Chocolate Falls and June Lake loop, Mar 19th

This year, as well as last, has been very low on the snow level so we were already putting our snowshoes away for the season when we finally got a bit of new snow. With that, our plans quickly change to go stump on the powder (if there was any) so we headed north towards the Marble Mountain trailhead where you can pick and choose from several routes. WE found a lot of people there, most of them riding louds and smelly snowmobiles though. Not a pretty sight. So we got out gear and almost without even trying our shoes we headed up towards Chocolate Falls. Luckily that route leaves the snowmobiles behind pretty quickly. AS we hiked, we noticed that snow level was actually pretty low and the snow was like peanut butter. Probably the little snow that fell didn’t reach the area as the trail was clearly marked and easy to follow. Along the route we found groups of people that spent the night there to summit Helens as well as others that were training for longer trips. It didn’t take much to get to Chocolate Falls which, as it happens I the winter, there’s nothing to see other than the canyon it falls in. The fall itself wasn’t there. After enjoying the views from the fall and a bit higher, we retraced our steps to the connector trail to head down to June Lake. The snow looked like it was melting fast which we proved while traversing the slope and sinking on every other step. It was very wet and slushy. WE actually had to take extra caution descending the ravine right before the lake as to avoid post holing around big boulders. Once down by the lake, we made a quick stop for a lunch and then took the trail down towards road 83. Along the way we saw several families going up to the lake with their kids. It’s always nice and refreshing when you see parents taking their kids on this kind of trips. How could you not fall in love with nature and respect it more when you are introduced to it at a very young age? Once down by the road, we followed the trail next to it back to the parking lot. It was a bit annoying with snowmobiles flying by but what can you do. Even though we did snowshoe the entire route, the snow wasn’t that inviting. We miss the white fluffy stuff!



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