I’m skipping over much of February’s adventures. I got outside and climbed 3 of the weekends, and I solo hiked the San Joaquin River Trail for the 4th weekend. I had a blast, but nothing monumental happened.

I don’t do a lot of climbing trip reports because they would all be very similar. I drive, I climb, I get a few scrapes and bruises, eat some pizza, then go home.

This post is from the first weekend in March. It was pretty late in the season, but we had just received one of our first big low elevation snow storms. I couldn’t WAIT to get outside and play. Neither could anyone else.

I had forecast lingering snow on Saturday, then sunny and dry on Sunday. Sunday would’ve been the better day to go with plowed roads, but like I said, I couldn’t wait.

We headed out fairly late on Saturday morning, at around 9 AM. We drove up 168, and had planned on doing one of the Sierra National Forest trails out of a snow play area. I’d bought the parking permit online and everything.

At the top of the four lane, traffic stopped. And it didn’t move. There weren’t any cars coming down either. We overheard someone say that a few cars had slid out and traffic was blocked as they were getting towed. I was practicing my patience, and decided not to turn around like others around me.

It was a good 45 minutes before we moved. A chain control area was set up. I got a new-to-me car a few months back with all wheel drive, and the officer saw this and just waved me through. I was nervous – I hadn’t driven on snowy roads since I lived in Michigan, but those Michigan roads were NOT hilly and curvy mountain roads.

I do have cables based on internet message board suggestions, but since my owner’s manual says the clearance is too little to install traction devices on AWD cars, I was hesitant to put them on. I decided I’d go very slowly, use the pullouts often to let everyone pass me, and keep all fingers and toes crossed.

The only scary moment was the hill leading to Shaver Lake. I started sliding, but thank goodness the other side of the road was plowed and there wasn’t any oncoming traffic. I drifted over, got control, and slowed down to turn into the parking lot. Phew!

We decided to stop here. Who knew how the roads were past this point, and how much traffic there was? We’d just break our own trail around the lake.

There was SO MUCH SNOW. I’ve spent time at the lake in the summer, but it is completely different in the snow. There were a lot of families and kids playing, but not where we were. The snow was so pristine.

Heading up into the woods on the west side of the lake was like entering a different world. The snow was untouched, and the scenery completely undisturbed. I was happy.

We snowshoed southward toward the marina. It was incredibly peaceful. Sometimes the clouds would part enough for an amazing contrast between the white cumulus clouds and the crisp blue mountain sky.

Periodically, tiny light snowflakes would fall.

As we rounded the marina, we started to hear children near the Camp Edison Day Use Area. It was a nice turn-around point, so we stopped to snap a few photos. I tried to get a fun picture of throwing snow in the air. Silly me. This was not the fluffy, powdery snow that falls gracefully. The air temperature was too warm for that type of snow. It was closer to freezing, which means heavy, wet, sticky, great-for-snowballs snow. I ended up nailing myself in the face with clumps of snow.

After doubling over in laughter AT myself (what else is new), we started to retrace our snowshoe steps.

There was a darker cloud nearby when we started the trek back, but the sun was also shining. It looked like little sparkles were falling.

Going back was easier, since we had already made decent footprints. It was a much faster return trip.

We were only gone from the parking lot for around two hours, but wow, what a difference when we returned! Apparently, we also broke trail for everyone else. The closer we got to 168, the more crowded it got, and the more churned and muddy the snow was. I couldn’t believe the transformation!

Even though the scene was no longer pristine, it was really neat to see so many families taking their kids to play in the snow. Kids and adults were sledding, making snowmen, and having the best time.

The trip back to Fresno was less eventful. Both sides of the road were in better shape, and I was relaxed.

I may have had to wait months for good snow, but at that moment, it was worth the wait.

 

For a shaky action camera video, watch this. Try not to get motion sickness.