Sunday, January 25, 2009

Finding Winter

Another weekend, another snowshoe trip. We were back again, but this time we did not have to worry about having enough snow as in the high country, it had been snowing all weekend. Eric wanted to make the trip up to Cedar Breaks, so we left a beautiful day in Springdale for a snowy, windy mess up above 10,000 feet. I was not complaining as this was something I was definitely in the mood for. I was glad that Eric was driving because road conditions were horrible, but he made it to where the road was blocked off. We parked there and got our gear together. In the process, I realized that I forgot my lunch and actually any form of food was not in my pack. Feeling very foolish, I told my snowshoeing companions for the day, Eric and Izzy, and they were kind enough to share food with me. The conditions were brutal, but following the road was easy enough. There were snowmobiles that would occasionally come by and clear a path for us. I was amazed just how white everything was. I do not think it was whiteout conditions necessarily, but every tree and bush was covered in white. We could have been anywhere as the sight of the orange cliffs of Cedar Breaks, just was not appearing. We passed the yurt that served as the ranger station and then tried to find a trail to a lake. I believe we found the lake, but it is tough to say as it just looked like an open white area. There were some orange markers up to follow that were off the road, but with such deep snow, we eventually got wise and ended up following the road. We didn't last long before turning around. The wind and snow seemed to get stronger as the hike continued. So after eating a bit, we wandered back to Eric's car, only stopping to enjoy some of the trees along the way. The snow covering the trees was the only sight worth seeing on this white washed hike. I enjoyed it as conditions reminded me of a trip through Yosemite many years ago. Difference was, this was for only two hours, while that trip lasted for four days. Still it is what makes Southern Utah great, in that, it is only a couple hours of driving and you can go snowshoeing at 10000 feet.

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