Every time I walked out the door to go snowshoeing Clara looked longlingly after me. Whether night or day it was clear she really wanted to go so as the holiday week drew to a close Amy and I planned a short trip up to the snow that the girls could go on.

Gold Creek isn't what you'd really call an adventure. It's short and flat, at least as far as Gold Creek Pond. However, that's just what we were looking for so after buying a Sno-Park pass we headed east.

Given it's proximity to the city and the ease with which you can taste the outdoors it's no wonder the place was packed. Kids and dogs were running all over the place and the occasional snowmobile would slowly make its way from the cabins up the road out to road. (This and rescuing me from beneath an avalanche may be the only legitimate use of snowmobiles.)

We packed the girls into their snowsuits and struggled our way up to the trailhead. I helped Clara get into her snowshoes and then Amy got to put on her new 'shoes and gaiters. Lilly was content to just ride in the pack.

We headed up the trail at a glacial pace, but one which Clara seemed happy to maintain. About half way to the lake I reached back to take a picture and was shocked to not find the camera case belted to the pack. A sense of dread filled me as I realized I had put it on, but it wasn't there now meaning it had fallen off between the car and where I stood.

We thought about going back, but I somehow convinced myself it was still in the car. After all, I had left my GPS on the hood at this same Sno-Park in the past.

We continued on a bit before Clara decided she didn't want to wear her snowshoes anymore. Ok. Off they came and were attached to my belt. (Securely.)

Shortly after that she decided she didn't want to walk anymore. We tried the whole "OK, see ya," but after losing the camera it seemed poor form to lose a kid, too. With tears streaming down her face we convinced her to "run" with us meaning we could walk normal speed and she sort of slid and skipped between us.

Soon that wasn't good enough either and I hoisted her onto my shoulders. She was good training weight at least.

It's only about three quarters of a mile to the Gold Creek picnic area, but by then most of the crowd had thinned out. We used the bathroom (in a horrid state) and made our way to the shore of the lake/pond, but pretty quickly headed back. The snow was heavy and cold and we had little interest in pushing our luck with the girls.

All along the way back I scanned the road for the camera. It was in a black case so it should have been easy to spot, but no luck. Back at the car I scanned the floor furtively hoping beyond hope that it would be sitting there, but came up empty. On the drive back I still held out hope

We did a total of about a mile and a half and gained a whopping 50 feet of elevation.