Kelcema Lake Snowshoe

I'm not a total virgin to snow camping, and neither was Beth. We told our consecutive chilly stories as we drove to our winter wonderland...all of them slightly missing the mark of what we considered the "full Monty" snow backpack experience. I stumbled upon Beth's plea on one of my FB hiking group pages: "I'm hoping to do a quick one nighter snow backpacking trip...anyone local who'd like to join in?"

How could I resist? This is how I met Beth three years ago when she invited all comers to join her on Section K of the PCT. (Story here) Beth's not afraid to roll the dice, that's for sure. But no risk, no reward...and we all hit the jackpot when our girl group bonded on that trip, and every year since. 

We were both ready to risk again with this last minute excursion that was a little out of our comfort zones. A late start was necessary, which meant setting camp in the dark was going to be unavoidable. But this snowshoe is almost entirely a road walk, so we weren't overly concerned. Arriving at Deer Creek just before the road closure, we faced our first challenge--parking. The lot there was a slushy, snowy mess...a place begging to suck in your tires and never let go. Parking on the road meant risking a ticket; so we did a little of both. Don't worry, we left plenty of room for folks to get around; but it wasn't pretty. 

Though everything else was pretty--very. Well, except for the several places where water had cleared the snow off the road. Crossing the last (and worst) one, Beth discovered a leakage spot in her boot :( I had already discovered a gear failure at the get go (pic below) but Beth came to the rescue with an extra strap that we were able to Jerry rig it with. 

Offer Up fail...will I ever stop being a cheap ass?

We unpacked our headlamps with a whole two miles to go, due to my utter slowness. The road walk is only four miles, so I had sort of imagined not having to get them out until we hit the real trail. (Which is only a quarter of a mile long! I will be heading back in the summer to take my grandkids for sure.) My past winter backpacks had not needed snowshoes, and the combo of needing to lift them out of the wet, heavy snow with the constant uphill proved to be murder on my out of season, flabby thighs. 

Beth is usually hours ahead of me, but this time her light was a constant beacon ahead. "Is the snow making you this slow too, or are you just keeping pace with me?" I had to ask. Her long pause told me all I needed to know...God bless her.

We finally arrived at the Kelcema Lake parking lot. Time to start to "real" trail. But dang, we got this large open flat area all to ourselves. No brainer...our packs came off. My legs couldn't even squat to pee without cramping, so it was obviously time to wave the white flag.The whole peeing situation in general was a major problem, as the snow was so soft you'd sink in when crawling out of your tent at night. (And did you know holding your urine only makes you colder?) I used my z-light foam pad as a mat to stand on, and my poles to help lower me enough as to not dribble on it (because I'm not exaggerating about the cramping). I'm pretty sure the night creatures were laughing at me. 

The beautiful morning made it all worth it. Being able to do the half mile to the lake and back without our big packs was a life saver, as the path was quite challenging. It was also so nice to be warmed up from the hike before having to break camp...is there anything worse than touching those freezing tent poles when you're still so cold? 

The sunny sky and downhill to the car made for a great ending. As far as ending this post goes, I'll conclude with a list of things I need to bring next time...and there will be a next time! Happy wintry trails! 

1) More hand warmers! (at least a dozen)

2) Both of my z-light pads. (So I can double up on my sleeping pads and still have the door mat)

3) Sunglasses (Can't believe I forgot)

4) My Whisper Light stove instead of my Jetboil (White gas burns better in the cold conditions) with a FULL container of gas so I can melt snow without worrying about running out. I'll be leaving my filter home because even being careful, I fear it'll freeze. (Which ruins them.)

5) My She Pee. (It's been awhile...I need to practice!)

I'll be back Mountain Loop Hwy