Trip Report
Basic Snowshoe - High Lakes Loop (winter)
A scenic route that has much to offer even in relatively foul weather.
Richard Burt
- Sun, Jan 7, 2018
- Basic Snowshoe - High Lakes Loop (winter)
- High Lakes Loop (winter)
- Snowshoeing
- Successful
- Snow and ice on road
-
The gate at Longmire opened shortly after 9:00; driving the road to Narada Falls was unproblematic. The park service requires all vehicles to carry chains, though often their use by all wheel drive vehicles is not mandatory.
From Narada Falls we hiked up the Mazama Ridge trail to about 5,440’, then set off on a bearing to Lost Lake. From there we followed bearings to the lake NE of Faraway Rock, then the lake at Faraway Rock. This terrain was surprisingly complex, with a series of hollows and ridges and drop-offs not obvious from the map. We made constant use of GPS navigation here. From Faraway Rock we made a descending traverse over relatively steep and brushy terrain to intersect the creek below just where is crossed by the trail. This seemed the only feasible crossing. From here we followed the trace of the trail through the forest to the east end of Reflection Lakes and the road back to Narada Falls. If done again, I’d likely do the route in reverse order.
The weather included in turns snow, rain and sleet; even some dry periods.