Sunday, December 31, 2006

Snowshoeing by Moonlight

Debbie Waldear runs the Kirkwood Cross-Country and Snowshoe Center. They maintain 85 kilometers of groomed trails for across two trail systems. The upper Schneider trail system has incredible views of Caples Lake, Round Top Mountain and Kirkwood Mountain.

Last night we went on one of their guided moonlight snowshoe tours. A group of 38 people showed up, which the guides claimed was a world record for a Kirkwood moonlight snowshoe event. We brought our own snowshoe gear, so after waiting for everyone to show up we went outside, geared up, and went with the pack on the tour. I bought a small LED headlamp from REI last year and was happy I had it on this tour - you never know when you might need one. :)

Our trip took us along the High Trail Extension, which goes behind Kirkwood Lake and has awesome views of the Carson Spur as well as the Sierra Crest. I thought this trip would take us on a fairly flat, easy hike, but the guides decided to have some fun and took the group up and down some really steep areas. At one point nearly everyone just sat down on their but and slided down an extremely steep part of the hike instead of trying to hike down on their snowshoes.

Overall the hike was a blast and well worth the $25/person charge. Total hike time was roughly 90 minutes. Make sure to bring warm gloves if you go.

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