We were treated to a nice sunny day at Snoqualmie Pass as we climbed high above the Gold Creek Valley to a pair of snowbound lakes under the jagged spires of Kendall Peak. The route mostly follows an old logging road, climbing nearly 2000 feet over the course of about 3.5 miles. The snow was nice, ranging from just a foot or two at the bottom, to several feet deep at the lakes. The tracks from previous visitors were easy to follow to the first lake, then we made our own tracks up to the second lake shortly beyond. Views of the Snoqualmie Pass area were great, including the ski areas, Silver Peak, Granite Mountain, and even the top of Mt. Rainier.

Whidbey Island has such an abundance of good short hikes and walks, there's always something new and different to discover. This day was devoted to three such areas around Coupeville: the Pratt Reserve (part of Ebey's Landing Reserve), Rhododendron County Park, and the Price Sculpture Forest. We fit in a nice lunch inbetween those at Molka Xete Mexican Cafe in Coupeville, and enjoyed a nice variety of experiences. Highlights included some great views of Admiralty Inlet and the Olympics, some beautiful forest trails, some interesting history and legacy buildings, many curious sculptures and other works of art, and last but not least, sightings of a pair of barred owls doing what owls do in mating season.

We headed over to Winthrop for four days of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing on the world-class trails system that is the Methow Trails. Snow cover is thin on many of the trails, but there was just enough for us to get in our trips. We spent our first afternoon on the trails around Sun Mountain Lodge, enjoying some great views and the clearest weather of the weekend. Day Two was spent near Mazama in the upper part of the valley, near the Freestone Inn Lodge Trails. Day Three was to the Cub Creek area, where we had nice fresh snow and some great snowshoeing conditions. A quick trip on the Big Valley Trails on the morning of Day Four wrapped up our travels. We stayed at the Winthrop Inn, and dined out at several restaurants in Winthrop. We had a fun group, mostly easy traveling, and a safe time for everyone.

This was another " snowshoe" trip where the snowshoes got to have the day off. But at least there WAS snow, both on the ground, and falling from the sky. We went to Leavenworth on the newly reopened section of Highway 2 through Tumwater Canyon (it looks great -- thanks WSDOT!), and then continued out the Icicle River Road to where the plowing stops. There's a few inches of packed down snow at that point, perfect for hiking with traction devices on our boots. The walk along the road is easy, scenic, and has the soundtrack of the  rushing river alongside. We went roughly 3 miles up the road, to the Johnny Creek Campground area, had a lunch break, and returned. A softly-falling snow added a great atmosphere to the walk, and only a handful of other people were encountered on the road. Capped it off with a spontaneous stop at the 59er Diner on the way home, making for a very pleasant outing.

Blue skies and fresh powder equals snowshoeing nirvana. That's what we had on this day as we tracked around the Heather Meadows area next to Mount Baker Ski Area. About 14 inches of new snow had fallen here in the previous 48 hours, and the clouds were nowhere to be seen for most of the day. We did a 2.5- mile route, going out past the Heather Meadows Visitor Center, and dropping down to cross over Bagley Lakes. LOTS of people out enjoying the perfect conditions today. One fun added feature: we discovered an excellent snow cave that a previous group had built (and left intact). Several of us were able to crawl into it, with room to spare!

It was nice to be snowshoeing on some fresh, clean snow again, as we toured just outside Stevens Pass Ski Area on Saturday. About 4 inches of powder snow came down the day before this trip, blanketing the trees and the ground and making everything look quite wintery again. Our route took us past four small lakes, and included a dramatic overlook of another lake. We racked up about 2.5 miles and 800 feet of elevation on the day. 

We were able to dial up a nice sunny winter day for a trip over to the Lake Crescent area of Olympic National Park. We walked a 5.5- mile section of the Spruce Railroad Trail, part of the longer Olympic Discovery Trail than spans the peninsula from sound to ocean. The trail skirts the northern shore of the large lake, sometimes right along the sun-splashing shoreline, and other times climbing away from the lake for long corridors in the lush old growth forest. The scenery was grand, and the paved path made for easy walking. Afterwards, we stopped at the Lake Crescent Lodge to take in views from the south shore of the lake. The lodge is closed for the winter, but the views are no less impressive. It was one of those days when it was hard to head for home.

King County Parks has over 400 miles of trails in their system, including 185 miles that are wide, gentle, and mostly paved. Among the nicest of these is the Green River Trail, a 19-mile corridor from Tukwila to Auburn that closely follows the river the whole way. We walked a 6-mile segment through Kent, which passed through various environments, from instrial warehouses to parklands, golf courses, and apartment complexes. There's plenty of nice scenery, including views of Rainier and the Cascades. After our walk, we explored Kent Station, the development in the center of town near the train and bus stations. There are shops, services, and lots of restaurants, so we had no problem finding a good lunch stop. 

Conditions are not the best for cross country skiing this winter, due to the lack of snow and unseasonably warm temperatures. But we did have some reasonably OK snow for skiing at this area just east of Snoqualmie Pass on Saturday. Trails at Crystal Springs are probably 95% fine, with a few areas of melt out and dirty snow, but we found that by picking the right trails, we never had to remove our skis to walk across dry ground. I guess that counts as a win this winter! One bonus to the less-than-stellar conditions was that the trails were uncrowded, as we ran into relatively few other skiers on the trails. And parking was a breeze. Most of us got in about 6-8 miles of skiing, a great bit of exercise on this cloudy, showery day.

This was supposed to be a snowshoe trip to a 4000-foot-high vista point overlooking the White River Valley near Greenwater. And yes, we did go to the vista point, but there was absolutely no snow whatsoever. We knew that going in, so the snowshoes stayed at home. The weather was quite cloudy and showery, so the views were limited, but the consolation was the pleasant trail and great scenery along the way. The Palisades are a steep wall about 1000 feet high that flanks the valley just off Highway 410, and the trail switchbacks right up to the top of them. The old growth trees, soaring rock formations, and tumbling waterfalls make for a very scenic hike. We climbed to a pair of cliff-top overlooks know as North and South Snoquera Points.

Grab your umbrella and your comfy walking shoes, time for a rainy day walk on this wonderful rail-trail on the east side of Lake Sammamish. The railroad was built here in the 1880's, with the promise of bringing prosperity to all that lived and worked along the route. After over 80 years of service, the rail line was abandoned in the 1970's, and then after years of legal wrangling, the trail was established in 2006. Hundreds of big ticket homes have been built along either side of the railroad right-of-way, so walking the trail is almost like a "Street of Dreams" tour. But there are natural delights too. Right when we first set foot on the trail, a pair of eagles perched on a tall tree right overhead. Most folks wound up walking about 6 miles, skirting the northern half of the lake and winding up at Marymoor Park in Redmond. 

This trip took place on the last day of the "January drought" that has delivered a span of 14 dry days in a row to western Washington. The route to Big Four Picnic Area in winter involves walking the Mountain Loop Highway. The highway is gated closed about 24 miles east of Granite Falls, and even though the elevation here is quite low (1600 feet), snow still (mostly) covers the highway beyond the closure gate. The snow that remains is all frozen and very hard on the surface, so we eschewed snowshoes in favor of traction devices, and wound up making good time on the 2-mile stretch to the picnic area. After a quick break for lunch there, we continued on the 1-mile trail leading to the Big Four Ice Caves. The caves themselves are buried in snow and aren't much to see, but the setting there at the foot of the 4000-foot wall of Big Four Mountain is something to behold. A layer of high clouds denied us much sunshine, but didn't hamper the views a bit.