The road up to the parking lot is snow free. Trail from parking lot to the summit was well packed and snowshoes weren't necessary, but we used them anyways. We started out on Trail #130 but once we arrive at Bald Knob we paralleled Chair #1 to the top. Trek to the summit was fairly easy, the snow was a combination of compact with a top layer of slush (where it was sunny) and crusty with powder below (in the woods). The Vista House was open at the top and we sat outside and had a celebratory beer before heading back. ^_^

Don't know the actual trail number, but took a more or less direct path to the summit from the snowmobile parking area. There is still plenty of snow and snowshoes were helpful, but if you stick to the well beaten path alternative traction would most likely suffice. They were serving beer at the Vista House today, which made for a pleasant break, taking in the the gorgeous panorama on this wonderfully sunny day. Looking off in the distance I saw many, many more hills to climb in this new land, and further off....even some mountains!

It's hard to describe this hike using the dropdown menu. Really, this was two different hikes: one that started in 2013 & ended in 2014, followed by a little nap, and then restarted and expanded! Hike #1: start at 10pm. Hike to the summit to catch the fireworks displays at midnight. There were too many clouds to see much, just little flashes of light in the clouds far below--but above, the stars were so bright! Nature's fireworks win out, with the clouds blocking the light pollution from the cities. Then descend to the Mountaineers' chalet to sleep a little. Hike #2: start at 10am. Meet the group for the State Parks New Year's Day hike. It was very low turnout, but we had a first-time snowshoer who got the full tour! We went up to the summit, then dropped down the other side on trail 140, then connected back with trail 130 to return to the SnoPark lot. I hear that town was foggy all day long, but we were in the sun!

When I left home for today's Spokane Mountaineers hike I was surrounded by a sea of fog, but the mountain was clear and sunny. We started on trail 100 from the Lower Kit Carson Loop Road, crossing the creek on the first of the lovely new bridges, and then continued up trail 110 to Saddle Junction. From there we hiked up trail 160 to Mt. Kit Carson for the spectacular summit view. Mount Spokane proper is a little higher and has the very nice Vista House, but the view from Kit Carson is far superior, and today it was even sweeter with the sea of lingering fog covering the valley far below. We retraced our route to make this an out and back of approximately 6 miles RT. Be aware of snowmobile users from Saddle Junction to the summit of Kit Carson, as this segment of trail is open to multi-use.

Today I took Blaze for a nice long snowshoe loop. I like to think of this one as a tour of the historical highlights at Mount Spokane, as we visited both the CCC cabin (a former 1930's Depression-era public works camp) and the Vista House (built in 1934 of native stone & used as a fire lookout) on this approximately 6 mile hike. We started at the bottom of trail 130, where new this year, SnoPark permits are required for all parking lots ($40 non-groomed along the road & $80 special grooming permit in the big snowmobile lot or for Selkirk Lodge). I hiked up to the Bald Knob Campground & Picnic Area, then crossed the road to continue along trail 130 to the CCC cabin. There were a lot of people out enjoying this segment of the trail system today. From the CCC cabin, I took trail 140, and here is where I had first tracks! Last summer's reroute of the trail isn't complete yet, and in some places both the old trail and new trail are visible (and equally easy to follow). It hardly matters which one a person takes, as all routes lead to the summit. Watch out for the blue diamonds marking the route on the trees, or the pink ribbons marking the new route, and it should be fine for anyone to find. From the summit, do the side trip up to Vista House before taking the snowshoe route down along the edge of the ski area. The concession doesn't have chair one open yet, so the ski area boundary signs aren't up. However, once those are up, snowshoers need to stay outside the ski boundary. This winter-only trail rejoins trail 130 at Bald Knob, and then I just had to finish up the easy downhill back to the car. A note about trail 140--this trail crosses into the Proposed Alpine Ski Expansion Area. The ski concession wants to expand its footprint into this old growth forest on the back side of the mountain. If they do so, winter access to trail 140 will be blocked for all but alpine skiers/snowboarders(and the year-round view will be irreparably changed, as a chairlift and seven runs will be installed). The Lands Council has won two important court cases to block the timber harvest and to require that the State Parks Commission complete an Environmental Impact Study prior to re-classifying this de-facto Natural Forest Area. Check out the links to read more about the issue, and please consider sending a public comment by December 12th. State Parks info & contacts: http://www.parks.wa.gov/plans/mtspokane2/ Save Mount Spokane Coalition info: http://www.savemtspokane.org/Mt_Spokane_2020.html