| |
|
| | |
|
| Snowshoeing | 8.95 Miles |
1,928 AEG |
| | Snowshoeing | 8.95 Miles | 6 Hrs 27 Mns | | 1.57 mph |
| 1,928 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | The winter that keeps on giving just keeps on giving! Here in the valley, the weather has been somewhat placid, but in the high country, little impulses of energy keep dropping a couple inches of snow everyday. Mixed with some warmer spring weather and rain, the snowpack is nicely consolidated. It's also holding a ton of water. But it makes for an enjoyable snowshoeing surface, and that's really all that matters.
I figured it would be a dry hike to the rim before we could float. Another overnight snowfall left a fresh coating on the trees for scenic views. The trail was muddy and we postholed through deep old snow along the oak traverse. No reason for flotation though as the exposed ridge still had plenty of rocks. Around the rim crest we switched to skyfeet and pressed on from there.
The drainages were flowing lightly as a result of the warmer weather and a briefly rainy Tuesday. That was no problem as several inches of fresh powder had fallen since. But the snowpack is so deep that getting down into the creek crossings was a challenge, but not nearly as difficult as getting back out of them! We picked the best lines and made it work though.
I completely buried my pole trying to measure the snow depth on the rim road. After digging out a little bit, I was finally able to hit the ground -- 58" down. Not too bad for the last week of March! I wonder when the road will open? 
The lake is full, and I was surprised to find it frozen and snow covered. With so much snow there was no way to gauge the ice thickness and I had zero faith in it being safe at this point in the season, so we attempted to make our way around the shoreline. I fell through to my knees and that put a quick end to that adventure! ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") .
It snowed steadily during our lunch break and fresh accumulation blurred our tracks on our afternoon return. Despite a fantastically adventurous day, we opted for more entertainment with a first-ever stop at Pete's Place ... because yolo  |
| _____________________
| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
