Another Monday morning and still on winter break - time to head up into the mountains to snowshoe! I heard there was decent snow at Salmon Ridge (never a given in December), so I headed that way. So glad I did, it was definitely a Winter Wonderland.
I left Bellingham at 7:00am - I was worried about Mt. Baker Highway, but like a few previous reports stated, the road is in good condition. Water across the road a few miles before Glacier, but it is well-marked, just go slow. Two short single-lane sections after Glacier, they had signals and were very quick, even with all the ski traffic heading up.
Arrived at the Salmon Ridge Sno-Park, the parking lot is icy so be careful. There is a porta-potty in the parking lot. Sno-Park Permit required, luckily I remembered the night before and printed off a temporary one for the dashboard.
I started on Mom's (the gate closest to the porta-potty), then went on Razor Hone to the second bridge; on the way back I took the River Trail loop back to the parking lot.
A few trees to step over on Mom's, no obstacles otherwise. Plenty of snow on Mom's and Razor Hone. Tracks for skiing and snowshoeing on Razor Hone (messy at times). Only ski tracks past the Cougar Loop Y, I made some snowshoe tracks, but only to the second bridge. The ski tracks look like they go around the entire Cougar Loop, but I can't be sure.
I passed the turnoff for the Huckleberry Trail and was tempted, but nobody had broken trail, and I am not very good at route-finding in the snow. Next time for sure, it's such a great trail!
River Trail was definitely more crunchy and crusty, with a few thin places and one muddy spot. I've seen it a lot worse, though. I went out onto the riverbed, found a nice log, sat for awhile and watched the sun slowly reach the hillsides and trees. Hydrated, snacked on a few Christmas cookies, enjoyed some peppermint cocoa. Felt very calm and grateful.
Eventually headed back to the parking lot. Overall a great morning, the snow on the trees is my favorite part of any snowshoe, and today didn't disappoint (though I was getting snow-bombed on the River Trail, so I can't guarantee it will still be there tomorrow).
Total of 4.7 miles, 340 feet elevation, just under three hours on the trail. Grateful to be out in the snowy wilderness today - especially knowing that next week at this time I will be surrounded by fifth graders! :)
Here's a great website full of maps and resources for this area - thanks to the Nooksack Nordic Ski Club for all your work in maintaining these trails!
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