Clear Lake snowshoe Jan 2011
Some friends and I started out the new year (well, Jan 2nd), by snowshoeing around Clear Lake (off Hwy 126 here in Oregon). We'd originally planned to summit Red Top, but there was so much snow, that even at 4000' when I went to play at a snow park with my kids, I was sinking in up to my waist in spots! Mike has a good blog post with photos and some details of our trip.
I think it was actually as low as 13 when we started, but maybe I'm not recalling correctly (Mike's post says 17). Either way, it was cold when we started, but of course we warmed up quick, and it did too, hitting I think about 25 an hour in. Took us about 4 hours.
I'm just logging my own gear here, for my sake:
- Icebreaker 3/4 length wool long underwear (awesome)
- Smartwool ski socks
- REI E1 pants (thin, waterproofish, worked great)
- Keen hiking boots
- REI short gaiters - these worked fine for the day, but having a full length, real winter gaiter would have been best
- Icebreaker 150 top
- Icebreaker 220 GT top
- Pearl Izumi fleece/windstop vest (hadn't originally planned to take this, but the cold and such had me add it, and it was an excellent choice - kept it on once I took my shell off after it warmed up).
- Smartwool hat
- Showers Pass eVent shell
- Burton ski gloves - my hands were freezing early on, but warmed up quickly thanks to these, and then swapped to...
- Outdoor Research Flurry wool gloves which were excellent for the day
- Atlas 30" snowshoes
- poles
I used my typical Camelbak pack, but only drank about 25oz (carried about 90). Oatmeal and bit of cheese for breakfast, one bar, and a sandwich out on the trail. All around good.
