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Location: Co. rd. 60 from Prairie City
Road & Trail Conditions: Hwy 26 clear; Co Rd. 60 packed ice to ranches, then deep snowmobile ruts. be careful.
Snow Conditions: increasing snow depth with elevation 2 - 4+'
Skis on & temperature: 10:30am 19° (JD 11°)
Skis off & temperature: 4:45 pm 15° (PC 10°; JD 17°)
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| on the fs 6001 rd breaking trail over deer/elk tracks |
Distance: 10+ miles; 1600+' elevation climb
Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 9.9; would have liked to get up another mile to the falls
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| from the fs 6001 rd looking toward slide lake |
Comments: Could only drive in 7 miles from PC, left 4 miles to ski to campground; 1 mile up to strawberry lake. 2 miles on road on snomobile tracks, remainder break trail, 2 - 4' deep. used backcountry skis; happy for them. skied a few hundred yards up trail then switched to snow shoes. was hip deep in snow changing over. glad for snow shoes. skied all the way down. a few narrow spots with deep drifts, very steep if you slip.
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| breaking trail on the 375 trail up to strawberry lake |
the trail is a little tough to follow unless you are familiar with it. drifts make it look very different. if you have hiked this in summer, it is an amazingly different experience.
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| strawberry lake looking south |
from campground up wind picked up to a fairly regular 10-20mph dropping windchill below zero. after 5 mins. without gloves, took 20 mins of skiing to get hands warm. keep moving.
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| mtn ridge overlooking strawberry lake |
4.5 hrs. up; 1.5 hrs. down. Great fun on the downhill through powder. snomobile ruts were a little tricky.
if you can get out on this one before the next snow fall; you can follow my tracks to the lake, break trail further.
