Easy Snowshoe Hike with a Forest Ranger at Snoqualmie Pass

Have you ever thought about snowshoeing, but have no idea about equipment or where to go?  Try an easy snowshoe hike with a United States Forest Ranger!  At $10 for kids and $15 for adults, a guided hike that includes equipment rental is a great deal and we had a fun time trying something new.

Driving up to Snoqualmie Pass, we took exit 52 and veered to the right at the end of the off-ramp to find the Snoqualmie Pass Visitor Center, which is run by the United States Forest Service.  Luckily for us, both the roads and the sky were clear, setting us up for a spectacular day on the mountain.  After being even luckier to find free street parking about a block away, we made our way to the ranger station.

Right at 1:00 PM, the US Forest Rangers gave an introduction to our crowd of about 20 people, telling the parents how to help kids put on snowshoes, and telling kids that they were welcome to hang out with the ranger at the front of the crowd, once we were on the hike.  Jake was pretty excited about that.

After we all checked out snowshoes, we followed the Ranger across the street and under I-90 to where the Pacific Crest Trail meets exit 52.  Once we were off the road and all on the snow, we stopped to strap on our snowshoes.  I was surprised at how easy they were to put on and at how comfortable they were to walk in.

At what would be the larger parking lot for the Pacific Crest Trail in the summer, the ranger stopped and had the kids gather around.  He talked about some animals that live nearby, including bunnies.  I honestly thought that bunnies were either brown or white, and that white ones tend to fare better in winter and brown ones fare better in summer.  However, I learned that brown summer bunnies actually have some sort of ability to gauge the length of sunlight each day.  As days grow shorter, their hair turns white and as days grow longer, their brown summer fur returns.  The Ranger joked that his mustache turned white when it became winter one year, but for some reason hasn't ever turned back to brown.

Along the way, we stopped several more times to see some bunny prints in the snow, along with bobcat prints nearby.  We also stopped to learn about birds, squirrels, and trees.

Jake points out why we need to stay on the trail.

BEFORE YOU GO:
1. To check out guided snowshoe programs at Snoqualmie Pass, check out availibility and options here: http://www.discovernw.org/store_winter-snowshoe-program-at-snoqualmie-pass_SNOWSHOE01.html.  If you have questions, their phone number is (425) 434-6111.
2. To research other guided snowshoe adventures, check out this page from Washington Trails Association: https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hiking-info/basics/winter-skills-courses. It is a great compilation!
3. Check out road conditions at WSDOT: http://www.wsdot.com/traffic/passes/snoqualmie
4. Snowshoes are included in the adventure fee.  Dress in layers and bring a backpack snacks, water, an extra pair of gloves (in case a child takes one off and throws it in the woods without telling you, which is what one little girl did today.  Pro tip: if you have little ones that take off mittens and drop them, try putting a wool sock over their gloves but under their coat sleeve.  This is what I do with Tyler and we haven't lost a mitten, yet.)  I also brought little hand warmer packets, although we didn't need them, despite the 16 degree weather today.
5. Pack chains in your car and practice putting them on before you drive in snow.  Also, pack a plastic garbage back or something to kneel on when putting on chains.  The roads were clear for us today, but it's always good to be prepared in the mountains.
6. Pack a sled for after your snowshoe adventure, if you're inclined.  The Snoqualmie Pass Visitor Center is just a mile or two from the Hyak Sledding Hill.  If we had time and didn't have to pick up Tyler at the Pro Club's childcare, I totally would have taken us sledding afterwards.
7. Bring some cash for parking, just in case.  We found free parking along the street, but we were lucky that someone happened to leave at the right time.  There are some pay lots on the road, and if we started cutting it close to the adventure time, I would have wanted to make sure to have cash on hand for some pay lots.

GETTING THERE:
1. The Snoqualmie Pass Visitor Center is located at 6905 SE Snoqualmie Pass Summit Road, Snoqualmie Pass, WA.  https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mbs/about-forest/offices/?cid=STELPRDB5238217
2. To get to the Snoqualmie Pass Visitor Center, take I-90 to Exit 52.  At the end of the off-ramp, veer right.  The Visitor Center is on the right side of the street in about 2 blocks.
3.  Street parking is available along Snoqualmie Pass Summit Road, just past the Visitor Center.
4.  For our hike, we walked without snowshoes on along the street and under I-90 to the Pacific Crest Trail.  Once on the trail, we put on our snowshoes and made a little loop.

Make Ahead Freezer Sandwiches

Did you know you can make sandwiches ahead of time, freeze them, toss a frozen one into a lunch bag in the morning, and have a thawed sandwich ready for lunch?  This is my favorite parenting hack!  This makes getting lunches ready in the morning a total breeze.

Now, whether I pack everything but the sandwich the night before and toss one in in the morning or whether Jake packs his lunch on his own, having sandwiches ready to go makes things so much easier!

 Ideas that have worked well for us:

*Ham & cheddar cheese with mayo

*Turkey & havarti with mayo & mustard

*Peanut butter & honey

*Almond butter & jam

*Grilled cheese sandwich (or grilled ham & cheese sandwich)

*Quesadilla (sometimes with chicken, cumin, and chili powder for extra flavor) 

Tips:
1. Meat, nut butters, jam, condiments, and cheese freeze and thaw well.  Veggies do not.  If you want lettuce or tomato on a sandwich, it's best to pack it in a separate bag and add it to the thawed sandwich at lunch.

2. Hot sandwiches like grilled cheese sandwiches, or even quesadillas, can be frozen.  For hot sandwiches, make sure to let them cool to room temperature before putting them in the freezer, though.  If I make grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, I often make an extra one or two that can be tossed into the freezer once it cools to room temperature.  It just helps add variety.

3. To make sure your family member will have enough time for thawing, do a test run over the weekend.  Take a sandwich out of the freezer around the time you normally leave and try eating it around the school's lunchtime.  This will help assure you your child won't be sadly gnawing on a frozen sandwich at lunch.  If it turns out there isn't enough time for the sandwich to fully thaw, you can always move one from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before.  The bread always tastes a little drier to me when I try that, although Jake never notices.

4. Once you try it out a couple of times, make a batch of sandwiches.  Either make 5 for the week on Sunday or try converting an entire loaf of bread into sandwiches in one fell swoop.

5. Frozen sandwiches typically last a month before the bread becomes kind of stale tasting when thawed.

6. When making batches of sandwiches, using cookie cutters is just as easy as using a knife to cut them.  Plus, it makes the sandwich more fun for the kid!  You could try using certain cookie cutters for certain sandwich combinations or have some holiday theme with the shapes, if you want. I often just use one shape for all of the combos, though, because that's the easiest.

7. On school nights when things are too busy to put together a nice dinner, grab a frozen sandwich and toss it in a pan, microwave, or panini press for a quick hot dinner.  Apparently toasted PB&Js are tasty!

8. I usually get ham-off-the-bone or rotisserie chicken at the deli counter of the grocery store, to avoid overly processed meats.  While there, I keep my eye open for sales.  With frozen sandwiches, it's easy to buy a pound of roast beef or something you may not normally buy, turn it into frozen sandwiches, and sprinkle them throughout the month. That way, you can basically use the sale price over a longer period of time while adding variety to the mix.

9. During the sandwich assembly process, it's easy to get the kids involved so they feel invested in their lunch.  Jake loves to be in charge of using the cookie cutters!

10. When using a cookie cutter, if you can't get a clean cut by pressing the cutter down into the sandwich, try flipping the sandwich over and pressing it down onto the cutter, like the lower center sandwich in the top photo.

Sandwiches assembled & cut

A loaf's worth of sandwiches, ready for the freezer in just 10 minutes!