Snowshoeing in Rocky
In mid-February, 2007, I went snowshoeing with the Smiths and Brent Doerzman. I rented my equipment from the Mountain Shop in Estes and then we headed up Bear Lake Road to start our hike.
The Bear Lake Area. You'll notice that the benches, usually occupied by scads of tourists in the summer, are mostly covered in snow this time of year. Winter at Bear Lake sure looks different!
As we started out, the path followed the shoreline of Bear Lake. In case you've never done it, it's VERY cool to say you've WALKED on the lake! Most park visitors only see the lake thawed out in the summer. It was fun watching the little Smiths follow their dad across Bear Lake like a string of little ducks (right).
We followed the winter trail up the hillside (pictured on the left) until we were looking out over the lake. The trail wound itself through the trees. I actually found myself in front of the group for quite a while. And, much to my chagrin, I fell flat on my face once. Thankfully, no one was around to get a picture! But Elizabeth and Hannah caught up to me and helped pull me back to my feet. The picture on the right shows Hallett Peak just above the tops of the trees.
Watching the girls play in the snow was fun!
A little ways further up the trail, we got to an area where the leafless aspens allowed for greater visibility and a wider view of Hallett Peak.
Finally, we arrived at Bierstadt Lake. The views of the Divide were amazing! We sat along the frozen shore line and had our lunch. The Smith Girls played in the snow and slid around on the ice on the lake. I don't know how anyone can fall on their behind so many times without being in pain! And yet, they still had energy. Pictured below are Taylor and Hallett Peaks (left), and a close-up of Taylor (right). If you click on the Taylor image (linked to my Photobucket album), you can see the clouds mingling around the peaks. It was a beautiful sight!
Coming down Bierstadt Moraine was a bit breath-taking. I've done it on dry trails in the summer. But on the snow and ice, the switchbacks (for me) were a bit daunting. At places, the trail had melted out. For some reason, Brent got a kick out of taking pictures of me 'snowshoeing' across mud and rocks. Weirdo. I didn't include those pictures here. Instead, the next two pictures are of the Divide as we came out of the trees and started to decend the moraine.
The trail down the moraine provided views in many directions. Pictured below is Sprague Lake. I was basically looking the opposite direction from the pictures above. The lake is an amzing place to watch sunrises in the mountains. Today, the lake itself was a view.
Finally, a shot of Brent, in his element. Taking pictures. If you want to see his work, you can click over to Doerzman Photography. Tell him I said HI!
All in all, it was a great day!