Twin Lakes Snowshoeing with our Mini Adventurer

It has been a while since Katie and I have snowshoed, so we finally planned a trip Sunday to Twin Lakes. Our Mini Adventurer traveled along on my back. Twin Lakes are a pair of hike-in lakes near Frog Lake about 8 miles SE of Government Camp, Oregon. It's about a 2.2 mile hike each way to the first lake (the bigger of the two). It was a beautiful day today with the temperature around 28°F with partly cloudy skies. Frog Lake SnoPark was already packed with dog sled racers by the time we arrived around 8:15 AM.

Download route (one-way) as shown in map above in Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format or GPX format for use with GPS units and mapping programs. Disclaimer.

Julian was in good spirits today and eager to get going. After we geared up, we set off down the snow packed trail to Twin Lakes. I decided not to wear snowshoes while Katie wore them.

   

After not snowshoeing for a few years, Katie and I still were able to maintain a fairly good pace of just over 3 miles per hour. Julian enjoyed every minute of it.

   

We only saw one other person snowshoeing on our way in to Twin Lakes and were alone when we arrived. The lower Twin Lake looked just as I remembered. The only difference was the trail to and from the lake was better marked with blue diamonds for winter travel.

   

We were met by a flock of Gray Jays shortly after arriving at the lake. They were pretty aggressive, nearly taking food out of my mouth at one point.

   

   

As we were packing up and loading Julian back in the backpack, he exclaimed that he didn't want t go back. He wanted to stay at Twin Lakes, but it was time for us to head home. I love that he enjoys the outdoors with us. I hope that trait sticks with him forever.

   

It took us just over 50 minutes to snowshoe to Twin Lakes and about 45 minutes to get back. We had snow flurries and sun breaks making it a beautiful day. It's nice to leave the snowmobiles at home every now and then.

Gear List

Deuter Kid Comfort II Backpack
Deuter Futura 32 Pack
Atlas Electra 9 FRS Snowshoes
Komperdell Powerlock Trekking Poles
Columbia Men’s Bugaboot Plus III Titanium Omni-Heat Boots
Merrell Women's Whiteout 8 Winter Boots
Columbia Sportswear Peak 2 Peak Jacket
Mountain Hardwear Transition Jacket
Columbia Powerfly Down Puff Jacket
Columbia Sportswear Women's Alpine Aliance Parka
REI Taku Pants
Hillsound Armadillo Gaiters
Head Digital Sport Liner Gloves
Outdoor Research Ambit Gloves
Columbia Men's Fast Trek Fleece Hat
HighGear ATF8 Altimeter
Petzl TIKKA XP 2 Headlamp
Olympus Tough TG-1 Camera
First Aid Kit
SPOT Gen3
Samsung Galaxy S6 Active w/BackCountry Navigator
Suunto A-10 Compass