Backpack Training: Week 3 - Snowshoe to Brainard Lake
We finally made it all the way to Brainard Lake! It has been about ten years since we last went snowshoeing. We tried several times to snowshoe to Brainard Lake when the kids were young, but we never made it very far. So we felt quite accomplished when we made it all the way to the lake from the trailhead.
We started from the Gateway Trailhead in the Brainard Lake National Recreation Area. There were only about a dozen cars in the parking lot when we started and only about half a dozen when we returned, so we came across others on the trail just a few times. We're not quite sure why there were so few people on this otherwise popular trail. It could have been that we were there on a weekday instead of the weekend, that there were gusty high winds howling in the tree tops, or that there was a snow storm coming that evening. When we went there in the past with our kids, we had to park along the road and walk about half a mile to the trailhead, which was likely half-marathon distance to our kids, which may be why we never made it to the lake before!
From Gateway Trailhead, we took the Waldrop Trail and Brainard Lake Cutoff Trail to the lake and made our return from the lake via the Snowshoe Trail. Where the Snowshoe Trail crosses the access road, we decided to shave off some distance and time by taking the access road back to the trailhead, as the storm looked like it was starting to roll in. Yes, that's the reason, it's not that we thought our bodies couldn't handle it much longer! The snow was soft and the wind was blowing strong, but the trail is mostly in the woods, so we had some protection from the gusty winds except for a few open areas, like by the lake. We passed a couple of people who said they were not going all the way to the lake because of the wind, but we just cinched up our layers and braved the elements because Right Buddy was determined to make it all the way this time.
As long as we stayed directly on the trail, the snow was packed down and our feet did not sink that far. However, if we stepped off the trail, to take a break or let someone pass, we were glad we had snowshoes on. There was a small section on the Snowshoe Trail where the snow got really deep and we were post holing past our knees even with snowshoes on. We don't know if we had slightly deviated from the trail, but we were following other people's tracks. Thank goodness that section did not last long, because that was zapping our energy quickly. I'm sure that probably entered into our minds when we made the decision to take the road back since we had no idea what the conditions were for the rest of the Snowshoe Trail.
We didn't see much wildlife, probably due to the high winds, but the gorgeous views made up for it. By the time we made it back to the parking lot, we were tired but felt very proud of ourselves. We only went five miles with twenty pounds on our backs, but that is why we are calling this backpack training. If we were in great shape to begin with, we wouldn't need to train, right?! Though to be fair we did have the packs on for nearly four hours. The thermoses of hot chocolate we carried in our packs were saved to be our "champaign celebration" in the comfort of our car. That was a great way to end the day and start the drive back home.
(RB)