Yesterday Barb L. and I went snowshoeing near Snoqualmie Pass. I had suggested we try it a couple months ago then just before Christmas Ry sent me an email tip about the Forest Service offering Guided Snowshoe Walks. I forwarded it on to Barb who, being the proactive person that she is, made the reservations for us.
I have done a fair amount of snowshoeing (mostly accessing Boomershoot territory during the winter months) but Barb had not done any. My snowshoes are rather old and I knew the newer kind probably were a lot better and wanted to see and try them out before buying a new pair.
The trail we were on did not require snowshoes:
I would have been fine with my normal size 14 hiking boots. But we went off trail a little bit and I also got to experience walking in the newer type of snowshoes.
Here are some pictures (picture below by Barb. All others by me):
Barb’s view of her feet. She is over 6′ tall so the sense of height is well founded.
There were other things that were also quite pleasant to look at:
The restroom was closed for the winter.
A mother brought her child along.
I didn’t know that some woodpeckers made rectangular holes.
We saw some people making snow caves.
We got some short history lessons as well.
We had left a very foggy Bellevue and had beautiful crystal clear sky on our walk. As we returned to the lower elevation it was like driving into a wall of dreariness.
I kid you not…someone once tried to tell me “There’s no *mountains* in Washington!”
(I’m missing home from the flatlands of Floriduh)
If they were from Colorado then they could make a case for these not being real mountains. Snoqualmie Pass is a little over 3000 feet above sea level. I went over one pass near Dillon CO (elevation 9000′) that was 11000 feet above sea level.