In the midst of a week-long downpour of rain, lower temperatures, and wind gusts, the last Friday of 2022 was not conducive to a pleasant snowshoe outing. The forecast for Saturday looked promising with new snow at Mt. Ashland and milder conditions. Rather than cancel our weekly outing, we rescheduled to the next day and had a wonderful experience.
Nine of us repeated the 4-mile round trip on Mt. Ashland’s FS#20 up to Rabbit Ears. Repeating this trek in a row over the past three weeks was unusual for us. Doing so revealed how fresh it feels under different weather conditions. This 3rd time revealed the beauty of the clouds and fog layers moving amongst the mountain ranges. The usual expansive views of Mt. Shasta were replaced by fascinating shapes made by shifting clouds, ribbons of blue between their layers, and tree branches adorned by ‘lace’ formed by thin icy snow.
After stopping for lunch, chocolate, conversation and pictures at Rabbit Ears, we returned glad we’d had a memorable New Year’s Eve Morning together.