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| Snowshoeing | 5.30 Miles |
788 AEG |
| | Snowshoeing | 5.30 Miles | 2 Hrs 54 Mns | | 1.94 mph |
| 788 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | After enjoying several of the nearby nonmotorized trails, I decided to see how things looked on the unrestricted east side of the pass.
I started from Muddy Creek, one of four trailheads that provide access to snow machines. Motorized users must yield to skiers and snowshoers, but I wasn't sure I'd be happy listening to the drone of engines and breathing exhaust of these guys who can easily reach speeds over 50mph.
I may have gotten lucky, but starting in the late afternoon resulted in me not encountering any vehicles for over two hours until a group of 5 passed me while making my way back to the truck.
I headed up the groomed Trail 1J which leads a mile north to the old/original highway crossing of Rabitt Ears Pass and the current location of the CDT just east of Dumont Lake. From there I attempted to climb toward nearby peak 10,366 via the cut of forest road 311. Once I reached an elevation high enough to break free from the trees, the views opened up nicely to the east, and Rabbit Ears Peak looked amazing. I'd never been this close to it before, and I seriously contemplated an unplanned summit attempt.
It was less than a mile from me but I hadn't planned time for that long of an adventure today so I decided to enjoy the view and no more. (Also I had done no research lol -- the higher ear is technical, the slightly lower one can apparently be done with a class-4 scramble. I probably couldn't have pulled that off in the snow anyway. Perhaps I'll have to make a summer visit to this gem!)
The sun began to lower in the sky and the wind kicked up. I went from comfortably warm in a thin baselayer to freezing cold in hat, gloves, poofy ... the works. I decided to pick up the pace and regain some warmth. As I descended, trees sheltered the wind and the remainder of the afternoon was comfortable.
I spent some time on the CDT, as well as a little effort trying to literally trace the actual divide for a stretch. It's always cool to think about how water that drains on your left side will make it's way to the Pacific, while a few inches away the water will eventually find its way to the Atlantic.
Did you know the CDT isn't on HAZ!? Me neither!
I'm not sure I'd want to mingle with the snow machines too often, but they do a good job packing down the snow. A layer of fresh snowfall on top of their tracks is a pleasure to float on. |
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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
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