Took our 4 year old snowshoeing for the first time. We made it to the lake and then headed back so she wouldn’t get too tired. The trail was beautiful and peaceful. Not maybe people 11am on a Friday morning on the snowshoe portion of the trail.

Took our 4 year old snowshoeing for the first time. We made it to the lake and then headed back so she wouldn’t get too tired. The trail was beautiful and peaceful. Not maybe people 11am on a Friday morning on the snowshoe portion of the trail.

I attempted to do this hike with my mom and sister after having so much fun on it last year. I went looking for trip reports, only to discover my report from last year was the most recent one!

The parking lot was icy, but my little hatchback did just fine. The trail was pretty well defined from the start, but the route was distinctly different from what I had remembered from the previous year. The trail became harder to follow as the number of footprints decreased and the path wound through trees. Eventually, we came to a well-defined track and we were excited, this must be the trail! We followed it until we came out to a groomed ski slope. I checked Gaia and we were nowhere near the trail and a good distance from Hyak Lake. We tried to go up the slope a ways in hopes of find the trail again, but to no avail. We trekked down the slope and eventually came to the bottom of a chairlift that was not in operation yet. We called it a day and headed to Commonwealth for some lunch. 

I'm not really sure where the trail is. I didn't see any tracks splitting off or any forks in the trail, so maybe this trail needed to be broken. Either way, my pup, mom, and sister still had lots of fun and the tomato soup/grilled cheese combo at Commonwealth was delicious!

We got to the parking lot about 9:45 and there was plenty of parking available. But it was PACKED when we returned from the trail, so I imagine we got there just before the ski rush. You’ll find the trailhead across the street from the parking lot. Go up the residential street and turn right at the fork. The trailhead is a break in the snow at a curve in the road; it’s unmarked. It looks like the trail should go straight ahead, but you should immediately go to the right; go down a steep bank and cross a small creek. You’ll have to cross a groomed ski trail. Watch for skiers and snowboarders coming from the left. My corgi puppy tried to herd a snowboarder... As you continue, watch for the blue diamonds. At one point they seem to disappear, so we got by following the yellow markers (even though the hike description says not to). We got to a giant open snow field, which we later realized was Hyak Lake. You can continue up a steepish trail past this, but it will take you to another groomed ski trail. Dogs are not allowed on groomed trails (we found this out after a stern talking-to from ski patrol). We returned to Hyak Lake, which was a great place to have some snacks and hot chocolate. All around a great snowshoe on a beautiful day!

6.7 miles up to Nordic Pass.  Trail in phenomenal shape (all snow covered, little ice, our MSR snowshoes loved it.  The first segment, up to the warming hut area had about 12 people, then zero from there to the pass.  wow

ps, ignore the hike stats that say its only 600 vertical; its about 1550.