South Coldwater Trail — Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020

We parked by the boat ramp and walked up the road to the South Clearwater trailhead. There was increasing snow all the way to the end of the ridge, with fairly deep snow by the end, but we were fine with poles and gaiters. We then hiked out on the lake trail, for a total of 11.7 miles, which took about 5 hours including brief stops. The snow was slow going and there were some very wet stream crossings on the way out. We brought micro spikes but didn’t use them. It was an absolutely gorgeous trail for a winter day! As we got back, everything was lit with Alpenglow, and the moon was huge over the lake.