I hiked up California Creek, Moonshine Flats, Saltese Ridge, then came back down the road. The trail was snow free up to the lower section of Moonshine Flats, where it got a lot deeper, but it was still really manageable. I went a bit further and ran into a ton of deep snow.

Significant snowmelt has happened since last Saturday's (17th) snowshoe. I didn't get to go to the top and just did the "lower loop" up Moonshine and down California, but the loop for 99% of it was free of snow. Only scattered small patches were covered in crusted ice that got a bit slippery.

Not sure at what point snowshoes can be or are worth being strapped on... as I didn't get to go high enough today. I'd probably still carry mine if I intended to hike to the top. Maybe? At the very minimum I would pack my cleats if I were going to higher elevation.

Some parts today were iced over. Many parts melted out and muddy.

A fantastic extra early morning hike with clouds blanketing the city below, but my hike was filled with baby blue skies and early morning sun.

AllTrails map posted below for the route I took.

#LoveLocalTrails

My first time doing Mica Peak. I did the 9 mile round trip route from the Belmont Parking Lot up through Moon Shine / California Creek / Rolling Stone trails.

There was no one else on the trail despite the great weather and the holiday. Strange!

I had one encounter with a moose on trail, who was about 50 feet ahead of me about halfway up. She wasn't aggressive and after about 60 seconds she moved off the trail into the trees.

I wore my snowshoes for the last 1/3rd up, and maybe 3/4th of the trail down (for convenience). The snow got deep on a small trail that was unmarked (which Organic Maps showed as a trail and recommended to get to a view point) and I put them on at that view point. The snow got pretty deep (6-12 inches, less so under the trees) making it pretty slow going up to the final road section. The road section hadn't been driven on or plowed in some time, but was only 2-3 inches deep, so about halfway to the facility at the end of the road I removed my snowshoes and just walked.

A couple ravens but otherwise nothing remarkable from the peak back down to the parking lot.

Looking forward to this hike in other seasons!

Fantastic day out to snowshoe Mica Peak. We love coming here in the winter (and spring, and summer, and fall). Counted a total of 9 people plus a dog. A couple was out running. One older gentleman just came back from what looked to be a short stroll. One was biking it (with snow tires). (I'm not gonna detail ALL 9.) We snowshoed most of it. We were the last ones to arrive back at the parking lot as we chose a late start (11 AM) to the day. Cause why not sleep in on a Saturday before heading out?

Trails are 99.99% clear and are well marked. There is only one tree to climb up and over on the California Creek Trail.

From parking lot you can't quite snowshoe it cause the snow is very thin. Do watch your step as the road is frozen over, but not. Husband made one huge crater on the ice and almost broke through into the watery pond below. Obviously, you're not gonna die if you get wet at this part of the trail, but certainly not pleasant to have soaked boots in the winter. The first couple miles is a bit of an ankle twister maze, that's all.

We went via Moon Shine Trail then turned off to the east where California Creek Trail interesects. This is the junction where we were able to put on our snowshoes. (This seems to be a pretty consistent and typical spot for us for when we get to put on our snowshoes.)

We went almost to the end of California Creek, but stopped just before the woods at the top. We've been so many times we stopped before the treed the section.

On the way back down we took Calfornia Creek trail all the way back to the parking lot. And as you get within 1.5 miles of the parking lot the road/trail was frozen over so putting on cleats was the way to go. I, however, sommersaulted backwards with a fantastic butt landing while throwing my snowhoes away from me. I was too lazy to tuck them in my backpack. But WTA trail work has taught me well to carry sharp parts pointing away from my body and in case of a fall throw them away from my body. So, after this I gave in to the tedious task of putting on my cleats.

WTA Trail Work: Posted link to my AllTrails route below which shows where the big downed tree is and a couple other downed trees, but nothing drastic.

#LoveLocalTrails

Patches of mud, snow, and ice. We stayed on the upper trail that had less ice and snow. I would recommend yak Traks if you want to go the full loop. we did fine in just our hiking boots and could pick around the icy and snowy spots. Pretty day and a good hike for late in the season