Time to pull your snowshoes out of the closet, where they’ve languished since last year’s winter with no snow.
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest has released the schedule of its snowshoe walks and winter ecology excursions. Good thing, because January is a good time to get out to enjoy the beauty of our local National Forest.
No experience is necessary for the snowshoe trips, and, if you don’t have them, the Forest Service provides snowshoes and poles. Participants should wear layered and insulated clothing (not jeans), sturdy, waterproof shoes or boots, hats and gloves, and sunglasses.
To offset the costs of the program, a donation is requested. Only extreme winter weather will cancel snowshoe programs.
Programs are offered on select dates depending on location and activity.
Stevens Pass
Snowshoe: Learn about the winter ecosystem, wildlife, Stevens Pass history and safety on this 90-minute guided nature discovery tour along the Pacific Crest Trail. Meet at the Forest Service Guard Station by Parking Lot A at the Stevens Pass Mountain Resort. The orientation, including a Stevens Pass history presentation, takes place in the Guard Station before participants start out on the quarter-mile hike.
Dates and reservations: www.discovernw.org/snowshoe-stevens
Darrington Ranger District
Snowshoe: This winter trek follows the route of the former Everett and Monte Cristo railway as it winds its way up the South Fork Stillaguamish River. Guides will make a number of stops along the way to discuss who lives in this valley in the winter and how they manage to do it, from Golden-crowned kinglets to beavers and humans. The turnaround point is the site of the former Big Four Inn with a stop for lunch at the picnic shelter and possible glimpse of the 4,000-foot vertical face of Big Four Mountain. Meet at the Verlot Public Service Center, 11 miles east of Granite Falls on the Mountain Loop Highway, for orientation. Carpool up Mountain Loop Highway to Deer Creek to begin the 4-mile, approximately 5-hour round-trip snowshoe hike. Reservations open Jan. 25.
Dates and reservations: www.discovernw.org/snowshoe-bigfour
Snoqualmie Pass
90-minute walk: Take a 1-mile loop through an old forest. Elevated by the snow pack, you’ll get to see the middle-canopy of the trees, hidden lichens, fungus, winter birds and mammals. Discover what critters made those tracks and learn about those tiny black insects flipping around on the snow. This winter hike is at a moderate pace, interspersed with interesting winter ecology facts.
Extended walk: This winter trek will take you into the heart of Commonwealth Basin, a landscape that is rich with snowshoe routes and interesting winter life. Marten, ground squirrel, bobcat and wolverine all travel through this area, sometimes leaving tracks. Travel about 5 miles at a moderate pace climbing into the basin, including a lunch break with great scenery. Bring a well-stocked backpack, lunch and dress for the ever-changing mountain weather; this snowshoe walk lasts about 4 to 5 hours.
Photography walk: Photo enthusiasts from novices to experts will enjoy the opportunities for winter-inspired photos. Catch a radiating dendrite or possibly some magnificent hoar frost. Commonwealth Creek offers many unique photographic interests, including ice falls, cool vapors and the swirling dark waters of mid-winter. Your guide will inspire discussions about light, composition and exposure. Participants should bring their own film or digital cameras. Carry a well-stocked backpack with lunch. This trip usually lasts about 4 to 5 hours.
Kids in Snow: Kids of all ages enjoy this 90-minute outing that gets participants started on earning a Junior Snow Ranger badge. Identify tracks, learn about exploring nature in winter and climb into our igloo (snowpack permitting). Discover which animals live nearby that turn white in winter, sleep the winter away, burrow and live entirely under the snow and those that can freeze themselves nearly solid right through until the spring melt. Kids control the speed of this walk. Adults can follow along. Snowshoes are available for all.
Avalanche awareness walk: Join the Northwest Avalanche Center and the Forest Service for snowshoe walks where the focus is entirely on avalanche awareness. Professionals from the Northwest Avalanche Center will be leading and presenting on these walks.
Dates and reservations: www.discovernw.org/snowshoe-snoqualmie
Mount Baker Ranger District
Meet at the Glacier Public Service Center, milepost 34 on Mount Baker Highway 542. Groups will leave from there to the snowshoe walk locations along Hannegan Pass Road, Heather Meadows or another setting in the district, determined by snow levels and weather. The snowshoe walks will last 2 to 3 hours, not including driving to the walk location from Glacier. Snowshoes and poles are provided. Two different trips are offered:
Ranger-guided snowshoe walk: Learn snowshoe and winter safety basics while gaining knowledge about winter ecology, recreation opportunities, and the cultural history of the North Fork Nooksack River drainage area.
Avalanche awareness walk: Join the Northwest Avalanche Center and the Forest Service for an avalanche awareness snowshoe walk. An avalanche specialist will lead the walk and talk about avalanche safety during the outing.
Dates and reservations: www.discovernw.org/snowshoe-mtbaker
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