Our Snowshoe Expedition On A Snowy Winter Day In Colorado's Mountains - February 20, 2010
Ah snowshoeing in Colorado! I realize our mountain state is more known for
skiing
and snowboarding
as the premier winter outdoor activity, but don't count out snowshoeing
as an enjoyable and much more affordable option.
With snowshoes, you can pretty much explore your favorite trail or area with less
frustration from trudging through snow or miserably post holing knee or waist deep in snow. :)
Special thanks to the Naegele family for convincing me to get me out of the house and be active.
Snowshoes can be rented at the Trailhead Outdoor Store
(their web site: www.thetrailheadco.com)
in Buena Vista, and then we were on our way!
Enjoy the photos below. There is also a six minute video of footage of us during our expedition.
Happy winter trails!
LEFT: I snapped many photos of my snowshoeing partners,
Kent, Kim and Stephen.
RIGHT: Every time I would take photos of them, Kim would insist that she
take a picture of me with my camera. This was because
I noticed I snapped so many more photos of them during our visit
to the Oklahoma High Point last month. ;)
Looking down at my snowshoes.
We traveled up Hawkinsville Gulch, one
of many gulches among the hillsides of east of this once bustling mining town.
Not much scenery existed because of the thick gray clouds,
but it was great to be out there nonetheless.
With four people and three dogs in our snowshoeing party,
the person in front was the most appreciated one for "breaking ground" on the snow.
I paid my dues by leading for awhile, but for brief periods, the dogs would scramble ahead
of me and make a trail that greatly helped save energy. Thank you doggies!
The two blonde dogs, as they ran all over the snow, began to have snow balls attached to their fur.
See them starting to develop in the left photo? Definitely watch the
video below to see how bad it got for "Nylon." :)
Now it is the nature of wearing snowshoes,
especially on slopes, to occasionally lose balance and fall. Everyone fell today,
but I just so happened to have the camera out as Kim plummeted in the snow.
The poor woman needed help getting up too! :p)
We hiked past one small wooden
cabin and Kent tweeted
this photo with his cell phone. :)
Ascent to Lousy Barn
We decided to hike far up into the gulch to reach what appeared to be another cabin.
However, as we came closer, we noticed it was a dilapidated barn.
As we worked our way up, I continued to call it the "Lousy Barn" in my grumpiness
to the dismay of others! :p)
SECOND PHOTO: A nice photo of Stephen working his way up the snowy hillside.
THIRD PHOTO: Ahhhh what beautiful mountain views!
A nice photo of Kent
and Kim in the foreground. If it had been a clear and sunny day, there would
have been some very beautiful and
tall mountains where much of those gray clouds were.
Upon arrival, the lousy barn was as lousy as I expected, but the mountain views were fantastic
and it felt good to know we would be snowshoeing downhill for the remaining of our hike.
Two photos of us ... and yes, there I was posing because Kim insisted she capture a photo of me! :)
Two snowy mountain views near this lousy barn.
If you love Colorado winter snow, here are my other snow pages from this snow season:
SECOND: Our descent down another gulch which led to a home in Granite. Fortunately,
Kent and Kim are acquainted with the owner and so we weren't viewed as trespassers. ;)
