On a cool February a group of fellow snowshoers followed a route which combined a series of the Chuwhels Mountain dirtbike trails (GKMA) from Lodgepole Lake though the forests and plantations in a large loop which went over a hilltop above the whole area.    Some of the trails were stomped in, but at least half needed to be stomped in.   We followed single tracks near Lodgepole Lake to get to the Insectopia Trail, then we combined more trails (Mod Squad, Something Nasty, Roots of All Evil, Mikey Likes It, and Walloper Creek Trail) and some backcountry double tracks for an 8.5 km (4+ hour) snowshoe outing.

Insectopia wound up through the hills and required extra trail-breaking.

The Mod Squad Trail wound to the top of an open hilltop with views of the Chuwhels Mountain slopes.

We followed sections of the Melba Lake Branch Roads, before winding past Peach Pond, and down to Walloper Creek.

The final section was past Lilypad Pond and up to the Lodgepole Lake Campground.

For most snowshoers this area is a bewildering series of forested single track trails.    The trails are mapped on some apps (Trailforks, Maps.me, Gaia, and possibly others), so if you have GPS on your mobiles you can see your location and the trails ahead, but mostly we can follow the tracks of others and refer to the mapping apps, as needed.   Each year we snowshoe routes in the Lodgepole Lake area and we learn some new routes and return to do others we already know.

Thanks to Roy and Monika for leading this snowshoe.