One of the nice things about winter camping is that you really don’t have to go very far to get that wilderness feeling. Even at crowded trailheads most people just go 2-3 miles and then turn back.
The Middle Fork of the St Vrain River is one of the loveliest valleys in the Front Range. It is a classic U-shaped glacial valley, and in fact there are still a few remnant glaciers hanging around at the head of the valley, which incidentally is also the easternmost point of the Divide.
My friend Dan and I planned to snowshoe up the valley about 5 miles and camp in one of the sheltered clearings near the wilderness boundary. From there we could go further upvalley, maybe to Red Dear Lake.
The day was clear and calm and the going easy for the first 3 miles. This being a glacial valley, the terrain is mostly smooth and the gradient is gentle. We had our gear packed in pulks, which are just sleds with fiberglass poles attached to the front and then to a belt that acts as a harness. This is much better than trying to load all your gear into a pack and carrying it on your shoulders. All the more so as you need a fair amount more gear to be comfortable and safe in the winter. Here is a selfie of Dan pulling his pulk:
Dan and his pulk. PCO Dan Schneider
It’s been a snowy year in Colorado, but the going was pretty easy for the first 3 miles, as snowshoers and skiers had packed the trail. But after that we were breaking trail in a couple feet of unconsolidated snow and it was very slow going indeed. It probably took us 2 hours to make the last mile and a half to a good campsite, and we were pretty beat when we got there.
Dan exults in the fine day, not knowing that the easy snowshoeing is just about over.
By the time we got camp set up, we were in much more of a mood to lounge around and drink hot chocolate (fortified, of course), than head further up the valley in the soft snow.
Enjoying a hot drink
One of the other fun things about snow camping is that, equipped with a shovel, you can make your own living areas and furniture. If you are really ambitious you can dig out a snow cave, but that is a lot of work for just one night. But the point is that snow camping can be quite comfortable.
Early morning sun on Sawtooth Peak and St Vrain Mountain
That is, so long as the weather is reasonable. Unfortunately for us, the wind came up during the night, and the morning was not near as pleasant as the evening had been. The wind pretty much killed our ambitions of going further up the valley, so we had a fairly leisurely breakfast (our sunken cooking/dining area was fairly well-protected from the wind), then packed up and headed back down.