Today, the route to Kendall Lakes was a well-defined trench in the deep, fresh snow, but the path became narrower and less consolidated as we climbed past the first mile. Snow continued to fall all day, and more was forecast overnight! Snowshoes or skis are necessary.
We mostly followed other skiers' and snowshoers' tracks up to the second lake. When we occasionally broke our own trail, it was arduous in more than a foot of unconsolidated fresh snow. Heading back, we made our own tracks down the upper part of the valley along the north side of the creek. Skiing the steeper slopes though the forest is challenging, and most of us took at least one fall, but it is possible to do on backcountry nordic skis. When we reached an old logging road that heads southeast across the valley, we followed it to intersect the main trail at the big switchback at about 4100 ft.
One of our group broke a ski pole on the way up. Fortunately, we had some duct tape along for an emergency repair. The pole ended up 6-inches shorter, but we didn't need to abort the trip.
Stats: 8.4 miles, 1,900 ft elevation, 5.5 hrs
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