Sun is cold and rain is hard

Tuesday, Jesse and I figured there would be plenty of new snow for a Maple Lake snowshoe. All day Tuesday it looked liked Payson Canyon was getting snowed upon. Our 4:30 am arrival at the trail head confirmed only and inch of new snow and much rain from the previous day.

Most of the snow was compressed and hard. No fluffy new stuff. The snowshoeing was still fun but I wonder how much longer we would be able to snowshoe the Long Maple Lake Loop.

Fast forward to Friday morning.

Ah hem, winter is not gone but looks as if it is just arriving. Around 2+ft of the softest, most fluffy-snow you could imagine on the trail. A stark contrast from Tuesday's conditions.

Once we got off the road the snow level increased We had to keep trading off breaking trail as the snow was well passed my knees. Today was some of the most epic snowshoeing conditions. Oh sure it was a ton of work, and we took a 1/2 hour longer to complete the same loop But it was worth it.

I will forever remember the soft, fluffy pristine-snow that was nestled into the pine forest. It was snowing so hard during our hike that you couldn't see too far in front of you and it made not difficult to make out the trail. Especially since the route we take doesn't really follow an actual trail.

I think my legs got double the workout today tromping around the mountain on new snow getting fresh tracks, than on Tuesday.