I had to take the day off work because my daughter had a big dance show in San Francisco. Why they did this in the middle of the week I have no clue. Anyhow, we did not have to leave until the afternoon so that meant I could take Journey on a good hike somewhere in the morning. But where?
We had a big April snowstorm last weekend. Two feet of snow in the mountains. Too little too late, I think. If we had this storm in March it would have been many feet of snow. Nonetheless, an April storm is beautiful. I love it. It would be nice to go up into the mountains and hike in the snow and see a good (or great) waterfall. Bassi Falls here we come (again).
The forecast indicated there would be possibly 1.5 feet of snow in this area. I thought that might be too much for Journey. And also, parking could be a big issue if they had not cleared the trailhead area off Ice House Road. I decided to try it anyway. We got up there at sunrise. Thankfully they had cleared some space to park and there was only about a half foot of snow. I was surprised about that. I wondered if all the snow had melted in two days or they just never got the amount forecast. Probably the latter.
Even a half foot of snow was difficult for Journey. It was crusty and she was sinking in. She was struggling but the good thing was someone had been in here already with snowshoes. If we walked in the snowshoe tracks it was a lot easier. For the most part Journey did this. She let me go ahead and she followed in my steps but she had problems if she wandered off the tracks at all. If she had a choice between going in the snow or through a huge puddle, she always chose the puddle. She is smart and also silly.
I brought Journey’s water but I forgot my own water. That was stupid. Thankfully it is an easy hike and I did not need it (also, I may have drunk some of her water – hummm). I saw fresh bear tracks in the snow. That is the first time this year I have seen any, but no bear unfortunately.
We arrived at the waterfall and I took my usual photos. There was less water flowing than when I was here in April last year. I thought it would be better today. I had also thought there would be more snow at the waterfall but it had mostly all melted. Oh well. It was a fun day in the snow at Bassi Falls.
