This was a beautiful snowshoe trip!
We parked in a pullout on Highway 2, about a quarter mile east of the Forest Service Road and walked from there. The FS road was totally impassable in a car right from Highway 2. However, it was pretty easy walking on the road with snowshoes, or even boot traction devices, as the snow was pretty packed down. There were a few snowmobiles on the FS road. We followed an existing snowshoe trail that cut steeply uphill to meet up with the Pacific Crest Trail. The terrain was a bit steep and tricky getting up the steep slope, but got a bit easier to navigate once we met up with the Pacific Crest Trail. From there on, we were breaking trail through some pretty deep, powdery snow. It was difficult going, but totally beautiful fresh snow and it wasn't too hard to follow the trail based on the gaps in the trees and the way the snow had settled (we also had a map and GPS). We made it all the way to the ridge looking over the lake, but didn't descend down to the shore.
The beautiful snowy woods were well worth the slog. With 5 people in our party, we should have carved out a pretty good trail for the next group, if it hasn't been snowed over.
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