Wolves at the Door(the Back Door, that is)
Trip date: Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Submitted by Bob Truman
Particpants:
Wolves, Snowshoe Hare, Pine Marten and me
Discussion:
No skiers had ventured north(towards Packers) on Pocaterra from the Back Door trail, so I took the road less traveled. I was rewarded with a variety of animal tracks in the fresh snow and saw a pine marten cross the trail in front of me. There's 2-3 cm of new snow since it was snowmobile packed a few days ago. I went about 1K north on good coverage. Turned around where the trail takes a steep downhill with the tight right turn(terrific fun when the conditions are good but very choppy and difficult to snowplow today due to the ridges left by the snowmobile).
I backtracked and headed south on Pocaterra to the Lookout/Tyrwhitt junction. The coverage is good but there are still hazards to be wary of. A few ruts and dipsy-doodles that could throw you off balance when heading downhill with a full head of steam.
I met Dave and Bob who had gone all the way to Elk Pass. They said Tyrwhitt is skiable but very rough.
The snow was cold and I had excellent grip using purple wax. Air temperature was -1.
The Back Door parking lot is 8.8K south of the winter gate on Hwy #40. To reach Upper Pocaterra there is a 700-metre access trail. I do not recommend this trail for novices/beginners.