Snowshoeing at East Portal
January 1, 2004
What better way to start 2004 than with a nice hike through the mountains of Colorado? Christmas was good to us this year; Amy got a pair of snowshoes thus acheiving gear parity with me, and we were jointly given a new digital camera. Add to this our new trailhead-rated wheels, and we are set for mountain, winter adventure!
New Years day dawned clear and bright and we eagerly loaded up the car and headed into the mountains. Up Boulder Canyon to Nederland and then south on the Peak-to-Peak highway to Rollinsville. Then it was an 8 mile trip down a dirt road in good condition to reach the East Portal Trailhead. East Portal is a strange mix of industrial workings and remote, mountain scenery; the train tracks dive under the Divide here by way of the 5-mile long Moffat Tunnel.
The hiking trail crosses the tracks a few yards from the entrance and heads up a well-packed and mostly level trail toward a bevy of lakes on the Divide. Our goal was Crater Lake which is reached by a right-hand side trail about 1.5 miles in. We were hardly alone on the trail; various people and dogs, most with snowshoes like us, had the same idea. Despite the lack of snow at lower elevations, there was plenty to be had here. At least a foot blanketted the forest floor and the trail was packed down hard enough that snowshoes were pretty much unneccessary. We hiked in about a mile to a meadow in our boots enjoying the sunshine, crystal clear skies and relatively warm temperatures.
At this point, we got tired of carrying our snowshoes and put them on. The crampons helped a bit on the slippery snow. The trail became a bit steeper and rougher from here. We encountered several places where small signs pointed off to the right saying simply "Trail". We followed the path of least resistance for a time, but soon grew tired of packed trail. A side trail appeared with a few sets of tracks and we struck off to the north. The single set of tracks quickly became a set of ski tracks which bifurcated in the woods. Neither track looked like it was a major trail leading to Crater Lake, so we turned around and rejoined the main trail.
 Posing at the beginning of the hike. |  Assorted snowy trees. |
 Charles heads off-trail. |  Amy leading the way. |
Who should we find back at the trail than Nahum Arav (fellow astronomer) and a motley collection of C.H.A.O.S. folk out for a similar hike. We hiked along with them for a quarter mile and joined them on a large log for a spot of lunch. They turned back and we continued on with the new goal of reaching Heart Lake at the end of the trail.
At this point, we were reaching the farthest point of snowshoe navigation and only a few sets of ski tracks continued on. The trail was getting steeper and there was quite a lot of snow. Snowshoes were definitely helping at this point. Undaunted, we continued on and found ourselves nearing tree line in a steepening, boulder-strewn area of great peacefullness and beauty. Snow covered the huge boulders like Smurf hats. Unfortunately, the weather was deteriorating and it was getting dark. We turned around a few hundred feet shy of tree line and headed for home.
 Snowcovered boulders near Heart Lake. |  Amy enjoys a chocolate orange (whack and unwrap!). |
I discovered, to my delight, that it is possible to ski on snowshoes given a sttep enough slope and enough powder. Wheee! The trip out was uneventful and passed fairly easily. We doffed snowshoes at the meadow and hiked the final mile out in our boots.
It's too bad we never made it to Crater Lake nor Heart Lake, but it was still a beautiful day and a great way to break in the new year.
 The Wilderness Journal |  Neithernor |