Snoqualmie Pass Snowshoeing

We made it out for our first trip of the year!  Our friend Amy and her pup Sammy joined Ryan, Lily and I for a snowshoe adventure.  We had a nice start to the day with bagels from Noah's Bagels in Kirkland.  Any day that starts with delicious carbs is destined to be a good day.  The weather was very warm and even slightly rainy the entire drive to the pass.  We were definitely wondering if there would be any need for all the layers we were wearing and if snowshoes would be wanted.  By the time we got to Gold Creek Sno-Park (exit 54 off I-90) the rain had subsided, snow looked deep and slightly soft from teh warm weather making it nearly perfect snowshoe conditions.  Not only were the conditions looking good but there were almost no cars in the parking lot, the day just got better!  We strapped on our snowshoes with the pups hurrying us along, and headed off to the trail.  The route selected for the day was to start on Fire Service Rd 9090 and then venture off the main trail at some point.  We walked for about 45 minutes before heading off the main trail to a side trail that was not marked in my snowshoe book but looked safe to travel, and the best part was no snowshoe tracks!  We ventured for another 45 minutes in fresh snow enjoying the serenity, new tracks and watching the pups bounce through the deep snow.  The weather started to get more gray than at the start of the hike, so we opted to turn around.  On our way back after returning to the main trail we saw tons of people some were snowshoeing but most were looking for the perfect sled hill.  Good thing we started so early, about halfway back we had to leash up the dogs because it was so crowded. 
Overall a nice easy start to the hiking season of 2010 with great company.

Amy and Sammy having a good time

Ryan, Katie and Lily taking a break