Photos: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3554837007/a=38054161/
Thursday 1/28:
Life had been pretty busy and stressful for a while. Thus, I had (unsuccessfully) been trying to get out for some good solo time for a while; and this weekend it was finally going to happen. I set up my permit with a rather perplexed Rocky Mountain National Park ranger (the West side of the park doesn't get as much traffic in the winter as the East, as I would come to find out...)
I drove out after work, and arrived at the North Inlet trailhead. Well, almost. When I got there, I found out that the parking lot for the North Inlet trailhead was barricaded off; and there was 'No Parking' signs all around the nearest building. Hmm. I dropped off my pack, and then drove back down the road a bit until I found a good spot to park. Hiked back up to my pack, and started in around 9pm. It looked as if only one cross country skier had been in at that trailhead. Not much foot traffic at all on this trail. I tried to not step into his tracks much (to not ruin the ski tracks with my snowshoes), so I ended up breaking trail pretty much from the start. When I started off, I was only sinking in an average of around four inches on my snowshoes; not bad. Got some decent exercise.
It was a beautiful, albeit a little chilly, night. Probably around 20 degrees. Crisp. Amazing clear sky with beautiful stars. A very quiet and peaceful hike in.
Before too long, the trail narrowed, so I had to go in the same tracks as the skier. Much nicer, as I was hardly sinking in at all on my snowshoes. About an hour in, at Cascade Falls, the skier turned around. I was breaking new trail from here. I wasn't expecting this (the East side of the park is quite popular, and there are usually trails broken in at least five miles - even a day after a new storm.) I was going to try to connect the North Inlet trail with the East Inlet trail, and was counting on making good time (walking in other people's tracks) for a good portion of the trail. It would be a lot more challenging to make the distance I needed if I had to break trail the whole way. I figured I'd still give it a try, but would play things by ear.
Started to break trail; now sinking in around an average of six inches. Still not too bad, but definitely working more. I hiked a bit more, and then decided to just camp at the dispersement zone past Cascade Falls. Stomped out a tent platform, then made a kitchen area while the platform solidified a bit. Set up my tent, and got some sleep.
Friday 1/29:
Woke up leisurely and made some breakfast. Relaxed, ate breakfast, and enjoyed the wonderful meadow and mountain views around me. Packed up camp, and started hiking. Before long, I got to an open area and lost the traces of a trail (usually just a relatively straight and open gap through the woods.) No worries, I just pressed onward; everything is a trail in the winter, right?
Eventually, things started to get a little more overgrown; and I was hitting much softer snow, many times sinking to my mid-thigh. Definitely working hard and sweating now. I decided to backtrack a little and look for the trail. Found a trail and kind of zoned out, just enjoying the views and breaking the trail; staying in the open path through the trees. After a while, I came across an intersection with a broken (packed down) trail. That's weird; how could there be a trail in here, when I was the only tracks in? Oh no. I looked around, and things looked familiar. Too familiar. Rats, I wasn't paying attention, and I backtracked a bunch and hit my own trail. DOH! Apparently, I lost the trail a ways back and had killed a couple hours backtracking.
Oh well, at least now I knew where the trail is, so I re-hiked that section (which was much nicer to not have to break trail) and then continued on (the right way) from where I had found the trail previously. Started breaking trail again, now sinking in around eight inches on average. Definitely slow going since I was the only one breaking trail (groups will usually take turns breaking trail in the winter.)
The farther in I went, the deeper the snow got. I ended up reaching Grouseberry around 2:30pm; and was now sinking in an average of around ten inches on my snowshoes. I looked at the remaining distance for my loop, and my average speed for the past couple hours. The loop I was initially thinking about was still possible; but just barely. Not really enough slack time anymore; as I was meeting some folks for skiing on Sunday. If any other delays occurred, it would likely put me past my timeframe. I decided to just relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend, instead of pushing hard to make the loop.
Since I was no longer in a hurry; and since I'd likely camp at Grouseberry or possibly even farther back down at Big Pool, I dropped my pack there, and just took some water, food, emergency gear, etc. It sure was nice breaking trail without the big pack on. Saw a moose lay (bed) and some scat. Also saw some tracks where a bobcat was stalking and then chasing a rabbit. Wandered around a little and enjoyed the views, then headed back, picked up my pack, and decided to go make camp back down at Big Pool.
Hiked back down to the Big Pool camp area, packed down my tent platform, then worked on the kitchen area so the tent platform could solidify a little. Set up my tent, and made some dinner. Spent some time looking at the amazing sky, and then turned in for the night.
Saturday 1/30:
It was COLD last night. Definitely below zero. Woke up to some wild ice crystals on my tent, and even my zipper pulls were frozen with ice on it. My boots were pretty much frozen solid. Wild.
Woke up, made breakfast, and just explored around that area a little. Followed some game tracks, and enjoyed the views. I was just going to take it easy today, so I hiked around for a while, then came back and packed up camp. From here, it was a leisurely stroll back down to the trailhead. It was amazing how much snow had melted as I worked my way downhill. Near the trailhead, not only was I not sinking in at all, I was able to wear just my boots on my trail from just a few days ago. Wild. Quite a difference over the weekend; from the crux of sinking in an average of ten inches (sometimes even up to my mid-thigh), down to walking in my boots on the trail from just a few days earlier.
I made it out early in the afternoon; so I went down to Lake Granby, and watched some of the ice fishermen and snowmobiles while letting my gear dry out a little by spreading it across my Jeep. Got a laugh out of a "No Rock Climbing" sign by a rock retaining wall in the parking lot. It was a wonderful and mentally relaxing weekend; with some good exercise trail breaking. Good for the body and soul.
Hope you enjoy the
pics!
A.J.
Photos: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3554837007/a=38054161/
Group Room (multiple albums): http://ajoutdoors.snapfish.com/snapfish