Ray
and I decided do a little snow trip up to the Loch Leven Lakes area.
This is one of those quick trips because the trailhead is right off
highway 80 before Truckee. There are quite a few people that use this
trailhead for day snow shoe trips and just playing in the snow so get
there early to insure a parking spot. Once you get a 1/4 mile away from
the trailhead you should have the area to yourself. Ray and I hiked
in enough to get away from it all and then worked on a snow kitchen.
See the map.
The
"trail" on the way on is rather steep in spots so take your
time and choose your route. There usually are quite a few routes that
people have taken if it hasn't snowed recently. Having been to the area
before Ray and I decided to just head for an area near the railroad
tracks but still high enough and open enough to have good snow depth
to work with.
This
tree is near the spot we stopped to set up camp. It seems to point the
way back in this picture.
So
we stamped out a spot for the tent and then used "dead men"
to anchor the tent and rainfly down. I have found that this works great
and will hold your tent secure if the weather turns nasty. My Sierra
Designs tent is a great 4 season tent and it doubles as a way to signal
planes. Not that I have ever needed or wanted to.
Ray
decided to work on the kitchen. This is Ray's first snow kitchen and
he did an awesome job. Probing the snow ahead of time is key in any
snow structure so you don't have to scrap your plan halfway in when
you hit the top of a tree or big granite boulder. Also remember that
it will be very cold once the sun goes down so any ramp too steep will
be tricky to navigate when it is hard as ice. Steps are usually preferred
but are tricky to make if the snow is not right. I have seen many stairs
turn into a ramp after they are walked on a few times.
This
is the ridge above the railroad tracks. You can almost see the lines
in the snow where snowballs have gone down the hill. If you do venture
around the railroad tracks please be careful as the train is moving
faster than it looks and you don't hear it until it is almost on you.
The snow makes a good insulator and tends to collect on both sides of
the tracks making it hard to get out of the way of a moving train.
This
is the kitchen that Ray built. It is a little hard to see in this light.
It is pretty much a two person kitchen but making your kitchen too big
just makes it colder. When making your kitchen I recommend making a
bench seat for as many people as you have and make it wide enough for
a closed cell foam insulating pad and then make it either high enough
so it keeps your feet off of the snow or a spot for another pad to put
your feet on. If you are going to be cooking a bunch it is nice to have
something to stand on while at the stove. Make the counters high enough
for whoever will be there the most. Also leave plenty of big, clean
snow chunks for melting around the cooking area of the kitchen. It makes
melting the snow a whole lot easier.
This
picture is on the way out. Notice Ray's pack with the foam pad at the
bottom. I believe that the only comfortable way to sleep in the snow
is to use a closed cell foam pad and an inflatable one. Before you hit
the sack bring a wide mouth Nalgene bottle in the sleeping bag with
you filled with hot water. You might need to wrap it in something at
first as it might be too hot but sleeping through cold nights is never
easier than if you keep that hot water bottle in your sleeping bag with
you. It also insures that you will have some water in the morning that
did not freeze overnight.
The blue line is the route to Loch Leven Lakes in the summer. The green dot represents the approximate place we camped in the snow. To me it is more about building your snow structures than doing a super lengthy snow shoe trek. (especially when there is fresh powder and there are only a couple of people in your group)The blue line is about 4 miles.