As the park ranger was showing us a map, she showed us a free snow shoe tour we could do. The ranger made a quick call and there were some spots that just opened up for us to take, with some more available. We needed to make it to the tour at 12:15 and it was getting close to 11.
With only short time, we quickly decided to drive into town to rent snow shoes and pick up a quick bite to eat. The tour was for 2 hours and we would definitely need some food. The ranger pointed out a couple of rental stores on the map and we drove to the closest one about 15 minutes away.
We spent I think $7 each for our snow shoe rentals and called to make our snow shoe tour reservations. Then we stopped at a convenient store that had an A&W attached. Not finding the food at A&W that appealing, we just picked up some cliff body builder and energy bars and a trail mix.
We drove up to where the snow shoe tour started and changed into our ski bibs so our jeans wouldn’t get wet from the snow. The mouth of the trail had snow shoers coming and going. We strapped ours on, remembering the verbal instructions the rental shop gave us. The 2 tour rangers also showed up during this time and were taking down names.
The 2 rangers were very nice and made the tour fun. The main guide was an about 40 year old heavy set lady, accompanied with an older, probably about 70 year old thin man. The male ranger was to follow us to make sure no one was left behind.
We set off in our snow shoes for a 2 hour tour, stopping every 10 minutes or so for a rest and explanation of where we were and any facts about our surroundings. The snow shoes were pretty easy to use and after about 20 minutes of warming up and catching a second wind, I was enjoying the tour.
The wind was still blowing hard on our walk. The tour took us up and down short distances of the mountain, with some areas steeper and narrower than others. The guide showed us the best ways to walked on inclines, by digging the spikes in our heels into the snow, and declines by allowing the shoes to slowly slide down until they catch onto something. She explained to avoid stepping on smaller pine trees that could be hidden beneath the snow. We learned how some forest animals ate the ends of the pine tree branches that are high in calories and how the smaller animals, like rabbits, could reach them easier when the snow fall was high.
The area we were in is called Bear Lake and we eventually did come across the lake of the same name that was frozen solid and we were able to walk across parts of it. As we stood there and the ranger talked, we encountered our first wildlife...some chickadees started flying around us and even followed as we continued to walk on.
One important lesson we learned was about avalanches. If we were ever to encounter one, and got covered, it was best to quickly push the snow in front of your face away to make an air pocket. This should give enough air to breathe until someone finds and rescues you. Also, one should use their poles to try poking out of the snow. The more prepared hiker would have an avalanche beacon to help rescuers find them. And then there are always the avalanche warnings to listen to, to avoid the dangerous areas.
The last lesson was the building of a snow cave if one were to ever get stranded. This should be started well before it gets dark, so you could find a good amount of snow to dig into. If you don't have a shovel, your snow shoes could also do the trick.
Overall I highly recommend the tour. The guides give you options along the way of easy and harder routes to follow them. About 2-3 people chickened out at the beginning, but we still ended up with about 15 people at the end. If I were too live in the mountains, I would highly consider purchasing my own snow shoes and venturing out a few times during the snowy months.
At the end of this first part of our trip, we returned our snow shoes (I happened to buy a pair of sun glasses while at the shop) and we drove on to Boulder to visit Nikki and Jimbo.
With only short time, we quickly decided to drive into town to rent snow shoes and pick up a quick bite to eat. The tour was for 2 hours and we would definitely need some food. The ranger pointed out a couple of rental stores on the map and we drove to the closest one about 15 minutes away.
We spent I think $7 each for our snow shoe rentals and called to make our snow shoe tour reservations. Then we stopped at a convenient store that had an A&W attached. Not finding the food at A&W that appealing, we just picked up some cliff body builder and energy bars and a trail mix.
We drove up to where the snow shoe tour started and changed into our ski bibs so our jeans wouldn’t get wet from the snow. The mouth of the trail had snow shoers coming and going. We strapped ours on, remembering the verbal instructions the rental shop gave us. The 2 tour rangers also showed up during this time and were taking down names.
The 2 rangers were very nice and made the tour fun. The main guide was an about 40 year old heavy set lady, accompanied with an older, probably about 70 year old thin man. The male ranger was to follow us to make sure no one was left behind.
We set off in our snow shoes for a 2 hour tour, stopping every 10 minutes or so for a rest and explanation of where we were and any facts about our surroundings. The snow shoes were pretty easy to use and after about 20 minutes of warming up and catching a second wind, I was enjoying the tour.
The wind was still blowing hard on our walk. The tour took us up and down short distances of the mountain, with some areas steeper and narrower than others. The guide showed us the best ways to walked on inclines, by digging the spikes in our heels into the snow, and declines by allowing the shoes to slowly slide down until they catch onto something. She explained to avoid stepping on smaller pine trees that could be hidden beneath the snow. We learned how some forest animals ate the ends of the pine tree branches that are high in calories and how the smaller animals, like rabbits, could reach them easier when the snow fall was high.
The area we were in is called Bear Lake and we eventually did come across the lake of the same name that was frozen solid and we were able to walk across parts of it. As we stood there and the ranger talked, we encountered our first wildlife...some chickadees started flying around us and even followed as we continued to walk on.
One important lesson we learned was about avalanches. If we were ever to encounter one, and got covered, it was best to quickly push the snow in front of your face away to make an air pocket. This should give enough air to breathe until someone finds and rescues you. Also, one should use their poles to try poking out of the snow. The more prepared hiker would have an avalanche beacon to help rescuers find them. And then there are always the avalanche warnings to listen to, to avoid the dangerous areas.
The last lesson was the building of a snow cave if one were to ever get stranded. This should be started well before it gets dark, so you could find a good amount of snow to dig into. If you don't have a shovel, your snow shoes could also do the trick.
Overall I highly recommend the tour. The guides give you options along the way of easy and harder routes to follow them. About 2-3 people chickened out at the beginning, but we still ended up with about 15 people at the end. If I were too live in the mountains, I would highly consider purchasing my own snow shoes and venturing out a few times during the snowy months.
At the end of this first part of our trip, we returned our snow shoes (I happened to buy a pair of sun glasses while at the shop) and we drove on to Boulder to visit Nikki and Jimbo.
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