Tag Archives: snowshoe

Trail Report: Tie City Snowshoe Trail

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Winter has returned to Pole Mountain, well at least for now. This morning we loaded up the car and headed to the Tie City to snowshoe along the multi-use snowshoe trail. It was a beautiful morning. Here were the current trail conditions: Date: 2/18/15 Time: 9-10 am MST Temperature: 25-30°F & warming up Weather: Sunny with a few scattered clouds Wind: Breezy but not knock you on your ass windy Trail Snowshoed: Multi-use trail (perfect for fat bikes and snowshoes) Snowpack: Windblown and balding on the summit (how's that for creative writing) but surprisingly nice and deep through the forest. Snow……

12 Trails of Christmas: Tie City/Happy Jack Multipurpose Trails

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In the summer it feels like there's sometimes angst between mountain bikers, horseback riders and hikers over trail usage.  In the winter we have our own set of trail issues: cross-country skiers vs snowshoers vs fat bikers. Skate skiers like and need a nice wide groomed platform of packed snow to ski. Classic skiers like to in a perfectly placed track. Backcountry skiers work really hard to break their own tracks on a non-groomed surface. It's the same with snowshoers. I get it when skate skiers are ticked because snowshoe crampons dig into the trails or classic skiers get annoyed……

12 Trails of Christmas: Aspen Trail to the Haunted Forest Trail

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If you're looking for the perfect place for an afternoon of snowshoeing you can't go wrong from the Happy Jack trailhead. We love Happy Jack so much we're talking about it again, with another route to check out, the Aspen Trail to the Haunted Forest Trail. To get here start at the Happy Jack trailhead, head left at the base of the hill following the blue diamond markers on the trees. The trail will head toward the Pole Creek campground but keep going and head to the right before you get to the campground. You'll climb a little bit until……

12 Trails of Christmas: Happy Jack

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We love Happy Jack. Not just because it's a 15 minute commute from our garage to the trailhead but because Happy Jack combines the perfect trifeca of a wicked fast sledding hill with winter trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Sure, you can also fat bike and snowboard on the trails from the Happy Jack trailhead too so I guess that would make it the perfect quintfecta. We also love that the Happy Jack trailhead is just a wee bit more protected from the wind than the Tie City trailhead. (Notice I said wee bit, no part of Pole Mountain is……

3 Favorite Snowshoe Trails Near Laramie, WY

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Spring is almost here but there's still good snowshoeing to be had. If you've been following our "how to snowshoe" series this winter you know that spring is one of our favorite times to snowshoe, especially since a trailhead might be dry but you might find yourself post-holing a mile up the trail. If you're in Southeastern Wyoming or visiting this awesome part of the state during the winter months here are a few of our favorite places to snowshoe. 1) Medicine Bow Rail Trail. We like to park just past Chimney Park and hop on the rail trail. Rarely……

The Correct Way to Put on Poles

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As part of our snowshoe series today we're talking about the correct way to put on poles, now we typically publish our snowshoe post every Wednesday but today we're mixing things up just a little bit. It doesn't matter if your skiing, snowshoeing or even hiking, putting poles on properly can reduce wrist strain, muscle fatigue and even efficiency but the majority of people we see on the trails are wearing their poles incorrectly. The wrong way to put on poles is to attack them from the top, all that does is keep the strap from sliding off your hand.……

How Long Should My Snowshoe Poles Be?

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We left off of our snowshoe series last week talking about snowshoe poles and if they are really necessary. If you missed that post you can check it out here. One question that we get a lot is 'how long should my snowshoe poles be?' That's a great question.   Unlike regular old cross-country ski poles, snowshoe poles have that added advantage (or disadvantage depending on how you look at it) of being adjustable. This is cool because you can easily share poles between people of different heights and you can adjust your poles based on the terrain. The best……

All About Snowshoe Poles

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If you've been following our snowshoe series you may have noticed that we haven't discussed snowshoe poles yet! I have mixed feelings about snowshoe poles so we're going to spend a few weeks talking about them. Today we're  asking the question: "Do I really need them?" First, a little description of snowshoe poles. Snowshoe poles differ from regular old ski poles in that they have a telescoping shaft which allows the snowshoer to adjust the length of the pole. Think trekking pole only with a basket. The components are as follows: grips with straps, telescoping shaft, baskets which allow the……

How To Snowshoe

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It seems silly writing a blog post titled "how to snowshoe," because in reality snowshoeing is as simple as walking. So, if you've never snowshoed before this post is for you, it's the basics of how to snowshoe. Step 1: Find a good place to put on your snowshoes. It's not good to put your snowshoes on in a dry parking lot or other non-snowy place since you can damage the crampons. But, let's be honest, if there's a little bit of snow on the ground and you're packing around a couple of kids sometimes it's easiest just to sit in……

How to plan a snowshoe hike

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When it comes to snowshoeing, proper planning can make the difference between a good day on the mountain or a lousy day of freezing cold misery. We've talked about packing for outdoor adventures before, you can check out an entire post about it here, but as part of our Wednesday winter blog line-up It's important to mention a few tips when planning a snowshoe hike. Plan to keep your feet warm and dry. The first big thing we do is think about our feet. I don't know if it's just me but when I snowshoe my feet tend to get……