The Sweatiest I've Ever Been in March, aka My First Snowshoeing Trip

After several weekends of hibernating with Netflix on my couch, I decided to be a real Coloradan and embrace winter. I have been cleared to walk as much as I want to, so I taped up my ankle and hit the trail!

I was actually really pleased by how well the basics I learned from REI served me, except for one giant thing I forgot. POLES. Please don't try to snowshoe without them - your legs will thank you.

Thanks to Google, I found Bent Gate Rental in Golden, where my boyfriend and I rented out snowshoes and got powder tails put on them all for $24, which coincidentally is the price of one rental at REI. REI killed it with the basics of snowshoeing class, but their rentals are super pricey, so if you're headed in the direction of Golden, Bent Gate is your best bet. Jax is near Fort Collins, and there's an even cheaper place up in Estes Park if you want to hit RMNP.

Anyways, Bent Gate is right on the way to Golden Gate State Park, where we were headed, and also next door to the one of the best pizza places EVER. If you don't stop at Woody's after a long day on the trail, you are a fool.

Golden Gate is another wonderful state park within an hour from Denver. It took us a little longer since we went to the main entrance of the park for some trail recommendations, and then had to drive all the way around to the trailhead at Rifleman Phillips Campground. Apparently, you can just drive to the campground straight from Denver:

What we did instead was stop at the Visitor's center and then went west, north, and back east to get to the trailhead (yellow circle). Our drive is outlined in blue. Obviously much longer, but the drive was really pretty and stopping at the Visitor's Center was great for us first-timers.

The full version of this map can be found here on CPW's website.

Adventures in Hydration: My Quest To Find The Right Bladder

By now, I've realized that most people actually refer to bladders as reservoirs, but why pass up the opportunity to use a completely ridiculous term for outdoors gear? Plus, it's funny to see people's reactions to sentences such as, "I need a new bladder, mine keeps leaking."

Immature humor aside, I've been on the hunt for a reservoir once I started wanting to go on longer hikes. Your first and most obvious option for hydration is a water bottle, but a reservoir lets you go hands-free and bring a lot more water with you, which is important if you're going to be out on the trail for several hours.

Worth Your Time: REI's Snowshoeing Basics Class

2015 will mark the first time I don't migrate to Florida for the winter in several years, so I'm super excited to spend this winter trying out snow sports. I tried both downhill and cross-country skiing once last year, so not only am I excited to learn more about those sports, I'm pumped to try out snowshoeing so I can hit the winter sports trifecta.

Step one of my foray into snowshoeing was REI's Snowshoeing Basics class at my local store. The class was free and definitely worth my time. I highly recommend it to any fellow beginner as a great complement to your outdoor education journey (that sounds very Colorado-ey of me, doesn't it?). 

Since hitting the trail myself, this blog has become a mash-up of the REI class plus my own experience as a first-time snowshoer. The REI class gave me a really solid foundation of knowledge, so I definitely encourage you to check it out for yourself - classes run throughout the winter. Worst case scenario, you get a 20% off coupon to use and you found out you don't want to attempt snowshoeing.