Kendall Peak Lakes Snowshoe — Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007

I started 2007 with my longest trip in three months. Injury, work, blah, blah, blah. Sick of excuses, I needed an outing. This short walk fit the bill. I was happy to be joined by Brent, Matt, Tom and Bryan. Exit 54 and find parking on the north side. No one stirring at 7:30 am. A nice packed trail starts right out of the lot. We had snowshoes from the beginning, but could have walked quite a ways without them. We took note of many sidehills that would be packed with sledders later. Just follow wide open, avalanche-free road. There are several shortcuts, which we used on the way down. Vews became scarcer as a freezing rain/ hail started falling. My jacket stiffened up, and I had to bust out an ice scraper for my glasses. As the road end, a very obvious path heads northish toward the lakes. A small flat indicates the first lake. A few steep switchbacks took us to an overlook of the second lake. It was so perfect, we decided not to pursue the third lake, approximately 350' higher. There was a good track leading that way. It was snowing hard. A quick lunch, some pictures, and an even quicker descent cutting off all the switchbacks. Plenty of snow protecting the trees and vegetation. Thanks for all the laughs guys! 6.5 miles R/T, 2000' gain, 4:45? car to car.