Snow Shoeing in March

March is considered by many the best time of year to snow-shoe or alpine ski in this section of the Rockies.  It is generally warm on sunny days, but there is plenty of snow pack to enjoy yourself.  Much of our snow comes in March.

We decided to trek to Mills Lake for the magnificent views of Long's Peak, Cheif's Head Peak, and the Keyboard to the Winds.  Mills Lake was named for Enos Mills, who is credited with leading the effort to create Rocky Mountain National Park. He was an innkeeper, naturalist, and mountain guide on Longs Peak. Many consider this to be the prettiest lake in the area so the honor is appropriate.

The parking lot at Glacier Gorge was full so we had to park at Bear Lake and hike an extra 1/2 mile each way.  I normally prefer to hike on these well used trails, carrying a set of micro-spikes or crampons for safety but we'd recently had about a foot of fresh snow so we wore snow shoes.  Turns out they weren't necessary.  With such beatiful sunny weather all weekend , the snow base ( 50 inches ) was firmly packed from all of the other hikers.

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My wife, Julie, on the first leg of the trail.

A view to the north looking over Estes Valley toward the Mummy Range.

Before the trail splits to the Loch Vail or Mills Lake.

A lone, wind blasted, Limber Pine.  Hard to imagine the cold, windy winters it has seen up here.

Final destination, Mills Lake with a view of the Keyboards to the Wind, Cheif's Head Peak, and a limited view of Long's Peak.