{"id":145921,"date":"2020-03-06T13:03:44","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T21:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=145921"},"modified":"2020-10-05T15:36:33","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T22:36:33","slug":"overnight-snowshoe-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/overnight-snowshoe-adventure","title":{"rendered":"Uncommon Challenge: Go On an Overnight Snowshoe Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

A version of this story appeared in the winter 2020 issue of\u00a0Uncommon Path<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/span> gust of wind whips up off a nearby snowbank, blinding me with spindrift. It hides my tears.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m standing on a snowy shoulder on San Jacinto Peak, a 10,834-foot behemoth east of Los Angeles, with my buddy Andrew, who is presently entombed up to his waist (again). His small, cleatlike traction devices aren\u2019t doing much to keep him on top of the snow\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

\u201c!#@%,\u201d he shouts over the flurry.<\/p>\n

A few hours ago, I would have laughed at him in the way good pals do, but that time has passed. We\u2019re exhausted, well short of the\u00a0summit and running out of\u00a0sunlight. Our first winter camping trip is off to an ignominious start.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s backtrack to\u00a0simpler times: About six hours prior, Andrew and I set out from San Diego without cares or tears. We\u2019d climbed San Jacinto a number of times together in summer and fall, but this was to be our first attempt in winter, when the peak was mantled in white. We decided on the Marion Mountain route, which climbs nearly 6 miles up San Jacinto\u2019s southern flank.<\/p>\n

Like any good hiking partners, we aligned on everything down to the make of the topo map we preferred. The only thing we differed on? Andrew opted for traction devices that he slipped over his winter\u00a0boots, while I chose MSR Lightning Ascent<\/a> snowshoes that I procured from an REI Garage Sale a week prior.<\/p>\n

Almost immediately, I regretted my decision. From the parking lot, Andrew strode down the packed trail unencumbered with his spikes. Meanwhile, I clodhopped behind him on my snowshoes, kicking my ankles raw and flinging snow into the seat of my pants. It took me an hour to reach the first mile marker, where Andrew smugly announced he had been waiting for \u201can hour.\u201d I severely missed summer.<\/p>\n

We kept going another mile, Andrew quick and efficient and me not so much, to where the tracks we were following petered out. As self-identified intrepid explorers, we agreed to press on into the untouched powder. Almost instantly, my snowshoes transformed from awkward to graceful, and I floated effortlessly (and smugly) as Andrew hoofed it behind me in the knee-deep snow.<\/p>\n

We kept on like that for a few hours\u2014me walking atop the snow and Andrew sinking into it and then clambering back out\u2014and made very little progress toward the summit, where we\u2019d planned to camp. By the time the sun was setting behind the Santa Margarita range to the west, Andrew had sweat through all his layers, while I had\u00a0put all of mine on. We were hungry\u00a0and dispirited.<\/p>\n

Now, as Andrew wrestles with the manzanita bush he\u2019s crashed into, I pull out our map to check our infinitesimal progress.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t look great. Half a day in and we\u2019ve barely reached the halfway point. If it were August, we\u2019d be at our summit camp by now, clinking double-wall mugs in our Chacos. It\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, man,\u201d I tentatively say as Andrew dumps a pile of snow from his gaiter. \u201cI think we should call it. I don\u2019t want to make camp in the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n

A smile\u2014or something resembling relief\u2014creeps across his face as he heaves his 50-pound pack into the snow.<\/p>\n

We pitch our tent in silence, then settle for GORP and raw s\u2019mores fixings\u00a0for dinner. When I collapse\u00a0inside our shelter, my body aches in ways I didn\u2019t know it could. But as snowflakes lilt\u00a0against the tent fly and I\u2019m safely cocooned in an enormous sleeping bag, humility feels good. I know we\u2019ll be back to try our trip again as intended. We\u2019ll wear spikes for the first few miles of packed trail, then we\u2019ll switch to snowshoes for the powder. It will be more challenging than a summer trip, sure, but neither of us will cry.<\/p>\n

\n

Uncommon Challenge<\/i><\/a> is a column where we challenge each other to make unusual gear additions, subtractions and swaps. All challenges (and subsequent bouts of suffering) are voluntary and not recommended unless explicitly stated. Have an idea for a new Uncommon Challenge? Leave us a note in the comments.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A version of this story appeared in the winter 2020 issue of\u00a0Uncommon Path.\u00a0 gust of wind whips up off a nearby snowbank, blinding me with spindrift. It hides my tears. I\u2019m standing on a snowy shoulder on San Jacinto Peak, a 10,834-foot behemoth east of Los Angeles, with my buddy Andrew, who is presently entombed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16975,"featured_media":152103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[724,1984,708,1939,1934,2024,1449],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-145921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-snowsports","tag-gear","tag-issue-2","tag-snowshoeing","tag-uncommon-challenge","tag-uncommon-path","tag-uncommon-path-issues","tag-winter-camping"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/overnight-snowshoe-adventure","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Uncommon Challenge: Go On an Overnight Snowshoe Adventure","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/overnight-snowshoe-adventure","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/overnight-snowshoe-adventure"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/A-Walk-in-the-Park-CLIENT-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/A-Walk-in-the-Park-CLIENT-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Snowsports","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"jaypurcell"}],"creator":["jaypurcell"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["gear","issue 2","snowshoeing","uncommon challenge","uncommon path","uncommon path issues","winter camping"],"dateCreated":"2020-03-06T21:03:44Z","datePublished":"2020-03-06T21:03:44Z","dateModified":"2020-10-05T22:36:33Z"},"rendered":"