It was great week for snowshoeing…..cold temperatures, lots of snow, and even got to do some snowshoeing with a beaver!
J.R. Beaver Sumpter Valley Dredge
See the J.R. Beaver snowshoeing video at YouTube.
We’ve already been out more times in one week than the entire season last year! We can’t ask for any better snow either….the snow so far this season has been very dry, which makes for easy snowshoeing.
Dry powder means less work and of course….less work equals more fun, right? It’s like we say in Sumpter……“ There’s no snow like Sumpter snow!”
New Year’s Eve 2012
Our first official hike of the season is always New Year’s Eve and it was awesome ~ especially since we had to cancel due to lack of snow last year!
We enjoyed the company of some very nice people who are part-timers working on building a house here in Sumpter.
Ray, Cheryl, and Toby…..(Toby is the four legged snowshoer)
I kind of envied Toby…he got to explore a whole lot more than we did…and he didn’t even need snowshoes! :)
The sun was shining bright and our view of the Elkhorn peaks was breathtaking!
The Elkhorn Peaks above Sumpter, Oregon
Just when I didn’t think the week could get any better…..I got to end it with a hike with one of my favorite snowshoeing partners in Sumpter!
State Park Ranger Miranda Krane (off-duty)
We took the trail leading from the water tower at the North end of town. This is a pretty accessible trail…however, I would like to caution everyone that due to natural discharge from the water tower, the end of the street at the gate does have a pretty good sheet of ice!
Unlike other trails around town, this one does have some vertical climb to it….but the views are well worth the extra effort!
Sumpter Water Tower Trail
Miranda has no problem with this steep climb
As Miranda attacked the hill head-on…I took the easy away following the atv trail around the side of the mountain.
Going around the mountain…instead of straight up…..
Miranda shows us that it is always a lot more fun coming down than going up……
Coming Down
It was a great week for snowshoeing in Sumpter……can hardly wait until the next hike!
Visit the Sumpter Snowshoe Club here.
For more photos, visit: Facebook.com/sumptersnowshoeing
