We didn't leave the upper parking lot at Alpental until 1045 PM on Thursday. We had originally planned to tool around the lakes near Kendall Peak, but Jon decided it would be fun to try and drive up the snowmobile track that leaves the Gold Creek snow-park :) The inevitable occurred and we ended up getting stuck about 70 yards up the track. We were totally cemented in, so even the come-along was of no use. We got the assistance of a near-by resident but he ended up getting stuck trying to get us unstuck. We finally managed to free his rig and sent him on his way. The next 3.5 hours consisted of telling people, ""No, you can't see the eclipse from here"", and trying to flag down the huge sanding trucks in hopes one of them would assist us, no luck. At about 10 PM we hitched a ride up to Ski Acres to see if there was someone up there that could help us. Finally, some fella with a 50,000 lb sanding machine thought it would be cool to give it a shot, and proceeded to pull Jon and his Toyota from the snow while I photographed the entire event (can't wait to get those pics back!!) Still feeling up for a trek, Source Lake seemed like the best bet given the time. From the upper lot, the first 3/4 of a mile has been plowed over with a snow cat or similar vehicle, so the going is quick and easy. After the groomed run ends, follow the main snowshoe trail NW towards the lake. About a 1/4 mile from where the snow cat stopped is a ridge, go straight up or wander off to the right and find an easier grade up. Once at the top, there are numerous snowshoe trails that will take you to the general vicinity of the lake. We made it to the lake about 1145 PM, and stayed a good 20-30 minutes enjoying the quiet and great view across the lake basin. We missed the eclipse 3.5 hours earlier messing around with Jon's car, but were treated to a valley filled with an abundance of moonlight and shadows. We used them on occasion, but the Petzl's (headlamps) were really not needed for much of the way down, pretty cool! We made it back to the car at 1 AM, and made our usuall Denny's stop in Issaquah. All in all, a pretty fun adventure, although I believe Jon and his truck may have a different opinion.

With no rain falling, we thought we'd make a foray to Source Lake. I90 was bare and dry, but the road to Alpental is packed snow. No problemo, and we started up the obvious route in the snow up the Snow Lakes trail. The route follows the trail perfectly, but soon will be lost when the next big snowfall arrives. The trail is packed down and easy to walk on until the Source Lake junction. Then it becomes ski/snowshoe conditions. We made it to a point above Source Lake, but it was energy-sapping. It's winter-time, folks! Careful of the avalanche potential, and see ya on the ""trails""!