Another thing not on the list of "must-do's". Snowshoeing. It sounded like something other people do. You know, the people who have all the "gear" and know how to use it. Not only did we never envision we would go snowshoeing, we did not think a trip to Mt. Saint Helens would be in the same visit, let alone same sentence.
Our friend Jodi is quite the adventurer. She also has adventurous friends. We've had the privilege of meeting some of them AND they invited us to go SNOWSHOEING on New Year's day.
Chris is Jodi's co-worker and is rather well-versed in all things outdoor-sports. Also reassuring was his frequenting of this little mountain/volcano he would take us to. Admittedly, I had no idea what we were in for, despite someone mentioning something about a 5 mile loop. Five is a good number, right. Not too much, not too little. Here's the route, sans snow.
Lots of great memories ensued from the moment we left, and there would be no shortage of them throughout the day. It was a very cold and windy day, however, the sky was bright blue with hardly any clouds.
Here is just a
sampling of what we saw:
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| Gearing Up |
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| First Reaction |
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| Snow Blanket |
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| A BIG snowball on top of a tree....weird! |
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| Our Trail! |
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| Our route for the June Lake Loop. You Are Here. |
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| We are seriously close. South side of Mt. Saint Helens. |
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| Gorgeous shot |
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| and another... |
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| Chris getting his mojo on x-country skis |
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| ...pictures still don't do this justice... |
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| ...God's creation... |
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| Snow troopers |
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| Scott's unplanned "sit-down" |
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| "we're at the top!" |
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| our view at the top--Mt. Saint Helens (south side) |
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| tight zoom. those black dots are snowmobiles! |
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| the waterfall at June Lake |
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| ..."let me fix you a little hot drink. Coffee, mocha, chai tea?" |
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| Seriously. Stop. |
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| the 1 mile road back to the parking lot |
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| Chris (A.K.A. Pack Mule) |
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| this is a real road sign buried in at least 6ft of fallen snow |
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| A beautiful shot to end our day. |
What a day! Great company, a new sport, a landscape that takes your breath away, and a workout like no other.
When are we going again, anyway?!
2 comments:
Breathtaking!
Wow! what an introduction to snow shoes! I just got my first 4 miles of the year on snow shoes. you were in some SERIOUS snow there! I hope it made you want to make it a new winter activity. -- Ron
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