April Snow Brings Out the Snowshoes!

I'm not putting my snowshoes away just yet!  Monday's storm brought over a foot of fresh snow to the Brighton area of Big Cottonwood.  Snow conditions yesterday afternoon were awesome!  This was my first experience with snowshoeing in April and I was treated to the most spectacular mountain vistas!

Guardsman Pass

The state road known as Guardsman Pass takes you from Big Cottonwood canyon over the mountain pass into either Heber Valley or Park City.  In winter this road is one of the few places where snowmobiles are allowed to traverse the roads.  But it is also a great snowshoe trail and the mountain is big enough for all to enjoy!  The snowshoe route is about 3 miles roundtrip and took slightly more than 3 hours total for us to snowshoe to the pass and back.  You will follow the snowmobile road for about 3/4 mile then veer to the right from the state road and head into the forest of lodge pole pines -- BEAUTIFUL!  At this point there is a sign warning snowmobilers to stay on the state road, but it is obvious that many ignore the sign.  The terrain gets pretty steep from here to the top of the pass and it is helpful to follow snowmobile tracks as much as possible.  This hike is challenging!  And my legs ached after 3 hours of hiking in the snow, but I love it!

At the top of Guardsman we found this amazing old tree.

The mountain vistas were gorgeous on this sunny afternoon.  We are looking back towards Gobblers Knob and Mount Raymond on the right.

I'm lucky to have a friend that loves the outdoors as much as I do!

I guess we can share the mountain if we have to!

Crazy Hiker Chicks Top 10 Reasons to Hike

# 10  Hiking is an excellent cure for boredom.

# 9   Hiking will strengthen your legs.  You may even notice calf muscles!