Saturday, February 22, 2020
Start/End: Sawyer River Rd Winter Parking
Mileage: 14.5
Elevation gain/loss: 3927′
GaiaGPS track
I started from the trailhead at 7:15, with two other cars in the parking lot. I barebooted the packed road/snowmobile track to the trailhead. I needed to put on snowshoes almost immediately; it was broken out since the last storm but was mostly unpacked powder. I caught up with the group of 6 in snowshoes around the big water crossings. Then I was following a single person’s snowshoe tracks, up to 3200′ where they had stopped and turned around. From there, I got to break trail with 6″ of fresh powder (18″ drifts) by myself to the summit maybe 1.5-2 miles away. I made it to the summit platform well before noon, took some beautiful pictures, and then headed back down.
The wind at the summit platform was wicked (maybe 25-30 MPH) so I didn’t doddle. I passed by the group of 6 at the ledges, and saw another 5 people (all in snowshoes as well) coming up the trail as I was descending. The trail will still need snowshoes tomorrow (especially with the snow getting warmer and softer), but the trail is broken out and well on its way to becoming a monorail.
