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Parking Fees: $25 for Snow Park Day Pass | $50 for Snow Park Full Season Pass | Can pay at the kiosk at the entrance. Discover Pass is not sufficient when Snow Park passes are required.
To stay clear of the winds we decided to go snowshoeing in the woods via the Christmas Tree Loop route. We had a book club meeting at the warming hut so we hiked/snowshoed it counterclockwise. While Spokane was getting rained in, Mount Spokane was just high enough elevation even at this lower trailhead start that we got snow instead of rain.
The trail was… hmmm… hard to gauge. We put cleats on for the first part as the ice below the thin layer of fresh snow was quite slippery. But then the ice wasn’t too sturdy and had to watch our footing as the moment you stepped off the hard parts you post holed. Couldn’t quite switch to our snowshoes because not enough snow on or around the trail. We finally got to put our snowshoes on just a little ways before we hit the junction. Then from the junction taking Trail 140 down is when we got to delight in making first tracks in the snow. That is… until the moose tracks. Oh so many hoof crossings. Fun to see, not quite as fun to snowshoe on. Those moose reeeeally post hole. There was a group of 4-5 hikers who we met coming up Trail 140 (they did the route clockwise) and they had wished they had snowshoes on. They post holed, quite a bit, and quite deep. Then the snow ends abruptly, but then comes back just as abruptly. We gave up on snowshoes and put cleats back on and were able to make it all the way to the warming hut without changing out our gears. The day started windy and gloomy, but then the sun came poking out in the clouds and soon enough blue skies took over. It was much better day to spend the day in the mountains than back at home.
Book Club read was Stranger in the Woods. This was our 2nd one for the year and we’ve been having fun with it. Mostly reading outdoorsy books and then we hike to a location to chat about it. If you’re interested in joining us, just shoot me an e-mail at SpokaneBookSwap@gmail.com.
thehikingbookworms.com 
Dear Aggie,
Thanks a lot for sharing your Hiking Bookworms write-up with us! And,
oh, how we enjoyed the pictures. Yes, David’s new jacket is a beautiful
blue; so sorry it didn’t work out. The pictures of the woods in which
you were hiking are so beautiful. I am very thankful that you/both/
really love being out in the mountains and doing the hard work of moving
through heavy snow. Just you two, your snowshoes, and the moose! It’s
great that there are warming huts, and that you have such a good-sized
group of friends for your discussions. You are storing up some precious
memories.
May you two have a very Happy Easter! –With love from LeiMom
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