Northwest Snowshoeing

If it's not apparent by now this website is a one man operation -- subject to my whims, moods and spare time. So it's been sparse posting lately, and there's still a lot that's unfinished. And I'm not even sure how/if I want to really "market" this site. I haven't spent any time getting the word out. This is also compounded by the fact that I'm not your prototypical NW dude. I'm fat, out of shape and rather loathe strenuous activity. And though I'm working on those failings, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of a website dedicated to snowshoeing in the NW. Conceptually I believe it's completely overdue. I think snowshoeing has the potential to be the next big winter sport. I read an article once that stated snowshoeing was the only Winter sport experiencing double-digit growth. It's an inexpensive sport that anyone can do. Even fat guys. No special skills required. So with that in mind I'll keep going.,,

The new Atlas 10 snowshoes santa brought will motivate me to get out there, finally. They arrive from REI later today! Yippie!

Well I must say the "Summer" of 2010 was singularly the most disappointing Summer I've ever experienced in the 30 years I've lived in Seattle. Cliff Mass, the best Meteorologist in the NW, confirmed this with a posting on his blog. But he also states on his blog that we're in for a doozy of a winter! This bodes well for some serious snowshoeing this winter. Better than last I hope. 

But with the crappy summer we just had, I'm finding it very difficult to get my head into Fall, which is traditionally one of my favorite times of year. I feel ripped off and I'm not quite ready. As the leaves start to fall off the trees and the air turns a little crisper, perhaps I'll finally get my butt into gear and finish the Oregon trails section.

It started out promising. Our first trip this season occurred in mid-November. We made it up there a few weeks later and since then have been waiting, watching for snow to fall in the nearby passes. I think it's rained more often than snowed on Snoqualmie, which reports a rather anemic 52" base.

Not only has this tamped down our desire to get out more often, it's also slowed the growth of this website. Just haven't been in the mood...

I thought by quitting my full-time job I'd have more time to commit to snowshoeing on Rainier and Baker, or at the very least, have more time to hike UP to the snow, but that just hasn't happened. So for now I'm stuck with the lower, closer mountain passes. We're going to try to head up tomorrow. Hopefully conditions won't make for sloppy, wet snowshoeing. Ugh...

First trek of the season yesterday. Drove up to Hayak and walked up the the road as far as we could before Stella ran out of gas. As much as I enjoy taking her with, she's only good for about an hour before she hits a wall. Need to toughen her up or find a babysitter...

Snow was wet but it was nice to get out this early in the season. On to the ski show today...