White Mountains 100 is now on the schedule, which means this winter it’s all about training in the snow! After Methow Trails shared the awesome clip below, I decided it was the perfect time to head for Washington Pass, especially since I’m guessing Hwy 20 will close for the winter any day now.
The original plan was to snowshoe to Blue Lake and then do some running along the groomed Washington Pass Overlook Road.
As it turned out, I only had time for Blue Lake. The trail was completely untracked and covered in 1-2 feet of fresh powder. I was surprised and thrilled to be the first one up there since last weekend’s storm. I broke trail all the way to the lake, moving much more slowly than anticipated but enjoying the beautiful slog. (I figure I better get very comfortable with snowy slogs.)
Unfortunately, on the way down, when I was less than a mile from my car, I realized I’d lost my phone somewhere on the trail… so back up to the lake I went. And back down. (No luck. Thankful for replacement insurance.)
On the plus side, the trail is now very well packed out, and you probably don’t even need snowshoes… until the next time it snows, of course. Hopefully soon! 🙂
Evergreen Endurance Coaching 
Effin gorgeous! You nailed it Jessica.
Thanks Alexei! It was a pretty amazing day up there.
Jessica, beautiful photos! You do nice work on this and your other reports. Good luck on the White Mountains 100. I’ve done two 100s in wintry Alaska ( Coldfoot 100 and Iditasport 100) and they are unique. If you keep moving, you won’t need as much stuff as you would think.. just stay dry (and avoid Gore-tex…..it doesn’t work too well in the cold).
Thank you Doug, glad you enjoyed the photos! What year did you do Iditasport?
Coldfoot was in 1998 and I did the Iditasport 100 in Feb. 1999. So it’s been a while. I don’t think Coldfoot exists any more but I believe the Iditasport does under a different name ( Sustiva 100).
Iditasport has been replaced by the Iditarod Trail Invitational… with options to go 135 miles, 350 miles, or 1000 miles all the way to Nome! Fun stuff.
Wow! I need to get up to the mountains this winter.
Snowshoeing is great cross-training… we can work it into your schedule!
Way to get up there before the road closes and on a clear day! Was it tough to stay on trail with the snow?
Not too tough. Probably because the trail was so “well-loved” during larch season. 🙂