Showshoeing!
Whoop-Um-Up and Banner Ridge! No pictures from the Whoop-Up-Up trail, it was the first time on showshoes for me in a very long time, and I was
intimidated enough just attempting to keep up.

The Banner Ridgejaunt got off to a rocky start, as the ridge built up by the snowplow doing Hiway 21 was so high that we had to dig a step into it just to get up
to where the trails all began. As you will see if you look at the pictures, the large amount of new snow made it a ton of work just to keep walking. No
grooming here, and you were stepping over a foot into the white stuff even with snowshoes on.

One of the things that Banner Ridge is known for is the incredible views from the top of the snowshoe trail. We were to be denied those views, however, as the weather
gods determined that when we got to the top of the ridge where we could look down, what we could look down on was the current blizzard which happened to get underway
just about the time we summited the ridge. Booo...


A portent of things to come. This, the Gold Fork Ski Area Rest Stop

The work is offset considerably by the magnificent views





Hiking partner seems to be gifted with energy reserves well beyond mine, therefore he is subsequently blessed with the job of 'breaking trail'. If you have never snowshoed, you have no idea of the energy output that entails.

What isn't obvious here, is that the Trailhead is just around the next bend. That was a VERY WELCOME sight!