You'd think that after 5 consecutive winters in Michigan, we'd be over the fascination with the snow. But that was Detroit and this is Denver...so the love affair goes on.
There are two major differences: First, SE Michigan (while lovely in spring, summer and fall) just gets buried in snow all winter. For five years, it snowed on or before Christmas and we didn't see the grass again until April. In Denver, it snowed 8" yesterday and it's already starting to melt today under the warm sun. What casual outdoorsperson wants to take a hike when it's overcast and 15 degrees F? Today in Denver, it's sunny and will probably hit 50 degrees this afternoon. The second difference is that I don't know of anywhere in southern MI that has a broken granite mountain or red sandstone formations.
So, Eliana and I revisited the South Valley Open Space today in the snow. Gorgeous! I thought that the wide, well-graded trails would be our best bet for hiking in the snow and that turned
out to be a good call. We followed behind a group of moms out on snowshoes with their toddlers in backpacks. I let them blaze the trail and came up behind them on the well-packed snow. I picked their brains about snowshoeing and decided that I've got to try it. While it's more demanding that hiking a dry trail, it is considerably easier than hiking a trail (even a well-packed trail) in the snow by all accounts.
Of course, I only followed the moms as far as the Lyon's Back Trail where I took off to the left and blazed my own trail. I thought that would help save my ego until a 70-year-old, snowshoeing grandma overtook me and politely asked to pass. I climbed the trail up to the northern boundary of the park, where it connects to Columbine Trail in the Ken-Caryl Foundation Open Space. Lyon's Back is not difficult, but it does climb about 100 feet over less than a quarter mile. The views of the valley are very nice and where the trail climbs steeply, Jefferson County has built steps for us. The descent was the most treacherous part of the hike and it was here that I slipped and all of my amateur mistakes were laid bare.
First of all, I was not properly outfitted for a serious hike in the snow. I was wearing my regular hiking boots and blue jeans. Eliana was wearing snow boots, but she had kicked one off and I was holding it in my hand. She was also wearing
jeans. When I fell, I sat down on the step behind me. The fall didn't hurt at all since I landed in 8" of unpacked snow, BUT the snow was a problem of its own. My jeans (which were already wet almost to my knees) were now soaked through all the way up to my waist. Elle's bare sock was like a snow-magnet and was soaked through before I could brush it off. And her loose boot was filled with melting snow too.
I'm an amateur, but not stupid, so we went directly back to the trailhead and our car to avoid any hypothermia issues.
Look for a future post on the necessary gear for snow hiking...
Trail Difficulty:
Lyon's Back Trail: .4 (easy) from the crossing with Coyote Song Trail
Have fun and pack dry socks!
There are two major differences: First, SE Michigan (while lovely in spring, summer and fall) just gets buried in snow all winter. For five years, it snowed on or before Christmas and we didn't see the grass again until April. In Denver, it snowed 8" yesterday and it's already starting to melt today under the warm sun. What casual outdoorsperson wants to take a hike when it's overcast and 15 degrees F? Today in Denver, it's sunny and will probably hit 50 degrees this afternoon. The second difference is that I don't know of anywhere in southern MI that has a broken granite mountain or red sandstone formations.So, Eliana and I revisited the South Valley Open Space today in the snow. Gorgeous! I thought that the wide, well-graded trails would be our best bet for hiking in the snow and that turned
out to be a good call. We followed behind a group of moms out on snowshoes with their toddlers in backpacks. I let them blaze the trail and came up behind them on the well-packed snow. I picked their brains about snowshoeing and decided that I've got to try it. While it's more demanding that hiking a dry trail, it is considerably easier than hiking a trail (even a well-packed trail) in the snow by all accounts.Of course, I only followed the moms as far as the Lyon's Back Trail where I took off to the left and blazed my own trail. I thought that would help save my ego until a 70-year-old, snowshoeing grandma overtook me and politely asked to pass. I climbed the trail up to the northern boundary of the park, where it connects to Columbine Trail in the Ken-Caryl Foundation Open Space. Lyon's Back is not difficult, but it does climb about 100 feet over less than a quarter mile. The views of the valley are very nice and where the trail climbs steeply, Jefferson County has built steps for us. The descent was the most treacherous part of the hike and it was here that I slipped and all of my amateur mistakes were laid bare.
First of all, I was not properly outfitted for a serious hike in the snow. I was wearing my regular hiking boots and blue jeans. Eliana was wearing snow boots, but she had kicked one off and I was holding it in my hand. She was also wearing
jeans. When I fell, I sat down on the step behind me. The fall didn't hurt at all since I landed in 8" of unpacked snow, BUT the snow was a problem of its own. My jeans (which were already wet almost to my knees) were now soaked through all the way up to my waist. Elle's bare sock was like a snow-magnet and was soaked through before I could brush it off. And her loose boot was filled with melting snow too.I'm an amateur, but not stupid, so we went directly back to the trailhead and our car to avoid any hypothermia issues.
Look for a future post on the necessary gear for snow hiking...
Trail Difficulty:
Lyon's Back Trail: .4 (easy) from the crossing with Coyote Song Trail
Have fun and pack dry socks!
