On Wednesday, Skye and I headed up to Thompson Pass with the goal to hike over the snow into Revett Lake. I know the lake would still be solidly frozen over but just something different. The access road to the summer trailhead was covered by 3-4 feet of snow with about 5 at the trailhead. Going was a bit slower than I had hoped. The snow was actually much softer than I thought it would be for that time of the day and was just going to get softer. There had been a skier on the road a day or two before which was helpful, but the skier stayed higher once the trail dropped into the trees. Once I was in the trees the snow was about 5-6 feet deep and it basically obscured the trail profile. Trail blazes are non-existent so I had to rely on the occasional cut log that was above the snow to keep me relatively on track. I got to a point where I needed to cross the creek. My choices were to wade the creek or cross a snow bridge. I would have to lift Skye (75 lbs) up to head level to get her out of the creek, she can't jump that high plus get my feet really wet. The other option was to cross one of the nearby snow bridges, which none looked that firm to avoid a 5+ ft drop into the creek. It took me almost 2 hours (twice a summer hike would take) to get to this point, so I opted to eat lunch and get going back before the snow softened up too much more.
Canfield Mountain: The next day I met up with the local Thursday hiking group out of CDA, there were 13 of us for the outing. The goal was to hike trail #29 to the top of Canfield Mountain, a 6.75 mile 1,500 foot of elevation gain out and back hike. The trailhead started in a residential area. Parking was very limited, just 5 or so vehicles. It was a very nice day for a hike. We saw a couple other small groups during the morning. The trail itself is very good but dry except for a small seep about 1/2 mile in.
