Snowshoeing South Foothills Trail to Wonderland Lake and the Old Kiln Trail in Boulder

I watched the snow fall from the window at work on Saturday and wished I could be out there playing in it. I sent a text to Jim to see if he would be up for another snowshoe hike on Sunday. He said yes. I was so happy I announced to my co-workers I was going snowshoeing tomorrow with a big smile!  My friend and walking partner at work Rhonda understood my excitement. She just got a new pair of snowshoes for Christmas too. She suggested maybe Jim and I could go on a snowshoe hike with her and her husband Rob. The more the merrier!

She said she would research some trails and then text me later that night to make a plan.

Rhonda is an avid hiker and is very knowledgeable about the trails in the area. After she did some research she texted me a few different trails we could try out and we decided we would go to the Betasso Preserve which is up Boulder Canyon. The Canyon Loop Trail is about 3 miles so we figured that would be a good one as it was pretty close to home and not too long of a hike for the guys! :) She said they would pick us up around 9:00 a.m. I couldn't wait.

I woke up Sunday morning and saw that more snow had fallen in the night. Yay! I also saw that the high of the day was going to be 18°. That might scare someone else off, but not me! Rhonda sent a text that morning to make sure we were still up for snowshoeing considering the weather. I responded "Yup! You?" and my hardcore friend Rhonda replied "Yes we will be on our way soon." We layered ourselves properly and went downstairs to meet our friends.

Jim and I loaded our snowshoes in the back of Rhonda and Rob's car and off we went. 

As we started driving into Boulder we were surprised to see how terrible the road conditions were. The roads had not been plowed and because of the cold temps overnight they were covered with ice. Not ideal for driving up a canyon. We figured if the main roads looked as bad as they did, that the mountain roads would be even worse. Rather than risking an accident we decided to change our destination. Rhonda had one of her hiking books in the car and quickly perused it to find a new trail. She suggested the South Foothills Trail which is about 1 mile west on Lee Hill Road from the intersection of Broadway in Boulder. This was not too far from where we were at the time so we all thought it sounded like a good idea. 

We arrived at the parking lot and saw other cars so we knew we wouldn't be the only crazy ones out there hiking in the cold. :) Rob and Jim commented that we may not even need snowshoes as the snow was packed down and not very deep. Rhonda and I did not care- we wanted to use our snowshoes! The guys laughed and started gearing up too. 

We headed on the trail which was relatively easy and flat. The south portion of the Foothills Trail (.9 miles) joins the Wonderland Lake Trail (1.2 miles) to form a lollipop loop.

The men led the way chatting the whole time, while Rhonda and I brought up the rear enjoying our girl time. :)  We passed a few other snowshoeing groups too. 

We made it to Wonderland Lake which is a wildlife sanctuary providing essential habitat for waterfowl, prairie dogs, coyote, fox, rattlesnakes, raptors, and mule deer.

At one point Rhonda thought she saw a coyote in the far distance, but it could have been a dog out with one of the other snowshoeing groups.

 A couple of the nice dogs we met on the trail enjoying the snow day!

We took some pictures by the snow covered lake and decided rather than walking around it to head back and follow another trail we passed along the way that went up towards the mountains.

We followed the Old Kiln trail for about 0.5 miles which turns out to be pretty much the end of it.

The view from the top was beautiful.

We were lucky to spot a large buck and 2 other deer on the mountain across from us. It's always nice to see wildlife on the trails.

One of the large deer we spotted

We stayed at the top for a bit before we headed back just chatting and taking in the beautiful winter wonderland around us.

 

At one point we were all huddled in a circle and I looked down and saw a fun photo opportunity.

We made it back to the parking lot and I checked my pedometer. We had done 2.91 miles in about 2 hours. Not too shabby! Although it was only 11° I stayed nice and warm. The only gear item I wish I had was a neck gaiter, as my nose, cheeks and mouth were very cold. I decided I would order one online later that day.

It was great to spend the morning playing in the snow with our friends! I hope we can do it again sometime soon!  

My first snowshoe hike :)

Jim and I received some money from our families for Christmas and we decided to use it to buy our first pairs of snowshoes. Our plan is to have many winter adventures with them! I was so excited to go on our first snowshoe hike this week and break them in! 

I did some research on good beginner trails for snowshoeing and many suggested going to the Bear Lake area in Rocky Mountain National Park. Since we have our annual pass to the park and I love going there it was an easy sell. We planned to go on Monday, so the day before I called the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center to find out weather conditions and snow levels. The very friendly ranger told me they received 4 inches of fresh powder in the park that day and that there was a solid base of snow in the Bear Lake area already. Perfect for snowshoeing! I was pumped. 

We arrived at the park around 10:00 a.m. It was a bluebird sky and the sun was shining, but we could see clouds coming in over the mountains so we knew conditions would probably change as we drove further in.

Sure enough as we got closer to the trailhead the sky became more gray and the wind picked up. Welcome to the Rockies! Weather can change on a dime in the mountains as I have seen many times before. We made it to the Bear Lake trailhead and the parking lot was full of people gearing up to go snowshoeing too. This is a very popular spot in the park so I was not surprised. It was about 30° F when we got there and it was actually starting to snow a little. Yay! I hadn't worn snow pants in years so I was super excited to put mine on and start gearing up too.

Once we had on all of our winter layers we grabbed our snowshoes and headed over to the wooden benches at the start of the trailhead so we could strap them on. Jim, being the gentleman that he is, helped me put mine on and adjusted them to fit just right. I watched closely so now that I know how they are supposed to fit, I know it will be easy to do myself next time. I stood up and took my first few steps and was amazed at how natural it felt to me. I was worried it would be awkward or that I would lose my balance and fall over the first time as I am not the most coordinated person in the world. However, I am happy to report that it was a piece of cake. If you can walk, you can snowshoe. :)

Bear Lake is a hop, skip, and a jump from the trailhead so we began just by walking around it a little to get comfortable. 

Bear Lake

It was so fun kicking up snow behind us. There were many others out walking around the lake too. We decided rather than walking around Bear Lake we would take the trail to Nymph Lake which was 0.5 miles away.

We had done this hike in the summer of 2012 so I knew it was a relatively easy one. However, it was more of a work out doing it in the snow. I could feel my abs and quads getting a work out. It felt great actually! Especially after all of the Christmas goodies I have been enjoying. I desperately needed to feel this burn! :)

 We took our time and made it to Nymph Lake. I remembered how green it looked in the summer when the water was covered in lily pads. Now the lake was frozen solid and blanketed in white. The snow was falling lightly through the trees and in the sunlight it looked like glitter falling from the sky. I stood still and took in the beautiful winter wonderland around me.

Nymph Lake

We sat down and enjoyed the scenery for a bit and then walked around the lake and across it. I took a bunch of photos. It is much more difficult to take photos in the winter when you have to remove gloves and expose your skin to the cold. It was worth it to me though. :)

It felt so good to be outside and I was having so much fun with my snowshoes I asked Jim if he would want to hike a little further to the next lake. He could tell that I really wanted to do it so being the amazing hubby that he is he agreed to continue on. Dream Lake was another 0.8 miles away. Having hiked to Dream Lake before, I knew that the trail would be a little more narrow and the climb a little steeper. Since we were doing so well with our snowshoes, I felt we were up to the challenge.

The trail was well marked and there was a good amount of traffic on it from both people going to and coming from Dream Lake. We stopped as needed to let people pass in the more narrow parts of the trail and in many cases we were the ones passing others. It seemed like everyone was smiling and we were greeted happily by almost every hiker. I don't usually like it when there is a ton of people on the same trail, but for this first time snowshoeing it was kind of fun experiencing it among others. People look cute in their winter pom pom hats, snow pants, and snowshoes! :)

We made our steady climb up the trail. My snowshoe kit included trekking poles and I honestly didn't feel like I needed them on this particular hike, but in some of the narrower and steeper sections of the trail it was nice to have them for balance. We made it to a clearing where we could stand and see Nymph Lake below. The view was spectacular. 

Looking down at Nymph Lake

 

The wind really started to pick up as we got closer to the lake. I had to stop and zip up my jacket completely to shield my face from the biting wind. When we made it to the lake the winds were hurricane strength. The views were limited because of the clouds. I still stopped to snap a couple of photos because I am crazy like that, but then we headed back. 

Dream Lake- extremely windy!

Even though it was too uncomfortable to stay and explore the area around Dream Lake with our snowshoes, I am still really glad we went the extra mile. We had only set out to do the easy hike to Nymph Lake so I felt accomplished having completed a more moderate hike on our first snowshoeing trip.

The weather was much milder on the way back. We returned to the parking lot around 1:00 p.m. We covered about 3 miles in 3 hours. We could have done this hike at a much faster pace, but we took our time and enjoyed the scenery. I had so much fun with Jim. :)

We shed our heavy winter layers, as we no longer needed them, and hopped in the car to make the return journey. The sky changed from gray to blue as we exited the park.

We were going to make our usual stop at the Colorado Cherry Company for pie, but having played in the snow for 3 hours what really sounded good was a hot bowl of pho. We went to Black Pepper Pho, our favorite place in Boulder. It really hit the spot. This may have to be our new tradition after snowshoeing. :)

Yum!

Ending 2013 with a beautiful winter hike and trying something new was perfect. I really hope 2014 will start off snowy because I can't wait to bust out my snowshoes again....again...and again! :) Happy New Year!!