Snowshoe 4th of July Pass
Can you believe all the snow we've gotten in the past week? Where was this around the holidays? Wherever it was, I'm glad it's here now.After doing some research via the Panhandle Nordic Club, we took advantage of the snowy weather and headed up to 4th of July Pass for a little snowshoeing with Juneau and my parents' yellow lab, Shelby. It was such a treat! The snow was light and fluffy and to make it even better we were the only ones on that trail the whole day. So peaceful. This was only my third time snowshoeing and I love it more each time I go. I'm looking for fun and unique places to go so please let me know if you have any suggestions!Kyle got me some great snowshoes from Cabela's for Christmas and I haven't been able to use them until now. They were light and the straps were easy to use, which I appreciated. One of our neighbors gave me his old ski poles to use (so nice of him!) so I was ready to go without having to buy or rent any additional equipment.
On the other hand (or foot...) Kyle needed to rent some snowshoes, so he headed down to Fleet Feet on Sherman to try out some of their racing shoes. There, he also discovered that you need a Park n' Ski pass in order to ski or snowshoe state rec areas. Luckily, Fleet Feet is one of the vendors and $25 later (plus the $15 for rentals) we were good to go.We chose to take Jeanette's Jaunt up to the picnic area - we estimated there and back being a little less than seven miles. It felt great to get outside and move around after the severe cold we've had. Brr! As much as I love the winter, I'm ready for some warmer weather - even back up into the 30's would be great.Side note: I had a total "You know you're from North Idaho when..." moment today. A co-worker and I were walking out in the sun and I didn't have a coat on and mentioned how nice and warm it felt. She said, "I know, it almost feels like spring!" Then she checked her phone and noted it was only 34 degrees out. So, you know you're from North Idaho when 34 degrees feels like springtime.Anywhoo...We ended up hiking around for about five hours and the last mile-and-a-half was in the dark so we learned a valuable lesson in all this too, start before 1 p.m. and bring headlamps. Now that I've shared my vast knowledge with you I expect you won't make the same mistake.
The dogs were exhausted and even started nodding off at the halfway point when we stopped for lunch. It's so fun to let them off their leashes and run around, they were in heaven. Just be sure not to let your dog run on the cross-country trails. Heads will roll.The trails were fantastic and the rest areas had materials to build a fire. There's supposed to be a warming shelter at some point but we didn't make it that far. I was definitely ready to turn back when we did and was SO ready for bed when we got home. Luckily our neighbors invited us over for dinner. They're the very best :)Have you guys been hitting the trails or the slopes lately? Where should we go explore next?Happy trails!AndyAnother side note: Sandpoint's Winter Carnival is this upcoming weekend! I've always wanted to go check it out but I don't know if it's in the cards this year. There's a ton of great events so be sure to check it out if you're up that way!