I had been wanting to try some mountain trail snowshoeing. Not walking around on a nice, flat, snow-covered meadow, but rather the same steep mountain trails I…
A look at my Atlas 12 snowshoes (25"). I ended-up with these after quite a bit of research. These are the equivalent to technical trail running shoes. Specially…
A look at the toe, heel, and lateral traction provided by the Atlas 12 crampons. Great for ice or relatively packed snow, but not much good in deep powder.
The same Acorn trailhead sign, only this time barely visible. Looks like I have someone's snowshoe tracks to follow for a while at least.
The sun rising through the trees. Not a bad way to start the morning.
I made it to the top of the Acorn trail without too much drama this time. It was SLOW going though. Fortunately I was able to follow the existing snowshoe…
One of my favorite spots along the trail. This is supposed to be the place to spot bighorn sheep in the summer. You can see the snowshoe tracks going right…
The fireroad at the top of the Acorn trail running parrallel to the PCT. Looks a little different than last time I was here! The previous snowshoer didn't go…
My first view of Mt. Baldy in the distance. Could I actually summit today? Ha, not a chance.
Still one of my all-time favorite sections of trail, only this time in deep snow. What would it be like going up that incline in snowshoes?
Start of the Backbone trail in the Sheep Mountain Wilderness. This sign is normally just about hidden off the fireroad (see pictures from the last trip), and…
This picture gives some small idea of how steep this trail is. It is one of the hardest I have ever been on with no snow. With 5 feet of snow, it almost made me…
Almost to the top of this mini-peak.
I nice view looking down at some clouds rolling in to the valley below.
The last major climb to Pine Mtn. I am honestly not sure if I can make it.
One wrong step and you will be sliding a long, long ways down. Might be fun on skiis, but would make for a really bad day right now.
Made it to the top of Pine Mtn. You can see here what "kicking-in" looks like on a really steep incline. You have to literally kick the toe of the snowshoe as…
Coming down over the other side of Pine Mtn., I had my first major butt skiing incident. Basically you lose traction going down a steep decline, end-up on your…
The winds, and maybe melting, create interesting patterns in the snow.
A lone fallen log makes the perfect spot to eat lunch. It is now about 1:00pm, and I am exhausted.