Sand Lake Snowshoe — Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

South Cascades > White Pass/Cowlitz River Valley

A group of us have a long standing tradition of a winter overnight at Sand Lake. Last year we had nineteen intrepid folks. This year only four of us made the trip a priority. Conditions were beautiful. A few inches of new snow on top of a firm base allowed for very easy snow shoeing. It is only three miles in and 900 feet of elevation gain. Three of us pulled sleds, which is a great way to haul lots of gear you would never think of putting on your back. (Folding chairs, lanterns, really heavy big tents, wine bottles; you get the idea) After putting up camp it was time to drop the sled and take an easy tour around the gently rolling forest above 5500'. Since we do this trip every year at about this time it was easy to notice quite a good snow pack this year. It is around ten feet deep at the Lake.