Gold Creek Snowshoe

12-8-2011

Location: Snoqualmie Pass Gold Creek Snow Park

Activity:  Snowshoeing

Directions: From Seattle take I-90 east to Snoqualmie Pass. Take Exit 54 "Hyak" turn left under I-90. Then take the second right as the first will send you back to Seattle onto Lake Mardee RD approximately 1 mile  on the right will be Nat for Dev RD 144 and the trail head.

RD 144

This was my first time out snowshoeing and I must say I had a great time.  The weather was cool and sunny and could not have asked for better.

The only short fall was with no new snow in the last two weeks & with some warm afternoons the snow was a bit crusty on top.  But I did not care a bit.  I was out to explore and see what it was like to go snowshoeing.

For those of you who may be considering snowshoeing for the fist time this winter a couple of things to keep in mind.  First make sure you bring your TEN ESSENTIALS with you.  Make sure you have a change of warm clothing with you.  Water to drink and extra food.  But before you head out into the back country or even leave home a couple things you should really check are road conditions (Here) and even more important check for AVALANCHE DANGER (HERE). And of-course check the weather report (Mountain Report Here).  Make sure you are ready for the unexpected and that some one knows where you are and when your going to be back.

Gold Creek Pond

I arrived at the trail head about 11 am and this being my first time out took my time getting ready.  It was nice being there on a week day as I had read in the guides that this is a popular place on weekends.  So I donned my snowshoes for the first time and headed up Nat for Dev RD 144 to Nat Dev RD 9080 which leads the way to Gold Creek Pond.

It was interesting getting use to walking with the snowshoes not as hard as I thought but I did notice that I do tend not to move as quickly as I do hiking in the summer time.

Reaching the pond I headed around to the left following the well made rut from other snowshoers and cross country skiers as I wanted to make a loop out of it.  About 3/4 of the way around I came to the Gold Creek trail juncture and took a left heading up to RD 144 and on up the basin.

Just before reaching the end of RD 144 of to the left I took a little detour that adds on about .3 miles to the adventure and headed to Heli's Pond. It's a small pound with a little bridge crossing the creek on the west end.

Once I reached the end of RD 144 and started on up the trail I could hear Gold Creek off to my left and having a sense of adventure going on with this outing and wanting to try out what skills I have I kept and eye out for a spot to head off the trail that was in the trees and see if I could find something that was a little more open with a little something more to see.

I found my spot and headed off to the left of the trail working my way down through the trees to Gold Creek.  Once I was there I headed on up the basin.  I continued on till about 1pm when I stopped for lunch and enjoyed the views and a sunny afternoon with the sound of Gold Creek running by.

It was at this point that I made the decision to head back as I wanted to be back before it was dark.

Along the way back I did come across a group of snowshoers heading up the road.  I am sure by the smiles on their faces that they were having as much fun as I was.