Snow Peak — Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024

Headed up for our cabin reservation on Saturday - this is a lovely spot that I definitely plan to return to. We snowshoed in via the summer route because the winter sno park wasn't being plowed yet. The road to the summer trailhead was a bit sketchy with a good amount of snow on it and some downed trees (including one blocking most of the road that essentially had a car-shaped cutout on one side), but we made it! Glad I had a shovel in my car for if needed.

We wore snowshoes from the start - there were quite a few patchy spots, but there was enough snow to not need to ever carry them. They were very helpful higher up as the trail seemed to be rocky underneath, which would have made for unpleasant postholing without snowshoes, and the snow got deeper as we went to the point where you'd posthole every step without them. The larches were mostly past prime but still golden and beautiful - I had no idea there were so many out in this area. 

It was 3.2 miles to the cabin, which was cozy and wonderful. It is single group-use by reservation. While it looks like you can reserve it for up to 6 people, there are only 3 cots and honestly it would be crowded with more than 3 people (I wouldn't try to fit more than 4, and 2 people was perfect). Here's my track of the summer trail in (with a very short bit of wandering near the cabin because I wanted to see what was around the corner, but you'll see the sign as you approach and can skip that bit): https://caltopo.com/m/1R1GDTT

The cabin was stocked with wood and propane for the coleman stove. We melted snow for water without issue. There was mouse poop on the plates and whatnot - seems like a mouse likes the "kitchen" corner. The carbon monoxide alarm was beeping like it was low on batteries, so the next person up should bring a 9-volt battery to replace it - I left a voicemail mentioning this to the rangers, so it's also possible they will take care of it. The solar lights worked, but I brought some twinkly lights to use instead. Very nice to have an outhouse.