Sunshine and melting snow was testament that the temperature made it to the plus-side today.  The day was beautiful and many people were out enjoying the extra day off.  I've never seen so many vehicles driving through or parked in the lots at Elk Island.

I pulled into the parking lot of the Amisk Wuche trail and found 6 vehicles there.  I'm usually the only one.  Keeping that in mind as I put the snowshoes on, I decided to break a trail on the lake surface.  

There was a packed trail down the embankment to the shoreline.  That's where it ended.  I could see there had once been another trail that went across the ice but the wind had drifted it over.  I created a new trail along the shoreline.

That turned out to be a really good choice.  Nobody else was out on the lake but from my vantage I could see numerous hikers on the trail.  That is one reason why I opted for the open space but it

wasn't the only one.  When I hike in the trees, the upper canopy does not allow the sun to shine through.  On the lake surface, the sun was bright and warm.

I created a big loop on the lake.  In some places, there was very little snow.  In others, the wind had created drifts but they were hard-packed and it was easy to stay on top of them.  As I made my way round the shoreline, I planned what I was going to do tomorrow.  The day is supposed to be sunny if the forecast is correct; making it a perfect day to try to snowshoe out to the island at Astotin Lake or take the skis out on the lake surface.  

I'll have to toss a coin to decide what to do unless I head out early which means ample time to snowshoe in the morning and ski in the afternoon.  That way I wouldn't have to decide!