June Lake Snowshoe

The forecast was for snow in the mountains. Lots of snow. Lots & lots of snow. So when my sister asked if I wanted to go snowshoeing with her & friends I thought SNOWGASM! Damn right I wanted to go.

Her plan was to meet mid-morning in Cougar then consolidate into 1 car for the trip to Marble Mountain SnoPark. But plans never work out and we met in the Lone Pine Resort late morning. The staff at Lone Pine were so sweet to let me sit in the cafe and filled me with coffee until she arrived. But we quickly got ourselves situated and we were heading up to the snopark with all the snowmobilers.

The first part of the trail meanders through the forest near the road. We could hear snowmobilers racing up and down the road - they sounded like they were having fun. But so were we, the heavy snows the previous day weighed down the trees making the scenery seem like a magical land.

One of number started having trouble in the deep snow in her snowshoes - they were too big for her to maneuver around and she kept falling. I recommended that we trade shoes since mine are lighter and smaller - after all the bigger shoes would help me clear the trail on the way to the lake. She was far happier in the smaller shoes and didn't fall as often.

After leaving the road, the trail starts to climb. It's only about 500 feet of gain but in snow it can be a bit harder. Even with the late start, we weren't in a hurry so took our time - resting when necessary, making snow angels, and admiring how the snow clung to barren tree limbs.

We finally made it to the lake, a little pond at the base of cliffs normally not much to write home about, but with the snow and ice and the waterfall, we were transfixed my the beauty. We barely noticed the flank of the volcano leading up into the clouds behind us. We tromped around the meadow a bit sinking to our knees in the soft snow before heading back to the car.

If you want to go on the snowshoe, follow ski trail 245 from the upper parking lot at the Marble Mountain snopark off of forest road 90. The trail is 5 miles round trip with about a 500 foot elevation gain. Plan plenty of time to explore the meadow around the lake. Sadly we had to cut our exploration short since we did get a late start. Dress in layers and take plenty of extra food & water - you will need extra in the cold.