On the last day of the year I cross country skied first then snowshoed a 2.3 hour loop route on the Stake Lake Snowshoe Trails.    We followed signed trails – Giant Firs > Marsh > Basalt Bluffs > Lake Trail.   The trails were stomped in and in good shape (thanks to Roy and Monika for the trail clearing).   This is a scenic route without long hills, a good route for early in the season.    We saw some cross country skiers as we crossed the trails, but no other snowshoers on the single tracks.   The sun shone through clouds on a mild and pleasant day.

We always enjoy going through the old Douglas fir trees on the ridge.   Then we crossed the south edge of the large marsh, heading east.   When I hiked there in June, it was still damp and there were lots of mosquitoes.

The loop route climbs a bit to go over the rock at the foot of the basalt bluffs of McConnell Hill, a special spot to appreciate on the traverse around the steep slopes of the hill.

We crossed ski trails through the forest as we worked our way west toward the lake, enjoying the sun as passed open areas.

When we hit Stake Lake, we could have turned right to the go the quicker route, but we chose left, going around the west side back to the parking area.

We did this same route on our first time snowshoeing at Stake Lake over the last few years and we plan to do it again next year.    There are more trails to explore for the rest of this snowshoeing season.

And, a Youtube video – Stake Basalt Bluff Snowshoe