There is something magical about a nighttime adventure in nature after snowfall under a full moon. A gentle mist rose as I drove with Katherine Hill, publisher of The Tahoe Weekly, for a full-moon snowshoe. I didn’t think much of the mist as I drove.
My destination was Prosser Reservoir near Truckee where I had recently cross-country skied. I thought that the vastness of the open space would be gorgeous under a full moon. The moon was set to rise at 7:30 p.m.
We parked at Donner Camp Picnic Site and Interpretive Trail off Highway 89 and put our snowshoes on. It was a relatively warm evening considering the recent snow. We turned on our headlamps and climbed over the berm. I set my GPS and we headed in the same direction I’d skied a few days prior and followed a trail someone had snowshoed.
The mist turned to a light fog. It was dark and a quick thought crossed my mind, “I wonder if we’d see the moon tonight.”
Check off #36 on our Ultimate Tahoe Winter Bucket List.
Crossing a snow-covered bridge, we shoed over the frozen marsh and plodded forth. An eerie haze blanketed the woods as the fog thickened. The snow was deep. Half an hour into our journey, the fog became denser and there was little visibility. We soon realized we were heading in the wrong direction. There was no moon, only darkness. Our headlamps illuminated the heavy particles of fog. We could barely see in front of us. Katherine looked at her phone and determined we were on the north side of the meadow.
The thick mist was disorienting. This is how one gets lost in her own backyard where I’ve hiked, skied and biked many times. I realized I’d made several rookie moves. I didn’t check the weather. I didn’t follow my intuition when I saw the fog and my pack didn’t have the necessary items it should contain. I should have known better after writing a recent story about what to pack when heading into the backcountry. I had no extra layers, no lighter and no food. In my mind we weren’t in the backcountry, we were in a familiar place and only going out for a short hike. Katherine, on the hand, was totally prepared with a full pack that included food, an emergency blanket, a whistle and a first-aid kit.
The mist turned to a light fog. It was dark and a quick thought crossed my mind, “I wonder if we’d see the moon tonight.”
After an hour, the moon remained safely tucked behind clouds. We saw a dim light in the distance, but the moon was not visible through the fog entombing us. We started back to the car. Prosser Reservoir on a clear evening is a beautiful place to snowshoe on a moonlit night.
If you decide to go out on your own, make sure to be prepared. A great option is a guided full-moon snowshoe tour — especially if you are in unfamiliar territory. The next full moons are Full Worm Moon on March 7 and Full Pink Moon on April 5.
Full moon snowshoeing
There are several places to snowshoe under the full moon that are easy to enjoy. Local state parks close at dusk, but Sugar Pine Point State Park does offer full moon snowshoe tours.
Lake Tahoe | Commons Beach in Tahoe City, Kings Beach State Recreation Area and Lakeview Commons in South Lake Tahoe are great places to snowshoe.
Olympic Valley | Snowshoe through the meadow.
Truckee | Donner Rim Trail from Glacier Way parking lot in Tahoe Donner or Coldstream Canyon.
Tour companies | There are also a number of tour companies that offer regular snowshoe adventures and custom tours including Tahoe Adventure Company, a long-time supporter of Tahoe Weekly, and our friends at Snowshoe Tahoe. | tahoeadventurecompany.com, snowshoetahoe.net
Snowshoe tours
Fridays | Sunset tours | tahoeadventurecompany.com
Saturdays | Historian-led tours, Donner Memorial State Park | bit.ly/donner_events
Saturdays | 1960 Winter Olympic tours, Sugar Pine Point State Park | bit.ly/sugarpineevents
Sundays | Historian-led tours, Donner Memorial State Park | bit.ly/donner_events
Sundays | 1960 Winter Olympic tours, Sugar Pine Point State Park | bit.ly/sugarpineevents
Feb. 23 | Nature Photography Snowshoe | tahoerimtrail.org
Feb 25 | Twilight Snowshoe Tour | northstarcalifornia.com
March 2 | Wildlife Survival Snowshoe | tahoerimtrail.org
March 4 | Twilight Snowshoe Tour | northstarcalifornia.com
March 4 | Full-moon tour, Sugar Pine Point State Park | sierrastateparks.org
March 6 & 7 | Full-moon tours | tahoeadventurecompany.com
March 10 | Evening tours | diamondpeak.com
March 11 | Twilight Snowshoe Tour | northstarcalifornia.com
March 11 | Snowshoe Star Tour | tahoeadventurecompany.com
March 16 | Wildlife Survival Snowshoe | tahoerimtrail.org
April 4 | Full-moon tour, Sugar Pine Point State Park | sierrastateparks.org
April 4 & 5 | Full-moon tours | tahoeadventurecompany.com
April 14 | Snowshoe Star Tour | tahoeadventurecompany.com
