Snowshoeing at Trout Lake

After that wonderful drive through Lamar Valley, we headed for Trout Lake to see what it looked like in snow. These first 2 pictures are of the lake in August-September.









It provides a beautiful walk and there is a path all the way around the lake with off-shoots for even more adventure.










And...here is the trailhead. The snow plow had obviously been piling snow into the pull out area. It took a few minutes of walking around to find the start to the path. This trail takes a quick turn up a hill, through some trees and up another hill before reaching the lake. It was easier climbing this portion than coming down as you'll see at the end...



And we're off up the first hill. The snow was melting and the sun was warm but at 30 degrees it takes a while to feel really warmed up. Plenty of people had gone before us and there was a good path to use. How the first person knows where to go is a mystery to us though.








A side view from the trail. There were a lot of animal trails but none to be seen this day.









This gives you an idea of the incline we are fording with gigantic clown shoes attached to our feet. Snowshoes are great for distributing weight to keep one on top of the snow. Bob measured a few spots as about 2' deep.









This is the 2nd hill. I don't know if it looks further than it is or is further than it looks...

With the whole time out, we only managed 1 mile of walking and it took us 1 1/2 hours!





The views are breath taking. This is the lake.











There is a water release area for the lake and a two tree crossing which Bob is on.

We didn't go very far past the bridge before turning back. Making it around the lake in snowshoes is not an ideal adventure, at least not for us. This is me going around the side of the lake to the main trail.

I tried to take us around the other side but the way was shallow and melting. Better bet to head back down.


It was warm enough to remove our coats for a time. Right after this my left foot found a hole in the path and my shoe and snowshoe disappeared about 1' down. I had to dig for a minute to pull them back out.

The snow melts underneath first but glazes over on the top to give you the impression it is solid. I encountered several holes and was glad I only went through one of them all the way.



I told Bob I would have done better sliding down on my rear holding the shoes! This is the last area before the parking lot. That was too large of a drop for me to navigate. I am very thankful that snow is more forgiving than pavement, ha! And another fun day is done!