In winter we transition from hiking ridges and open hilltops to snowy forests.   When there is enough snow we put on our snowshoes and choose routes that wind through the trees, along ponds and marshes, and through glades in the high country.   One of the perennial choices is to stomp on the Stake Lake snowshoe trails.   For this post, I cross country skied first, then put on the shoes for a snowshoe outing on to trails – Giant Firs and the Marsh Trail.   The trailhead is at the parking lot and the route climbs over the hill following a winding route past some old douglas fir trees.

The main snowshoe trail goes along the edge of the large marsh to the east.   On this day i made my own trail around the marsh.

There were a few tracks on the frozen pond, mostly deer in the open and snowshoe hares by the forest edge.

Mounds fringe the ponds as snow builds up on reeds and rushes.    McConnell Hill stands over the east side of the area.

The return route was back through the firs.

Although it is a long drive just to do a 3 km route on snowshoe trails, there are days where I will split the outing to make the journey worthwhile.   On this day I did an hour of XC skiing then an hour of snowshoeing.    In summer I may split the time between kayaking, hiking, running, or mountain biking.

XC Skiing on the Stake Lake Trails