Nordic Adventures - Life on Vancouver Island

We have not had any snow here in Victoria yet this winter, but Mt Washington Alpine Resort is only a few hrs up island. My husband and I both worked through the holidays but managed a nice 2 day weekend vacation to do a little snowshoeing at New Years.

Every year the numbers of snowshoers has increased, this year we saw a record number. The resort is perched on the edge of Strathcona Provincial Park, we love to head up to a lake called Lake Helen MacKenzie. It is a nice active hike.

I though I would share a few pictures from our adventure.We stayed at a resort down in Courtney and there was low cloud cover at the base of the mountain, as soon as we passed through the fog/clouds the top of the mountain was beautiful, crisp and sunny.

The snow glistened like it was covered in diamonds.

The snow was heavy and molded to the trees, so many looked like Dr Seuss had walked through the wonderland with his pen and brush.

As we headed into back-country where the snow was undisturbed it looked like feathers, I tried to get a good picture but the sparkles played with the light.

One of my favorite parts of heading into the park is seeing these guys, I know they are a nuisance to some but they are a joy when you only see them a few times a year. In this case I am pretty sure he is thinking "What you forgot the treats".... We usually take raw trail mix to feed them and we left it in the truck. I had made some energy balls for Mike and I and we shared a couple... suckers :).

You can see the lake in the background.

Mike decided to risk the ice to draw on a section of the untouched snow.

Ahh my sweet man, he is such a great guy. I love you to :)

Me all bulked up with my winter gear and backpack. Even though it was darn cold I usually ditch my toque and gloves not long after we head out. Layers Layers.

Feathery diamonds.

Still trying to catch the elusive closeup of the feathered snow.

Both days we headed up to the lake, first day we were all alone and explored all around the edge of the lake. The second day there was a group of people up there when we arrived so we did a quick turn around. All in all it was a great could of days.

Thanks for stopping by I will try to share a card later today :).

Nina