Took the “winter route” from Icicle Creek Road up to Colchuck Lake which adds 8 miles. Conditions were good – no wind, no precip, decent visibility – could see all the peaks but clouds obfuscated the sun. The road in was plowed, compact snow and ice but manageable for most cars, even 2 wheel drive – however, I expect after last night’s storms road and route condition have already changed drastically, as Blewett and Snoqualmie pass both had a lot of snow as we drove home.
The entire trail was already broken in and had a decent bootpack. The scenery was an absolutely gorgeous winter wonderland. We had the place to ourselves most of the day until a trio of snowshoes passed us by on the way to the lake, turning around however as they were at their turnaround point. We plowed on determined to see the lake, and upon creating the final ridge and finding a good spot with a view, we were greeted by a frozen lake covered in snow. Truly beautiful. We opted to don our snowshoes for the route down and used them all the way to Icicle creek. It was amazing to have the trail and lake to ourselves – quite the opposite of the other seasons. A magical day. 17 miles, 3850 feet of gain. Total time 11 hours C2C.
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/colchuck-lake-33d3b15
