Other times, they just want to be out there snowshoeing with somebody so they donвЂ™t have to worry about getting lost. вЂњSometimes folks want to learn about winter ecology. вЂњThis is a beginnersвЂ™ hike,вЂќ Langdon explained. The park used to offer intermediate snowshoe hikes, but with snow levels are not high enough to offer those anymore. By the time I go home, it will have been a round trip of 200 miles.вЂќ вЂњI learned a lot I didnвЂ™t know about nature, too,вЂќ she added. Pirello noted that even though she has been showshoeing for many seasons, she learned new aspects about showshoeing that she didnвЂ™t know before. ItвЂ™s just a whole different character in the winter than in the summertime.вЂќ The national park looks completely different in the winter. вЂњI havenвЂ™t done it up in the mountains for so long with COVID. вЂњI just really wanted to snowshoe,вЂќ commented Karen Pirello who drove from Aurora for the experience. Several of the participants were from Front Range communities. вЂњYou may have been there many times, in the summer, but itвЂ™s not the same place in the winter.вЂќ вЂњYou need to know what youвЂ™re doing to go on up to Dream or Emerald Lake,вЂќ Langdon said.

Total mileage was only about a mile-and-a-half, but it was still enough of a workout to be enjoyable. On the way back down from Nymph, we stopped at another overhang of Bear Lake and we watched people walking across the glorious frozen landscape.

A snowshoer enjoy an overlook that provides a wonderful view of Bear Lake and the mountain backdrop beyond.

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