Forest of Silence
Mosquito Creek, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington
In the forest of silence,
I can breathe again...
As the new year begins, snow has returned to the mountains here, piling up in vast amounts after multiple winter storms and a blizzard this week. With a brief window of calm weather between storms last Sunday, I headed up to explore a snowshoe trail I had not visited before, on the east side of Snoqualmie Pass.
The parking area at Crystal Springs is a busy one since it serves a variety of users including cross country skiers, snowshoers, snowmobilers, and even some dog sled teams! But each group has their own separate trails so after a short walk up the multi-use connector trail, I headed off into the forest on the snowshoe trail, leaving behind the noise and the crowds. There were very few other snowshoers out that day and for long stretches of my trek all I heard was the muffled creak and swish of my snowshoes packing down 8 inches of fresh powder as I made my way through the snowy woods. Even the burbling of the lovely (and mosquito-free in the winter!) Mosquito Creek was silenced by a thin layer of ice.
Forest of Silence
Mosquito Creek, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington
In the forest of silence,
I can breathe again...
As the new year begins, snow has returned to the mountains here, piling up in vast amounts after multiple winter storms and a blizzard this week. With a brief window of calm weather between storms last Sunday, I headed up to explore a snowshoe trail I had not visited before, on the east side of Snoqualmie Pass.
The parking area at Crystal Springs is a busy one since it serves a variety of users including cross country skiers, snowshoers, snowmobilers, and even some dog sled teams! But each group has their own separate trails so after a short walk up the multi-use connector trail, I headed off into the forest on the snowshoe trail, leaving behind the noise and the crowds. There were very few other snowshoers out that day and for long stretches of my trek all I heard was the muffled creak and swish of my snowshoes packing down 8 inches of fresh powder as I made my way through the snowy woods. Even the burbling of the lovely (and mosquito-free in the winter!) Mosquito Creek was silenced by a thin layer of ice.