Snowshoeing Moose Creek

Moose Creek Reservoir

Last week, winter returned to the Palouse. We got about six inches of snow in Deary, most of which was still around over the weekend. On Sunday, I joined a group of students and post-docs for a snowshoeing trip to Moose Creek. Although it was a foggy and overcast day, we had a great time.

I’m always amazed at how much more snow Moose Creek gets, despite its close proximity to home. I estimate the snow was about a foot deep, which is plenty for snowshoeing. We ended up hiking just under 2 miles in before turning around and heading back. I’ve forgotten how much energy is required to walk in snow, and after four miles, I was thoroughly whooped. I also brought the dogs along, including two that we are watching for other people. The four dogs had a blast and came home exhausted.

I can’t wait for more snow to fall. Since I won’t be skiing this year, I’ll be doing more snowshoeing and maybe some cross-country skiing. Erin got a pair for Christmas, so she’ll be coming along, too. And I’ve got more friends excited for some winter exploration when they return from break. It’s going to be a good winter.

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyHike

Similar Posts

  • Big Falls on Overall Run

    Big Falls on Overall Run, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer. It’s great to have my camera back. Two weeks ago, I bent a pin in the card slot which rendered the camera useless. After speaking with Canon support, I packed up the body and shipped it off to the nearest repair facility. It left FedEx that Monday and arrived at Canon on Wednesday. I authorized the repair and it was fixed on Thursday and shipped back on Friday. I received my camera on Friday. While I’m not happy to shell out the expense of fixing my equipment, I am very…

  • Attempting to Snowshoe

    This past weekend, we had a nice day on my day off for once. So I took advantage of the sunshine and warm weather to get out and hike. Or so I thought. I’ve been waiting to take my snowshoes out for a real winter trek, and the timing has been bad. I set my sights on the Gold Center trail, which leaves at the base of the mountains behind Clarkia and climbs its way up to the ridge just below Grandmother Mountain. I’ve always wanted to hike this trail, and winter seems like the best time to do this…

  • Backpacking … for real

    After our jaunt to the fire tower on Shorty Peak, we decided to go out for a more conventional backpacking trip – the kind where we bring everything we need with us, including the shelter. We chose the upper priest river, a relatively mild trail to get us started. This trail goes 8 miles along the upper Priest River through lush old-growth forest, ending at a waterfall just miles from the Canadian border. In many ways, this trip reminded me of backpacking in the eastern US. If you’re looking for grand mountain views and high alpine lakes and meadows, this…

  • Grandmother Mountain

    Looking West on Grandmother Mountain, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer. This weekend, Erin and I set out for our first hike together in Idaho and we made our first summit together on Grandmother Mountain. The hike to Grandmother Mountain begins high up in the St. Joe National Forest 12 miles out of Clarkia. The entire hike is above 5500 feet, which was a neat considering all of our hiking in the East (so far) was under 5500 feet.* Grandmother Mountain is an easy two-mile one-way along a high sub-alpine ridge with forest mixed with meadow. The summit stands at 6369…

  • Upper Basin Trail

    View Upper Basin Trail in a larger map The Upper Basin Trail is a 5 mile loop in the upper basin of Elk Creek just north of Elk River The trail is near the giant western red cedar, thought to be the largest tree in the U.S. east of the Sierra-Cascade crest. The loop is also near the Morris Cedar Grove, another grove of large old-growth red cedar. unfortunately, the road to the Morris Grove was closed and blocked off on Saturday. If you’re looking for a difficult challenge, the Upper Basin loop is not for you. The trail was…

  • Lookout Mountain

    Everytime I’m up on Grandmother Mountain, I look to the east and see the bald dome of Lookout Mountain rising over the Marble Creek drainage and I long to stand on top and look down from the other side. Finally, with my parents and sister visiting, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to try out this trail. There are several mountains in northern Idaho named Lookout. This is not the ski area on the Idaho-Montana border off of I-90. This is not the peak in the Selkirks north of Sandpoint of the same name. This is in the…