Our first adventure in Colorado introduced us to hiking at elevation. It was hard.
Our second adventure got us above 10,000 feet. It was hard.
For our third and final adventure of this trip, something easier was in order. Plus we had limited time before our flight home.
So we headed to Bear Lake in the middle of Rocky Mountain National Park. A hard hike? No, not really. Maybe a couple hundred feet from the trailhead to the lake. And flat. Not even crazy steep. Hardly an adventure if you don't think about the snow.
Oh, the snow. The glorious, fluffy, powdery snow.
To understand the way we felt about the snow you need to remember that in the Pacific Northwest we get lots of snow, but it's often referred to as "Cascade Concrete." Doesn't that sound great? It's heavy, wet, and... well... pretty much like concrete.
According to a ranger, the snow was 30 inches deep before the weekend's storm. The storm dumped another 30 inches. While the base was consolidated, the new snow was fluffy and powdery. (Have I mentioned it was fluffy and powdery?)
The kids ate the snow. The kids sat in the snow. The kids disappeared into the snow. The kids were thrown into the snow.
(Epic video courtesy of fellow Deuter ambassador, Keith Howells.)
If I were to throw a kid in the snow like this at home I'd have Child Protective Services knocking on the door. Instead, Henry laughed like a maniac and Lillian demanded she be thrown next. When the throwing was done they relaxed in custom-formed snow seats.
Meanwhile, in adult land, genuine highline pro, Faith Dickey, set up a slackline above the snow. Everyone that got on the line had big grins. The kids seemed to have an inherent understanding and each took at least a single step before they fell. I took no such steps because I'm far wiser than to get on the line. (These first few steps resulted in a demand to set up a slackline at home where Lilly has been making steady improvements.)
Like the magical, fluffy, powdery snow in springtime, our day at the lake had to end. But like the snow, we'll be back to flop in the snow again. The beautiful, fluffy, powdery snow that's unlike anything we have at home.
