips and I need to get my backpack packed with the 10 "hiking essentials" so that I'm a safer hiker.  That's my next outdoor goal!