The thing about snowshoeing that is really a lot a different than hiking is I have no idea where we hiked or how far. The signs are totally buried and really, as long as you’re in the beautiful snowy scenery who cares, right?

When my sister and I parked at the Barlow Pass Sno Park, we had no idea where we should go. Jerbear Wedell told us that we should snowshoe at Barlow and he’s never given us bad advice before, so we listened. There was an obvious trail that most people were taking and then there was what looked like a road at the end of the parking lot. Nobody was heading that way, so it seemed like the best option.

It was obvious that it is normally a road, but with several feet of snow on it, it was a lovely snowshoe trail. We didn’t really know where we were going until we got there. It was the road to the Pioneer Woman’s Grave. The snow was a bit sloppy because it had been raining, so we sank in pretty deep. We did a lot of laughing at our numerous missteps and ridiculous near falls.

According to my sister’s phone, with side trips, we descended a little over 3 miles. It was downhill the whole way. That frightened us a little because we’re notoriously awful at ending on an uphill. As we neared the bottom of the hill, we found a great side trail and hiked in a ways to eat a snack. We settled down on the snow pack and chowed down. We were super-duper hungry. Our timing was a bit off for meals.

When we finished we hiked back out to the road and headed back up. I was definitely worried about my endurance, but it turned out to be totally fine. Slow and steady we made our way back up the hill and then, gloriously, it started snowing big giant flakes on top of us. I did not drive a snow-ready car to the parking lot, so I was a little concerned, but it was still pretty warm. I hoped it wasn’t sticking. We hiked in the beautiful snow uphill for the last hour.

When we got to the parking lot our trusty steed was patiently waiting on totally clear pavement. We needed nourishment.

We stopped for warm drinks and greasy food on the way back to town. Snowshoeing is an incredible work out and it’s so peaceful. I adore it.