Packwood Lake Snowshoe

I know I read WTA trip reports before heading to Packwood but completely forgot once I got to town.  With a yellow avalanche forecast for today it seemed like a good option and I headed up Snyder Road.

I made it to the second hairpin turn before my car started slipping (about 2.5 miles from the trailhead).  I opted to back down a bit and put on traction devices and I was able to continue on in my front wheel drive Vue.  I made it to .75 miles from the trailhead before deeper snow and a stuck SUV had me pullover and call it good.  It would only add 1.5 miles to my trip!

Starting later than optimal, I carried my snowshoes briefly before it was deep enough to put them on and made the trail head at 9:40 am. I had decided at the car to give myself 4 hours to reach the lake.  Even with the possibility of a shorter return trip, the forecast was for cold and it is still Standard Time.  It was clear no one had been up in awhile as I was breaking trail through the parking lot.  Rainier was out!

For the next 1.25 miles, the trail was manageable with a small amount of postholing.  There were quite a few trees down, whomever comes this summer to log out the trail will be busy!  Between the berms around the gullies and the tiny branches grabbing out at my snowshoes, it was a drudge.

Around 2 miles from my car, the slope steepened and things got a bit dicey.  Snow that had slid down onto the trail had things pretty steep and the drop off was not appealing. A layer of snow over ice had me using veggie belay to navigate over the trail, I was glad to have snowshoes with traction!  There was a point when I considered turning around but after consulting the map, I could see it wouldn’t last much longer and I continued on.

The snow only continued to deepen and I was getting a pretty good workout.  Between maneuvering over, around and under trees, my pace was less than ideal.  I knew I needed about 1.5 miles an hour and I was pushing it.

Around 3 miles from the car the forest opened up and things leveled off(ish) making for even more snow and a less obvious trail.  There were few markings to follow except for one blaze in a tree that helped me turn a bit to the right to keep with the trail.  I was glad to have GPS.  I turned the one and only switchback on this trail and the descent never felt so good.

I passed the guard station and stopped at the edge of the lake after 1:30.  Technically I had made it in 4 hours but I was exhausted.  The lake was completely snow/ice free and the view across the water at Agnes Island and the snowy peaks beyond was worth it.

I sat down for just a few minutes to refuel before I donned my headlamp around my neck and headed back up the trail.  I knew it would be a tad bit easier to return in tracks I had laid down but there would still be the distance and all those trees to navigate.  I didn’t want to be digging it out of my pack if I ran out of daylight.

Needless to say I did make it out at exactly 8:01 hours total and a tad bit of daylight left to drive out on.  Luckily the sketchy spot I was a little worried about was not an issue on my return, possibly with a little warming and tracks to follow.  The stuck vehicle was gone and I did not need to put traction devices back on for the trip down the road.

Even if you have a vehicle that can navigate deep snow, there are at least 3 sets of downed trees on the road before the trailhead.  Watch the avalanche forecast, the first 2 miles of the trail itself are in avy terrain (but the forecast is good for the next 2 days).  If you are planning a trip, give yourself plenty of time!

And I am definitely going to be sore tomorrow.