SmithbrookRecent Trip Reports
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Snowshoe/XC Ski
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Snow on trail
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Great day for a snowshoe up Smithbrook Rd. Shared the road with various polite snowmobiles, several ...
Great day for a snowshoe up Smithbrook Rd. Shared the road with various polite snowmobiles, several snowboarders and xc skiers, and overnight backpackers. Quite an assortment of people getting out in the beauty of the Pacific NW. From our car parked along Hwy 2 to the Lake Valhalla trail head before the 3rd switchback was about 3.5mi per our GPS. Smithbrook starts out relatively level and then starts to head up. The road is snow covered with plenty of snowmobile tracks, snowshoe tracks and ski tracks to follow. We turned around just before the 3rd switchback which is the summertime trail head for Lake Valhalla. Just before the trail head you will pass through an open area that recently must have had a small avalanche as there is a tree across the road but the road is still accessible over the snow pile.
Snowshoe/XC Ski
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Snow on trail
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We (four humans, two dogs) got a late start due to some scheduling conflicts - arrived about 12:45pm...
We (four humans, two dogs) got a late start due to some scheduling conflicts - arrived about 12:45pm. We were the only people headed up at this time of day. We saw quite a few snowshoers, XC skiers and one very polite snowmobiler.
Although it was cloudy, it was a beautiful day to be out in the snow. We did get snowed on the entire time, but it was light snow and didn't make us miserable. The dogs had a great time zipping around in the snow. We turned around at the first switchback due to it being so late. This worked out perfect for me since I hadn't been snowshoeing since last March. I'm not sure if I could have handled any real elevation gain on my first outing of the season. :) Snowshoe/XC Ski
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Snow on trail
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There was lots of new snow at Stevens Pass and at times we were stepping down through two feet of sn...
There was lots of new snow at Stevens Pass and at times we were stepping down through two feet of snow before the snow compacted enough to stop our snowshoes. We broke trail for awhile and then some skiers passed us and we had a bit of easier snowshoeing in their tracks.
When we began we had a break in that the snowblower had not come along and the berm along Hwy-2 was easy to climb. The blower came along after the hike and left about a four-five foot vertical wall. Day hike
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Even though we had to park on Hwy 2, there is a cleared, wide area on the side of the highway. Snow...
Even though we had to park on Hwy 2, there is a cleared, wide area on the side of the highway. Snowed heavily all day. 2 groups of XC skiers, and 2 snowmobile groups who were very polite - pulling over and slowing down. Gentle incline up to the trailhead. There are 2 trails leading from what is the parking area in the summer. We went on the trail taking off from the switchback. It was easy to find because others have made a path through the snow, but not sure how long that will last with all the snow this week. VERY steep once we got on the trail. We didn't make it to the lake, because it was getting dark.
Snowshoe/XC Ski
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Took our annual post-Thanksgiving snowshoe up Smithbrook Road this year.
When we parked at the pl...
Took our annual post-Thanksgiving snowshoe up Smithbrook Road this year.
When we parked at the plow-out on the north side of Highway 2 we knew we'd have some snowmobile company, since the plow berm wasn't high enough to provide a barrier & there were six sled trailers parked. Headed up the road toward the Smithbrook Trailhead in bright sun, with the temperature just below freezing. The creeks were still running, and the lovely sound of gurgling water accompanied us for the first mile. Several feet of snow; great snowshoe and ski conditions. We were super politely passed by a couple of snowmobilers heading up and a couple more returning from their ride along the forest service roads; met three folks & one wonderful dog out backcountry skiing, otherwise had the day to ourselves until lunchtime at the Smithbrook trailhead. There we were joined by about 6 snowmachines who wanted to play on the snowbanks where we were eating our lunch; their exhaust & noise from zipping up & down the road near us finally convinced us to pack up. Because the snow load was not heavy enough yet to pose a danger on the road cuts past the trailhead we were planning on heading up toward rainy pass, but the snowmobilers were still running the road above us, so we called it a day and headed back down to the car. That group of 6 snowmobilers aside, it was a beautiful outing & a great season-opener of 6 gentle miles. |
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