A Snapshot and The Scoop: Little Visitor on the Trail

This January found me snowshoeing and hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, and our first full day on the trail came with a visitor! This little Jay followed us along the trail for some time as we headed up, and was often close enough to allow us to get some good pictures. On our way back, he started following us again, this time putting on a little bit of a show. I'm sure he wanted a tasty handout, but he was disappointed. I never feed the wildlife and am a firm believer in keeping the wildlife wild!
Leave me a comment below and tell me about any visitors you've encountered on any hike or walk, even if in the city.

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Our First Father-Daughter Trip

My dad and I have never gone on a trip alone together, so last October we hit the road for a weekend and drove around central Nebraska. We both love driving and being outdoors, so on a fairly chilly morning we drove to Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge near Valentine, NE and hiked a short distance to Fort Falls and the Niobrara River. We spent some time taking in the view, watching a couple Bald Eagles (my favorite animal) fishing in the river, before we finished our hike and left for home. It was a trip I will never forget, and I can't wait for our next one together!
Leave me a comment below and tell me about a treasured trip with one of your family members.

Frozen Waterfalls and Frozen Lakes: What Else Would You See During Winter?

Cheerful. Our first full day in Rocky Mountain National Park found Megan and I up early and on our way to a trail. You know, almost every single day that I travel starts early, and I'm usually on my way to a trail or am driving long distances. By now, you should just assume I was up early. It'll be a real story if I actually sleep in. Anyway, we were headed up to Bear Lake, and from there we planned to hike to Alberta Falls and to the chain of lakes beyond. I had visited Alberta Falls last June, and knew it to be a fairly easy hike, but also crowded with lots of tourists. In mid January, however, I found the opposite to be true. Have I ever mentioned how much I love winter travel, solely for the fact that there are next to zero people out? Of course, that may also speak to how crazy I am for going hiking in the dead of winter...as well as the people I drag along with me! Megan and I set off in our hiking boots after deciding not to rent snowshoes for the day; the trail was packed enough that as long as we didn't wander off, we didn't sink into knee-deep snow.

The day was overcast, and the trail quietly led us through the evergreen forest, softly leading us up the valley toward Alberta Falls. In the stillness of the forest, especially with the lack of people, I kept expecting to hear the falls before we saw them, and was therefore caught by surprise when we slid out of the woods and onto the expanse of bare rock where the falls should have been visible. Then I remembered that it was the middle of winter. Alberta Falls was a frozen chunk of water buried beneath inches of white powdery water.

Sure, it was neat to see the whole area frozen solid and covered in snow, but I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't see more of the falls under all of the snow. I guess I should have been prepared for frozen waterfalls during winter in the mountains. Megan and I didn't linger long at the falls, instead turning up the path toward the lakes I had hiked to the previous summer. This time I intentionally made the decision to hike to Mills Lake, unlike the time I just decided to see where the trail went (story here.) We crunched on through the snow, marveling at the green trees drooping under the glittering weight of winter. I couldn't get over how different the trail looked from the summer time, but I suppose there was also a small amount of time that had passed, perhaps messing with my memory of the route. We took our time, careful not to slip on ice or step off trail and into the banks of snow on either side of us. Rounding a corner, we found ourselves on an exposed edge along the side of a mountain that the trail just so happened to take us across. The trail was ice. Oh, and it was windy as hell. We'd been relatively protected from the wind while we were in the trees, but once we became exposed, we were at the mercy of the bitter wind blowing down the valley. We went slowly, and on the other side we slipped gratefully back into the shelter of the trees.

Unfortunately for me, once I get chilled, it takes a heater and maybe a hot drink to warm me back up, and I spent the rest of the hike trying to keep my fingers from going totally numb. In what felt like no time, we were once again exposed to the wind, this time on the banks of Mills Lake. It was gorgeous, seeing the crack patterns in the ice on the lake, watching the wind blow tendrils of snow around the dark surface in a fast tempo dance. I think it took us all of 30 seconds at the edge of the lake before we turned tail and found a somewhat sheltered place out of the wind. We ate a snack and attempted to warm up, discussing whether or not we should go on up the valley. We tried, and when I started sinking into the snowdrifts that lay across our path, we gave up. It wasn't worth getting both wet and cold. We took our pictures and memories, and headed back down the trail.

 And you know what happened just after we left the lake? The sun poked her face out of the clouds threw sparkles out of every snowflake. The entire forest glittered. The air shimmered with the snow kicked up by the wind and our footsteps. It was magical, and reminded me of why I love winter travel so much. You never get to experience something like that in the middle of summer. Bugs, maybe, but not shimmery, glittery snow that makes everything brighter. We headed back past Alberta Falls and towards my car, overall happy with the hike and more than excited about the next day, when we finally got to snowshoe!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Enjoying the Snow

On our recent winter trip to Rocky Mountain National Park to snowshoe, my friend Megan decided to stop and build a snowman on our way back from Emerald Lake. It was so cold she had a hard time keeping her gloves off long enough to handle the snow, and so settled for making an adorable mini snowman. It's the little things that make the hike!
Leave me a comment below and tell me about the last time you took a break and did something fun!

Ask and You Shall Receive (but it sure helps to ask the right questions): Finding Slot Canyons in Capitol Reef

Intrigued. Cat and I were halfway through our week long trip to the high desert of southern Utah, and we decided to make a day trip out at Capitol Reef National Park. Our plan for hiking included a relatively short hike through Cohab Canyon, whose trail head starts right off of the main park road. I usually make a point to talk to a park ranger before I hike on any new trail, because they can be a gold mine of information relating to the trails I want to hit. In this case, I'm extremely glad I did, because the ranger Cat and I talked to mentioned that there were several slot canyons just off of the main trail, and if we knew where to look, we would be able to get into them. With a few more questions, we were able to determine roughly where the slots were, and took our hand drawn map with us as we ascended into the canyon.

After gaining close to 400 feet in a series of steep switchbacks, we turned the corner and entered the canyon proper. We found our first of four slot canyons with ease, and slipped off of the main trail and into the significantly cooler grey stone canyon. The canyon slowly narrowed as we traveled upstream, and we soon found ourselves taking off our packs in order to slide sideways through the narrowest point. We had a bit of climbing to do before we accessed the upper part of the canyon, and once we hit the dead end, Cat and I each climbed as high as we could, to see if we could get a view over the top. Unsuccessful, we grabbed our packs and slid down the canyon, more than eager for the next slot.

Due to the drive to get to this park, we started our hike later in the morning than we probably should have, and the canyon quickly lost what shade it had, turning the whitish rocks into heat reflectors. We hiked the canyon wash, keeping our eyes open for the entrance to the next slot. Once inside, we found this side canyon was initially narrow, but opened into a wide area that clearly held a pool of water in wetter times. What a sight that would be, with a waterfall cascading into a shallow pool, and the rushing water carving the canyon just a little deeper!

The other slots held similar wonders, and we got excited every time we spotted the side canyons. Who knew what we would see? We hiked to the far edge of Cohab Canyon, and instead of descending to the road and walking back to the parking lot, we turned around and went right back through the canyon again. It's amazing how different a trail looks when you're going the other direction. You notice different things, and it's like you're walking a whole different trail. We were so happy we stopped and asked the ranger about this hike, because we would never have known about the adventures just off the trail! After a couple of shade breaks and a little more off-trail exploration, we headed down toward our car, and the fresh homemade pies and ice cream waiting for us at the little park museum.

What I'm listening to: Dragon Flight by Alexandre Desplat

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Taking in the View

Sometimes, you just gotta stop and smell the mountain air. Even if you're lost, like I was when I sat down in a boulder field while hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park in June of 2014. I had been scrambling for over an hour, trying to find the trail that I knew had to be close by. Somewhere above the treeline I stopped on a flat boulder, put my feet up, had a bite to eat and just relaxed. I knew it would do me no good to panic, so I just marveled at the mountain landscape that surrounded me. I found the trail eventually, and went on to summit the mountain. Read that story here.
Leave me a comment below and tell me how you would have handled being lost, and where you like to go to get some R&R.

Learning How to be an Elf: Walking on Snow in Rocky Mountain National Park

Nerdy. I discovered that I get a little bit of an elf complex when given snowshoes and am told that they allow you to walk on top of deep snow. I mean, Legolas might reside in Middle Earth, but the mountains in the heart of Rocky Mountain National Park are pretty damn close to the Pass of Caradhras when they're snow covered. I mean, you've got the deep snow, drifts taller than a person, howling wind that forces you to take cover, and, of course, avalanche danger. All that's missing is the voice of Saruman bringing down the mountain around your ears.

But seriously though, Rocky Mountain National Park in the middle of January far exceeded my expectations. I knew we'd have snow, and cold, and possibly a blizzard, but I didn't realize how much I would love the mountains in the winter. I'm generally a heat-seeking person, but when it comes to snow related activities you can sign me right up. Speaking of which, does anybody know of a good ski mountain in east Texas?

Moving on, Megan and I took a trip to Colorado for my birthday, and as sort of a last trip from Nebraska before I moved away permanently. We went skiing together last year, and wanted to try something new but still be able to play in the snow, so naturally we decided to snowshoe! On this particular day we decided to hike the popular trail to Emerald Lake, off of the Bear Lake parking lot and trailhead. I have hiked this trail many times, but never when it was snow covered, and I've certainly never left the marked trail to the chain of lakes. During winter, that rule goes out the window; you can pretty much walk wherever you please, including right across the lakes themselves!

Now, I'm always hesitant to leave the trail due to the very real risk of getting lost, which I have personal experience with in the same park (that story here), however in the winter, there are plenty of routes you can take to the lake, and if you come across a long expanse of treeless ice you're likely walking on one of the three lakes that the trail runs parallel to. I made Megan and I stick to the trail as I remembered it as much as possible on the way to Emerald Lake, and especially tried to stay off of the lake ice, but in the end gave up and chose the path of least resistance. Walking on snow is awesome and fun and I can't wait to snowshoe again, but it's also hard work. And I thought hiking was exercise! You have to do this sort of shuffle-walking to keep your snowshoes from crossing, and don't even think about backing up without trekking poles! You'll end up on your butt before you even know what happened. Keeping your toes pointed upwards, sort of like you would when riding a horse, helps to keep your snowshoes from dipping into soft powder on your trail and landing you on your face. Not that watching someone do that isn't hilarious (am I a bad person?) but if you happen to be walking along the side of a mountain you definitely don't want to fall.

Another bit of advice: don't be the first one on the trail. Yes, it's pretty and quiet and solitude is great and all, but trail breaking sucks. You're walking on top of the snow as much as your weight on the snowshoes allows, but you're still trying to push through fresh powder and not on hard packed trail. If you've ever walked on a sandy beach, you know the feeling. But imagine it at 20 degrees plus windchill.

Even with the drawback of trail breaking, Megan and I had a fantastic time. It took us quite a while to reach Emerald Lake, mostly because I made us avoid walking on the lake ice on the way up, and we also stopped to take a ton of pictures. The air seriously glittered with all of the snow kicked up by the wind. We got to the top of the valley and the end of our trail, and didn't linger in the biting wind longer than the time it took us to take a few pictures of each other at our destination. After hunkering down and grabbing a quick snack, we made stellar time on the way back to the car. I quit caring about not walking on the ice, sucked it up and went as quickly as possible in route to my car. And heat. It was a gorgeous hike, and I need to figure out how to see the mountains in winter again!

What I'm listening to: The Bridge of Khazad Dum by Howard Shore