We celebrated the recent snowfall with a snowshoe outing to Mt. Ashland. The road to Mt. Ashland was snow-packed, but sanded, and parking space was readily available near the closed gate to FS20.
Five of us headed out on groomed FS20 toward Grouse Gap and Rabbit Ears. A new hiker joined us from South Florida who had new snowshoes and was eager to try her new gear. We headed into fog and wind with snow flurries swirling around us. The wind chill temperature was about 20 F.
We had the quiet mountain entirely to ourselves and met no other adventurers on our way out. Steadily, we snowshoed toward the Rabbit Ears rocks, keeping right up the hill past the Grouse Gap turn on the left. We stopped up the hill where it is protected by tall spruce and fir. The elevation was almost 7,000’, but still a few hundred feet below the Rabbit Ears rocks.
As more snow started to fall, we agreed to turn back. It was an invigorating day with a total distance of 3 miles. Our new hiker from Florida was ready for more snowshoe adventures and we hope that she comes again.
Kay
Hike Date: 2024-01-12
Photos By: Kay and Socorro
