Lake Mountain with Nate:
I got up at 4:20 am to meet Nate at the AF Park n Ride. 20 minutes later we were running up the road to Lake Mountain. There was snow covering the road almost from the start. We followed tracks up to the gate, but the gate was closed and from that point on there weren't many tracks to follow, so that meant breaking trail the rest of the way. It was a bit more effort, but not too bad. Near the top the road was wind blown and there was a few exposed tracks to follow and as we got closer to the saddle the wind picked up a lot. At the saddle it was really blowing and the push up to the summit was a bit brutal. It stung our faces and was pretty biting, so when we hit the top (1:12) we stayed for only a few seconds.
Once we got back down below the saddle the wind died down and we enjoyed a nice run in the snow all the way back down. It was still dark as we made our way down the mountain and the views were pretty cool of the lake and all of the city lights below. It was the perfect way to start my day. | 