My boyfriend and I headed to Alpental to hike to Source Lake for the New Year’s holiday. We started out on the groomed trail from the upper lot at Alpental, then about 1/3 of a mile in, we crossed the creek and climbed the switchbacks up the hill. We crossed the steep slopes on a well-established trail, and saw evidence of recent avalanches in the area. Our trail ended above Source Lake and we found a spot out of the ski runs to eat some lunch.
On the way back, we took the lower trail, at the bottom of the valley. This trail was much busier than the higher trail, but it was fun to do a loop. The snow was fantastic, light and fluffy and we found places outside of the compact snow trails to enjoy our snowshoes.
As the region is shared with backcountry skiers, extra caution is necessary on the trail, and it is not an ideal trail for solitude. There are tons of different routes and trails, many of which lead to high avalanche risk areas, so it is important to keep your wits about you. The panoramic views were incredible and we enjoyed the snowshoe from start to finish! Our book estimated the trail to be 5 miles, my mileage tracker calculated the mileage as 4 miles. To get some extra mileage in, we walked down to the lodge and ate our lunch in front of the fire at Alpental. It was a bit extreme to go from the quiet of Source Lake to the hustle and bustle of the ski lodge, but nice to get warmed up by a fire in a 19F day!
Comments