Pictured above: Mainline from parking lot
MMNS Club does not actually have a trail called “Around the Lake” but it is an often-used description of three adjoining trails which do form a loop around the lake. (Just to confuse the issue one of the snowshoe trails is called “Around the Lake”. Totally separate.) Those trails are Porky’s Hill, Should I Ridge and Wish I Hadn’t. Porky’s Hill can be accessed from either HoHum or Bob Creek View. There are multiple ways to access those two trails, but for this purpose, let’s think of the most direct way to go Around the Lake.
Leaving the parking lot, take Mainline (1.1km) to Silverthorne Lake and turn left onto Challenge for a short .2 km which flows straight ahead into Lakeside (.8km).
Lakeside then feeds into HoHum. To this point, this route is relatively flat and a good warm up route.
Up HoHum (.5) is gradual uphill, then right onto Porky’s Hill (.4) which is steeper climbing with some fun undulations.
Then turn right onto Should I Ridge (.7) with big steady steps up to the summit of 950 meters, the highest point on the MM trails, then steps back down to a lovely lookout over the lake.
Wish I Hadn’t (.5) begins the descent here with steep sections that exceed “running the rails”, as in speed suppression is required, but a ton of fun with a few inches of fluffy white stuff. Wish I Hadn’t spits you out on Sawdust Loop.
From this point, you can go anywhere. The most direct return is to turn right on Sawdust Loop (.2km) and right on Mainline. From here you are 2.5 from the parking lot. Direct takes you over The Hump, while Wimp Way, off to the right, is great skate terrain, and a detour around the hill up and down.
Many skiers prefer to ski this route in the reverse order – thereby skiing up Wish I Hadn’t to enjoy the fun descending steps down Should I Ridge and Porky’s. Definitely preferable if the snow is fast.
Most direct Around the Lake Route: 6.8 kms parking lot return.
Hilliest Around the Lake Route – see the blog post called the HillBilly Special or Outer Limits