Hey,
Well ive never been to colardao, and i am about to leave in about 5 days. Headed into boulder to do some snowshoeing, east of the Conbtentail divide. Ive never been snow shoeing or been to colorado in the winter. What can I expect? What type of conditions should i prepare for? Does anyone have know some good snowshoeing area?
ps. I will be completly on foot, and hicthhiking
luke
Some nice snowshoeing east of the divide is the Brainard Lake area. It can be busy, but if you do it during the week, itis not too bad. Very beautiful, not too hard with plenty of options.
Pick up TRAILS ILLUSTRATED MAP# 102 INDIAN PEAKS/GOLD HILL. Long Lake is a good one to snowshoe to. Brainard is about 45 minutes or so away from Boulder.
Another option is Rocky Mountain National Park. About 1 hrs drive. One of my favorite places to snowshoe, with a good “view to effort” ratio is Mills Lake. It is 5 miles R/T.
http://www.thespiritoftherockies.net/spirit/Hikes/MillsLake/MillsLake.html
You would get TRAILS ILLUSTRATED MAP #200 - ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK.
Since you are coming to altitude, take it slow. I gave you some suggestions that are fairly easy. The grade of these hikes are such there are no avalanche dangers.
Boulder has many places where you can rent snowshoes for about $8-$10 a day. You will be able to pick up the maps $10 ea.) easily as well.
If you have other questions, e-mail me. more than happy to answer them.
Mags
Just realized you will not have a car.
You can take the N bus (Boudler to Nederland) for less than $4. That bus will take you to Eldora ski area which abuts USFS land and trails. On the Indian Peaks map, you should see some trails you can snowshoe. Lost Lake is a good one that can be reached by bus with a little walking/hitchhiking.
After you snowshoe, go to the Katmandhu (sp?) in Ned for some great Indian/Nepali food. They have an AYCE buffet.
Ned is a great little town that is about 1/2hr up the road from Boulder. Think you’ll like it.
Mags
