On our arrival, we tried in vain to warm the camp but the negative outdoor temperatures were working against us. While the wood stove cranked out heat, we headed to South Lake to ski on the snowmobile trail on the southern shore of the lake. With the powdery snow and wide snowmobile tracks it turned out to be much like a groomed trail. We turned around after a couple hours to return to camp and stoke the stove.
After the arrival of my parents we departed to a longer ski the next day from North Lake to Sand Lake Falls which lies roughly 5.5 miles northwest of the lake. After the previous day's experience on the snowmobile trail, we were looking forward to another day of groomed trails. We were not disappointed, although we did see our share of snowmobiles that day. All riders were courteous and friendly as we made our way over the rolling hills, through the woods and into the open floodplain of Woodhull Creek. We ate a lunch in the sunshine at the lean-to, admired the falls and skied back to North Lake for a perfect winter day!
The next day we left North Lake with maps in hand looking for another backcountry ski in the powdery conditions. We found a trail circling Cascade Lake, just north of Eagle Bay. Being Wilderness, we didn't have the groomed trails from the previous two days but enough people had skied ahead that we had a packed path to follow. We eyed the area as a potential camping spot for Hornbeck boats in the summer!
We were glad to take advantage of the perfect winter conditions but being the end of February, we are certainly looking forward to warmer weather!
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