Surprise Lake Snowshoe — Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025

I got a late start, about 930am, so I ultimately considered turning around at the first Lake, but I'm so glad I didn't. The first bit of the trail was icy so I threw on my micro spikes early. And like the last review, I popped my snow shoes on about 3 miles in. 2.85 miles according to Alltrails tracking. Just as I emerged out of trees onto the first snow field. From the time they were on until the top I was more happy to have them on than encumbered by them, though there will be times they're on such icy snow they wouldn't otherwise be necessary. Somebody had clearly made it most of the way in boots but I appreciated gliding over the top of their post holes.
There are sections near the top that aren't exactly fun snowshoeing terrain. The snow is so icy and chewed up that your snowshoes are rolling your ankles as they roll around on top of the surface. Snowshoes are absolutely necessary once you get to the lakes so if that's your goal make sure you have them. I am immensely grateful to whoever snowshoed all the way to glacier Lake and broke the trail. You saved me a lot of time checking the map and worry about where I was going. There were a few spots where snowshoe tracks cut the switchbacks. I tended to take those and accept the incline to save distance. HOWEVER on the way back downhill I realized these cut switchbacks were crossing boulder fields full of gaps and pores so I'd recommend sticking to the mapped trail. If you want a challenging snowshoe, beautiful views throughout, great payoff at the end, and a good chance of seclusion this is. Best snow should have done in my life yet.