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zephyr aka friendly hiker
Joined: 21 Jun 2009 Posts: 3361 | TRs | Pics Location: West Seattle |
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
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Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:27 pm
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The Seattle Times posted an article today recommending snow shoe hikes mainly on this side of the crest.
Here's the list: Amabilis Mountain | Annette Lake | Artist Point | Cooper River | Crystal Mountain | Hurricane Hill | Kendall Peak Lakes / Gold Creek Pond | Reflection Lakes / Louise Lake | Skyline Lake | Source Lake / Snow Lake
They did a pretty good job of describing the routes with maps and travel included. However, they seemed to bury the avalanche risk in the hike description. In fact some of the included hikes can be quite dangerous as pointed out by a number of commenters. Some are asking them to update the article and remove some--Source Lake/Snow Lake for example. I agree. Annette Lake trail crosses a few avalanche chutes. Otherwise it's generally a pretty good article.
Note/edit: I just now see that seahuskies posted a link to the article in the pandemic skiing thread. I came across it while reading the Times this afternoon. I think it's worthy of its own posting because there is some good information there overall. ~z
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neek Member
Joined: 12 Sep 2011 Posts: 2329 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle, WA |
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neek
Member
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Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:42 pm
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Thanks for letting me know what to avoid this weekend.
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whitebark Member
Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 1864 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
Just great ... more tromping, stomping snowshoers and booters messing up the groomed ski trail leading up to Amabilis.
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Cyclopath Faster than light
Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Posts: 7697 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
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Fri Dec 11, 2020 11:04 pm
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Please don't walk on groomed ski trails or on ski tracks. Thanks!
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Cyclopath Faster than light
Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Posts: 7697 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
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Fri Dec 11, 2020 11:10 pm
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whitebark wrote: | Just great ... more tromping, stomping snowshoers and booters messing up the groomed ski trail leading up to Amabilis. |
Snowshoers are able to go pretty much anywhere, it's the magic of snowshoes. You don't need groomed trails to snowshoe, they're sort of the wilderness version of a sidewalk. That feeling is reinforced by how crowded the trail is. Amabilis is pretty boring and tame as a snowshoe, it's also very long for the limited views. It's also expensive, you need a groomed snow park pass, Discover Pass and NWFP aren't valid there.
Hex Mountain is a fantastic snowshoe. Views every step of the way. Doesn't feel tamed.
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Foist Sultan of Sweat
Joined: 08 May 2006 Posts: 3974 | TRs | Pics Location: Back! |
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Foist
Sultan of Sweat
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Sat Dec 12, 2020 10:52 am
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whitebark wrote: | Just great ... more tromping, stomping snowshoers and booters messing up the groomed ski trail leading up to Amabilis. |
Seriously. Really disappointed they listed this is a snowshoe trail. It benefits no one. Showshoes don't need grooming and there are so many endless options that are more appealing for shoeshoeing. I haven't tried it, but snoeshoeing Amabilis must be so endless, tedious and dull. Everyone I've seen doing it looks miserable.
The Seattle Times article does mention the grooming and asks snoeshoers to avoid stepping on the tracks, but: 1) many won't listen; and 2) the article fails to ask snowshoers to say to the far edge and not trample the middle of the skating/"snowplow" lane, either.
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slabbyd Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2005 Posts: 293 | TRs | Pics
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slabbyd
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Sat Dec 12, 2020 11:27 pm
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Cyclopath wrote: | Snowshoers are able to go pretty much anywhere, it's the magic of snowshoes. |
Yet they always fall in line and stomp the crap out of any skin track they come across. Weird!
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BigBrunyon Member
Joined: 19 Mar 2015 Posts: 1450 | TRs | Pics Location: the fitness gyms!! |
Foist wrote: | Everyone I've seen doing it looks miserable. |
None of these snowshoe types are willing to admit they are miserable because they are only there due to social pressures or online dating. They do not actually appreciate the outdoors.
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treeswarper Alleged Sockpuppet!
Joined: 25 Dec 2006 Posts: 11272 | TRs | Pics Location: Don't move here |
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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
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Sun Dec 13, 2020 6:53 am
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BigBrunyon wrote: | Foist wrote: | Everyone I've seen doing it looks miserable. |
None of these snowshoe types are willing to admit they are miserable because they are only there due to social pressures or online dating. They do not actually appreciate the outdoors. |
Yes, they are out there only to get a selfie and next year, the market will be flooded with used snowshoes for sale.
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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Foist Sultan of Sweat
Joined: 08 May 2006 Posts: 3974 | TRs | Pics Location: Back! |
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Foist
Sultan of Sweat
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Sun Dec 13, 2020 6:56 am
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I'm guessing you're being sarcastic. Regardless, I'm not saying snowshoeing or snowshoers suck generally (I do it sometimes myself), just that Amabilis is a bad choice for it.
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Sky Hiker Member
Joined: 03 Feb 2007 Posts: 1469 | TRs | Pics Location: outside |
Well that's a good list of places to avoid. Besides there will be a slug of reports on WTA
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NBL West Seattle Based
Joined: 08 Sep 2020 Posts: 44 | TRs | Pics Location: 98126 |
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NBL
West Seattle Based
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Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:32 am
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neek wrote: | Thanks for letting me know what to avoid this weekend. |
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rossb Member
Joined: 23 Sep 2002 Posts: 1679 | TRs | Pics
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rossb
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Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:40 am
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I just want to echo what people wrote. Amabalis is a great place to ski, but a bad place to snowshoe. I'm glad that the Seattle Times wrote about avoiding the tracks, but wish they emphasized staying to the side. I skied there Saturday, and all the snowshoe folks were off to the side. On a side note, I've seen a lot backcountry skiers and even some split boarders up there, but rarely do I see tracks off the road. I'm not sure where they are going. Maybe that's just the only gear they have, and the conditions were poor (it was dust on crust off the groomed areas).
Anyway, back to the article. That was my main disappoint to me -- there is no way Amabalis would be considered one of the best snowshoe trips. The other disappointment is that they didn't mention places like Deer Creek or the Mountain Loop. These are trips that sometimes struggle with low snow level, but for snowshoes, it is less of a big deal. With skis, you have to worry about scratching your base. If you have to walk up to the snow level it is a bit of a pain. With snowshoes, you can just carry them into you get into the deep snow, and just walk over the rocky parts if you encounter bare spots. I think I would have had a section about trips like that. Foss River comes to mind as well, but there are a bunch of them.
A few modifications and the article would have been fine.
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Sky Hiker Member
Joined: 03 Feb 2007 Posts: 1469 | TRs | Pics Location: outside |
Let's leave Foss river out of it. There is alot of 4 wheelers and Xmas tree cutters up there now. Saw 8 trailered jeep rigs up there this weekend. Not a good snowshoe area unless you plan to constantly step off the side of the road to let vehicles pass.
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Foist Sultan of Sweat
Joined: 08 May 2006 Posts: 3974 | TRs | Pics Location: Back! |
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Foist
Sultan of Sweat
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Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:54 am
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I wrote to the author on Saturday. No response.
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