Trip Report
Intermediate Snowshoe – Bear Paws Trail - Staunton State Park
How do you fit 16 enthusiastic hikers onto one trail? Very carefully! Our leaders, Robbie and Durrie, split the group and did a key exchange on this point to point hike. The conditions were excellent, a light snow covering packed snow and ice on the trail (microspikes were perfect for these conditions), nice temperature with warming and sunny weather as we hiked, affording some excellent views to our south.
Wayne Howell
- Fri, Feb 10, 2023
- Intermediate Snowshoe – Missing Route/Place
- Snowshoeing
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Trail conditions were a bit tricky in the beginning, light snow covering packed snow and ice, which we remedied with microspikes. No need for snowshoes. Temps started in the teens but quickly found their way to the 30's. The sun also helped make this an enjoyable hike.
Our group, actually two groups, with Robbie and Durrie as leaders, made this hike a lot of fun. This was a point to point hike of ~7.4 miles and ~1500 ft of elevation gain (depending upon your specific GPS app), where the large group split into two groups, starting from opposite ends, and meeting in the middle. We were lucky enough to meet at a spectacular overlook and were rewarded with sunny, blue skies and excellent views. There was some "disagreement" as to the specific peaks we were looking at, but that only enhanced the fun. The trail was a mix of uphill and moderately flat sections, the group stuck together, and overall this made for an enjoyable hike. I have this route on my list for this summer.