It started out a dream come true! My husband and I planned what we hoped to be a snowy Christmas trip to the Sierras and as the date drew near, we were worried we wouldn't have enough snow to snowshoe in the four miles to the back-country Lost Trail Lodge outside of Donner Lake. Be careful what you wish for! The Tahoe area got an almost record-breaking 4-5 feet of snow the two days before we hiked in. Wow! What we didn't realize was that 1/2 of the trail would not be groomed (about two of the four miles). Oh my! The hike started out lovely with a groomed trail and plenty of sunshine, but soon grew really hairy as my husband blazed a trail through four feet of fresh powder. It took us 6 1/2 hours with full backpacks and lots of worry (not a clear trail and it got dark and cold!) to hike in, but the lodge was absolutely picture perfect for a white Christmas. We joked the whole time that if someone asked a set designer to design the perfect back-country lodge at Christmas, this would be IT! Wonderful! It started out so easy and sunny: