Wilson Lake Snowshoe

Once again the day arrived without a cloud in the sky, temperatures in the high 70's. Holly, Zoe and I, needing to get in our weekly daytrip to the higher elevations, set off to the southern area of Lassen National Park. A new visitor center at the south entrance of the park offers ranger led snowshoe treks as well as an interpretive center, cafe and very nice restroom facilities. Unfortunately, Zoe, being a canine, is not allowed off leash in the park, so we are going out of the park to Childs Meadow where we are treking to Wilson Lake, 3 miles east of Hwy 36. We set out at 2:00 in the afternoon and started a gradual uphill climb while the snow around us seemed to melt as if it was spring. The trail continued to climb through a beautiful mixed connifer forest and as we finally topped out and dropped into the shallow lake basin, we could see that the lake was nothing but a large sheet of ice. Not another soul around and nothing but serenity. It was 3:30 and the sun was low in the western sky. After a snack of jerky and pears, it was time to return to the car and head into the setting sun down Hwy 36 and into Red Bluff for dinner, the end of another perfect day in the northstate.