On the trail - March 4, 2012

At the beginning of my hike, I spotted an older gentleman and his wife coming towards me on the trail.  The man was smiling like he had just figured out the meaning of life.  He looked at me and said, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”  I replied to him that yes it was a beautiful day, perfect for a hike or snowshoe in Rocky Mountain National Park. 

We exchanged pleasantries and I learned that they were visiting from St. Louis.  They had been in the area for a week and this was their last day before getting back on a plane and heading home.  I mentioned that I was indeed fortunate to live here and be able to wake up in the morning, drive to the park for the day, and return home by evening.  We parted ways and I continued my hike to Cub Lake.

In all my trips to the park, this would be my first time on this trail.  The trailhead is located at the west end of Moraine Park and sits at 8,080 feet in elevation.  The trail skirts along river bottoms and weaves its way through aspen and pine forest rising a total of only 540 feet in its 2.3 mile length.  The lake sits at 8,620 feet.

From the moment I spotted the lake until it was only a memory on my way back, the wind sand blasted me with considerable force. On this day, the lake was frozen over and covered with about 6 inches of windblown snow. 

Being unfamiliar with this trail, I had hiked up to the lake, but had also lashed my snowshoes on my pack just in case I needed them.  Taking refuge from the wind behind a 6 foot tall boulder on the lakeshore, I chose to put them on now.

Dressed in L.L. Bean wind pants, gaiters, and an anorak, I was quite comfortable as I clomped in my snowshoes from end to end on the frozen lake.  I took some pictures and later would learn that you better check your camera lens after shooting into blowing snow.  The water spot affect on the photos is not a good look.

With my snowshoes on and the wind at my back, I said goodbye to my new friend Cub Lake.  It had been a spectacular site to see the snow capped mountains rising up from the flat surface of the snow covered lake.  I would definitely have to come back in the other seasons.  I imagine there will be spring peeper frogs singing near the lake, maybe some ducks on the lake in the summer, and colorful aspen displays in the fall.  I was excited about this trail that was so new to me.

The trail was considerably easier on snowshoes on the way down.  At one point, I chose to go off trail and follow a game trail.  The ensuing post holing through deep snow was a bit unexpected and I was relieved when I found my way back to the trail again.  About ¾ of the way back, I stopped and took off my snowshoes to resume hiking.  My arms felt a little heavy from relying on my trekking poles a little more than I realized on the hike up.  I carried them now as my hike was nearing its end.

The couple from St. Louis had been right.  It doesn’t get any better than this.  I was glad that I had tried a new trail on this day and looked forward to hiking it again in the future.