8.4 miles of hiking • 2000' elevation gain •
We arrived at the Pioneer Bridle TH a bit late and knew we would have difficulty making it to Enid Lake. My real objective, though, was to hit snow and experience some of the white stuff! It was a sunny and brisk 36 degrees when we reached the TH but we were prepared for both the cold and wind. The wind was rather calm for all but the region near the old fenced mine, which was fine with us. We only saw a group of about 6 mountain bikers but no hikers. We started seeing snow near the cutoff for the Kiwanis Camp, at about 3200 feet. The snow only increased in coverage as we headed east toward Enid Lake. Surprisingly, the snow was rather hard and brittle but oh so fun to walk on (no kahtoola's needed!). We didn't quite make it to Enid Lake but had a funtastic time just the same!
One thing worth mentioning was the huge blowdown just past the Zigzag Ranger Station where Hwy 26 goes to two lanes. I'm wondering if the storm last week uprooted all these trees or if some of the falling trees caused a domino effect? If these large trees had fallen on the road it would have been a big mess and probably killed many people, but I haven't heard of anything?
