Kirsten and Steve invited us to go on an overnight snowshoe trip with them. The timing was perfect since Brooke had just gotten new snowshoes for Christmas. I still don't have snowshoes, so Steve and I decided to ski while the girls snowshoed. The destination was Kendall Peak Lakes, 4.5 miles in and 1,700 ft up from the trail head. The trail was a little busy for the first couple miles, but we soon left all the dayhikers behind. The weather was perfect, with some light snow Saturday morning and the temperture in the 20's. Sunday morning we slept in, packed up and headed out.
Steve skiing up the trail near the trailhead.
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Steve, Kirsten and Brooke following the well packed trail.
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Steve, Kirsten, Brooke, and me posing for a picture.
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Kirsten, Steve, and Brooke at the saddle where the trail split.
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The view at the saddle.
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Brooke and Kirsten coming up the trail.
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When we reached the first of the lakes, We turned off the trail and found a great spot to camp.
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We decided to make a snow cave to sleep in, so we got to work right away.
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Brooke shoveling the snow that Steve was pushing out of the cave.
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While we were working on the cave, the sky turned pink.
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Looking across the frozen lake.
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The moon was peaking through the clouds a little too.
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The cave was plenty big for all four of us and our gear. We set up the stove in the entrance and made dinner.
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Steve woke up at 3:30 AM and realized the ceiling of the cave was sagging. So we decided it would be wise to get out and set up our tents. We were back in our sleeping bags getting warm by 4:00. So much for the snow cave...
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Looking back at the lake as we left camp Sunday morning.
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The clouds were coming and going giving some nice views of the mountains across the valley.
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We had low visibility for a little bit on the way down, but that didn't last long.
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