"Why would I want to go snowshoeing at night?" asked Joey. Never having been outside (he's a Microsoftie) he was a little hesitant about joining me and Daryl on a nightshoeing trip even though we promised it would be short and fun. I guess my reputation for inflicting pain had preceded me a bit, but in spite of his reservations we conned him well enough that he agreed to come out with us.
I had been out the day before and knew the snow would be about the same if not a little worse. It wasn't going to be one of those trips through pristine powder and since we were going to Gold Creek it was possible we wouldn't need snowshoes at all thanks to the well-packed trail. Nonetheless, Gold Creek offers a great intro to nightshoeing that's hard to beat. It's flat, short, and there's a peninsula in the lake that just cries out for chilling.
There were a few cars parked around the Gold Creek trailhead. Presumably they belonged to the folks with cabins and houses up the road. Indeed, we saw evidence someone had driven a truck up the road as well as snowmobiles.
We probably could have walked the whole way, but the point was to get Joey onto snowshoes so we geared up and started down the road. It's only three quarters of a mile to the pond so we were there in no time. As we passed the picnic area we realized we had missed the opportunity for a true party in the snow. With a bag of charcoal and a couple of steaks we could have been living the good life. Oh well, next time.
We circled around the lake until finding the peninusla. At the tip we got comfortable and Daryl broke out his collection of mini bottles. My hot chocolate paired well with a Baileys. Joey and Daryl had a variety of other liquors. The lake was only partially iced over, but had we kept drinking I'm sure a direct route back across the ice would have been appealing. As it was, we spent an hour just chilling before packing up and completing the loop.
Along the road back we were passed by a snowmobile that left the air full of nasties, but somehow knowing it was his primary means of getting to his house made it almost acceptable. (Bet you never thought I'd say that, did you?)
After an hour just sitting in the snow and only a short walk to warm up the heated seats in our ride home felt especially wonderful. Too bad there wasn't a heated space for Tokul in the way back. Hmm... maybe that's how I'll get rich!
Total distance was about 2.25 miles, but only about 50 feet of gain. (As I said, great for newbies and kids. Hopefully, my enthusiasm for snowshoeing was contagious and I'll be able to drag Joey out again.)
