On  a mild winter day I drove up the Lac le Jeune Road, then turned onto the Chuwhels Mountain Road on a plowed road up to Lodgepole Lake.    From the parking area at the west end of the lake, I hiked back across the lake, then turned north up into the hills, following an old snowed-in double track for the first part of the route to Eureka Lake.

There had been a snowmobile track to follow for about a kilometer, but then I had to break trail for a while.

At 1.5 km up the double track I turned right onto a single track motorcycle trail called Meaning of Life.     There were snowshoe tracks on to follow continuing to bear north.     At a series of junctions there were other trails going east or west, but I followed the snowshoe tracks which were roughly heading toward the west side of Eureka Lake.    I followed the No Mud Trail until I could see the lake.   With lots of windfall, I continued north until I saw a short side trail that had been used to get to the lake.

I tried to create a loop route, so I broke trail across the lake to the south end, but the snow was too deep and there was impassable deadfall to get through, even though there was another trail only 500m south.    I would have had to break trail on that too, so I turned back and stomped my way back to the track I had set coming in.

The sun was breaking through as I descended the hill down to Lodgepole Lake.

We can snowshoe the route from the east end of Lodgepole Lake to Eureka Lake and back in about 6.5 km.    I added distance by going across Lodgepole Lake and back, across Eureka Lake and back, and some exploration of other trails and routes, for a total of about 9 km.

Eureka Lake is a remote spot.    It is a reasonable destination if the tracks are stomped in.    I went solo, which is not a recommended practice, but I have been doing that for 55 years.    I am not sure how long I should continue to do that.   In the meantime, I am getting out to snowshoe and hike most days for the winter (but one good outing of some sort every day).

I spotted other trails to explore in the area like Ball Buster and Suspension Test and I can see the trails on my maps so there are other loop routes to tray on the snow, or on dry ground.   See you on the stomped in tracks in the high country.

das