Trip Report
Cross-country Ski - Keechelus Lake & John Wayne Trail
A perfect moonlight ski
Felicia Wibowo
- Sat, Feb 8, 2020
- Cross-country Ski - Keechelus Lake & John Wayne Trail
- Keechelus Lake & John Wayne Trail
- Cross-country Skiing
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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There is gate at Hyak SnoPark which closes at 5:00 PM. You can park at lower parking lot of Hyak Snoqualmie Nordic parking or just outside the gate of the Hyak SnoPark there are a couple spots for cars to park. You have to walk to the P2C trail from where you park.
At the start of the connector trail from P2C to Cold Creek trail, the ditch which usually is full of snow has running water which you have to negotiate if you want to use the connector.
The weather prediction was for 20 inches of new snow would fall the night before the day of the trip. Most of the participants dropped out because of this weather prediction. The snow never materialized and the weather turned for the best for night skiing. Road to Snoqualmie Pass was clear, the clouds cleared up and the moon was shining above Keechelus lake.
The only snag was the connector trail between P2C and Cold Creek trail. The ditch which is usually full of snow, was a running creek instead. Coincidentally Dominique (co-leader) and Karen who went early and planned to warm the hut, could not find the connector trail. In the end all of us met almost at the same time at the connector trail. Nobody wanted to risk falling into the cold water. We decided to ski on the P2C and forgo the warming hut. We skied almost to the dam before we took a break. We ate our supper by the lake on the clearing by the moonlight before heading back. It was a lovely moonlight night, no headlamp was needed and the classic tracks was fast. It was a perfect moonlight ski trip.
