I led my January Saturday Snowshoe for the Cascadians today up the Chipmunk Rd. This road climbs at a very even, gentle grade up the south side of American Ridge from the Bumping River Rd. The walking was very easy due to the snow having been well compacted by snowmobiles earlier in the week and the grade was so gentle that before we knew it we had walked a little over 4 mi & gained 1000'. As we climbed, we had nice views across the valley to Little Bald, Old Scab Mtn, & Bauer Mtn. The day was cloudy when we started, but quickly became only partly cloudy & we spent much of the day in sunshine. The views were not the most spectacular that I have had, but the sunshine made for a very nice walk.