Contributed by trip leader Kelly Clemen

Eight snowshoers met at Skyline Park on a Saturday morning to head up to Swampy Sno Park. The drive up the Cascade Lakes highway was uneventful but there was already a steady stream of cars heading up to Mt Bachelor. Later weekend snowshoes will have to meet up earlier in order to beat traffic up to the mountain.

We met up with two additional participants at the Sno Park and the whole group met up at the kiosk for introductions. As we headed out, the sun was peeking out and no snow was falling. We found the first part of the trail to be well-trod with a light layer of new snow over the top--easy walking. The trip leader demonstrated the important concept of avoiding walking too close to trees as one of her legs broke through the snow into the empty space around the tree. She needed a little help getting out and sheepishly reminded the group to avoid tree wells.

We got to the first junction and discovered that the trail had not been broken from there. Participants started taking turns being the leader and breaking trail for the group. Everyone was enthusiastic about the additional effort required and we soon found ourselves at the Swampy Shelter. We stopped inside for a snack break and discussed whether we wanted to complete the loop or head back the way we came in order to avoid having to keep breaking trail. The group decided to continue breaking trail to complete the loop. Snow was now falling continuously as we headed out again, making for beautiful surroundings as we slowly worked our way around the loop. We made it back to the original junction and previously trod trail. It was easy-going to get back to the trailhead and we passed the only other snowshoers we saw all day. We let them know that we had kindly broken the trail to the shelter for them.

We made it back to the trailhead a little over 4 hours after we started. Everyone was happy to get back to their cars after the morning's exertions.