Snowshoeing thru the Rockies

Since the first snowfall this winter, David has been talking nonstop about wanting to go snowshoeing. I was a bit apprehensive – in general I just wasn’t that excited about winter sports. Plus buying a house in November kept us preoccupied with projects and decorating. With David’s birthday around the corner, I wanted to do something pretty epic. My decision was easy, seeing that snowshoeing was all he talked about. So I planned to spend the day snowshoeing to Emerald Lake; a trail we were already familiar with since we hiked it in the summer, and it was recommended for beginners learning to snowshoe.

At daybreak David and I made our way to Rocky Mountain National Park. We fueled up on breakfast burritos and donuts at the Donut Haus before making our way to the outfitters store in Estes Park to rent our equipment. After our fitting and receiving no advise from the carefree employee, we made our way to the Bear Lake area and geared up for our big adventure. The trail had three lakes along it. Our goal was to make it to the second without keeling over.

We actually got the hang of snowshoeing pretty quickly. With a few minor adjustments, we felt like pros reaching the first lake. Lily Lake was completely covered by mounds of snow. If there wasn’t a sign, you would have no idea that a lake existed below your feet. It was pretty surreal; we kept reminding ourselves that we were walking across a frozen lake!

The second lake wasn’t as hidden as the first. Dream Lake was dusted in a thin layer of snow, with part of the lake already thawed out by some large boulders along its rim. The surrounding mountains created such a dramatic backdrop, it was impossible not to just stand there and stare. David and I were unexpectedly still full of energy, so we made the bold choice to continue on to Emerald Lake.

The next section of the trail had a few steep hills to climb, some of which were covered in pure ice. I didn’t know how the people wearing only sneakers were making their way through. Even with snowshoes, there were a couple of times when David and I slipped backwards. Reaching Emerald Lake was amazing – we were so proud of making it all the way.  The entire lake was covered in snow with small patches of the rich blue color showing through. We rested on a large boulder and just admired the view. We then noticed a few daredevil skiers climbing up the jagged mountains and then skiing their way down to the lake dodging the sharp boulders in their way.

Making our way back to the car, we talked about how much harder we thought snowshoeing would be. The snowshoes were not cumbersome at all, and being able to walk across the snow and frozen lakes cut off a lot of mileage. Even though spring is right around the corner, all we could talk about on the way home is where to go snowshoeing next winter!