It’s been a while since I’ve gone snowshoeing. And when I say that, I don’t just mean a couple years. It’s been over 10 years since I went snowshoeing, and honestly, I barely remember the original hike. That was my first and only snowshoeing trip until the first of this year.
Being a New Year’s baby is always weird and kind of disappointing because no one is ever really free to do anything. I remember it being difficult to throw a party when I was younger, then I turned 21 and no one was in town (since I live in a college town and everyone would go home for the holidays. So I started going to Keystone – rented a condo, invited friends or my current SO to come hang up there and snowboard alongside me. I did that for 2 years and absolutely loved it. I said okay, this is how I want to continue to spend New Year’s Eve/Day/My birthday.
Then this year happened and I was too broke to afford a condo and snowboarding. That’s when the idea came up – all I wanted to do for my birthday was go hang out in the woods alone.
After countless hours of searching for an easy snowshoe trail that was easily accessible (all the roads to the trailheads are closed for the winter!), I finally settled on trekking a few miles north on the Sourdough trail from the Brainard Lake Recreation area.
Well of course, thanks to a few cocktails to celebrate ringing in the new year, I didn’t wake up quite as early as I planned. Whatever, it was worth it. I rang in the new year with a pint of porter and wearing my dog’s face on my shirt. I can’t really complain.
I didn’t actually reach the trailhead until about 10:30am, when the original plan was to be there around 9am. Oops.
If you’ve never been up to the Brainard Lake area – I highly recommend it. I’ve gone there both in the summer and winter, and both times it just blows me away. I hiked to Isabelle Glacier twice over the summer, and now I may try to make it to at least Lake Isabelle this winter. Below, there’s a photo from Lake Isabelle in the summer (left), the from the winter parking lot a few days ago (right). Mind blowingly gorgeous, right?
We didn’t snowshoe very far, I think about 1.65 miles in, then back. Once I hit the first Wapiti trail loop split, I continued on a little bit so I could go into a clearing and enjoy myself. Why didn’t I go further? Because elevation starts to drop faster, and that uphill climb back (while only ~500 feet elevation gain) was going to be rough for someone who’s still new to snowshoeing. I was right, it sucked. If I could just never snowshoe uphill, that’d be fantastic.
But you know what? Who cares. It was my birthday, and if I only wanted to snowshoe ~3.5 miles, then that’s my own choice. I wasn’t going for distance or pushing myself – I wanted to wander alone (besides the few people I ran into on the trail) in the woods with my dog, surrounded by snow. I never understand why people make fun of others for doing short hikes. If you want to do a short hike to just take in the scenery, by all means, do it!
And honestly, it was the best birthday I’ve had.
First off, it was the most perfect, beautiful Colorado day for any outdoor adventure. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and I don’t think the temperature ever reach 20 F. Now, that sounds cold, but anyone who has hiked in the winter can tell you that the lower temps feel pretty good when you’re working up a sweat.
It started off with Joule not liking my snowshoes and poles, so she kept trying to fight me.
I kept trying to make her walk behind me, because otherwise she walked way too far ahead of me since she didn’t want to be near the shows/poles. What a goober. But when she walked behind me, she kept stepping on my snowshoes! So at one point, she bolted past me (because obviously the snowshoes were going to attack), tried bounding through a snowbank just to the side of the trail and ended up tripping and faceplanting into the snow. I laughed so hard that I really thought I was going to pee myself.
We kept hiking until I decided I wanted to just sit down in a clearing, soak up the sun and enjoy a beer while Joule explored around me.
It was relaxing, it was gorgeous out, and I had a beer in my hand.
Seriously, happy birthday to me on that one.
Next time I’d like to take the Wapiti trail around, although I’m having difficulties finding the length/elevation gain on that trail. Since I’m still so new to snowshoeing, it’s a real concern for me.
I topped off my birthday with some cocktails with a close friend, then went home and cuddled the dog.
Best birthday ever, by far.
Biomechanical Mountains 