This snow shoe outing had been postponed due to road conditions.  We managed to reschedule to a day with great roads, sun with some cloud on the mountains, and spring snow conditions.  The trip was advertised as not being “ambitious” as it was the first trip of the season.  But we decided that it would be better to go uphill for slightly cooler conditions, so it was somewhat harder than planned.

We started up Great Big View, alternating between wide, track-set roads and very steep, brushy routes.  At the top of the rise, we turned onto Finger Glades, wandering through lovely mountain forests and open meadows (under snow).  It was quiet and beautiful.  We only saw four other snowshoers on the trip. This route gains more elevation than we had remembered and was steeper on the way down.  We were grateful that snow shoes are so accommodating to different snow conditions, making the transition from a bit icy to a bit above freezing without a problem. After finishing the Finger Glade Loop, we re-joined the Great Big View loop and headed very steeply down through brush.  The warmth of the snow made conditions very slippery, but soft.      (5.2 km, 3 hours, 243 m elevation gain)