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| Snowshoeing | 4.91 Miles |
1,586 AEG |
| | Snowshoeing | 4.91 Miles | 3 Hrs 11 Mns | | 1.65 mph |
| 1,586 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | On another marvelous snowy afternoon I decided to take a crack at Fish Creek Falls. This is by far the most popular trail in the area and I was happy to find only a couple of cars in the parking lot. One of them belonged to some climbers who were taking on the falls. That's the first time I've gotten to watch that in person. Looks easier than rock climbing, but who knows.
I started in bare boots, but added microspikes after crossing the bridge for going up the switchbacks, and switched to snowshoes maybe a mile in as the snow got deeper and the footing irritatingly soft.
After crossing the second bridge the trail traverses a tough stretch around a cliff. This area had not seen as much traffic (I could barely tell anybody had been before me), and it took very careful steps, each dug in and assured of stability before moving the other foot. I made it around this obstacle, but the heavy and drifted snow resulted in me missing the turn that goes up the final climb to the upper falls and instead went into drainage below the falls and turned around. It turned out to be ok because the trail climbs a steep slope that was windloaded with fresh snow and it didn't look like a good idea for me to be on it anyway!
I descended to the 2nd bridge via some ski trails that folks who leave the ski area from a backcountry gate high above had broken just an hour or so earlier. The rest of the way back down was another winter wonderland. With another couple inches of fresh snowfall on the trail since I began, I kept snowshoes on the whole way back to the parking lot. |
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
