Recently 9 youth and 7 staff/volunteers from The Matthews House headed up the Poudre Canyon for a three day snowshoeing adventure. For most of our youth this was the first time ever putting on a pair of snowshoes, not to mention sleeping in a Yurt. Talk about posh winter camping – wood stove for heat, propane cook stove, bunk beds with real mattresses, tables, chairs, games, firewood supplied, and the list goes on. There is no better way to enjoy winter “camping.”
The .25-.50 mile hike in was simply breath-taking; pine trees were scattered along a back drop of snow covered mountains, and animal tracks everywhere you looked.
Backpacks loaded up and pulks (that’s the fancy word for a “gear” sled) full of food, we enjoyed a light hike up to our yurts. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and there was over 2 feet of snow to play in. We enjoyed spaghetti and meatballs for dinner that night while playing games. The next morning we awoke warm and cozy (thanks to our wood stove!) to a colorful sunrise. The boys hiked over to the girls yurt and we ventured out to a morning full of snow shoeing and an epic snowball fight! Back to the yurts we headed for homemade chili and three rounds of Mafia!
All in all it was a fantastic way to connect youth with the Colorado backcountry, build a tight knit community, and learn new skills. And if it weren’t for all the generous donations/discounts we wouldn’t have been able to have such an amazing adventure.
Thank you Never Summer Nordic Yurts, Big City Mountaineers, The Bibliomaniacs, Homeless Gear, Celestino’s Pizza & Diane Bogner for pizza and all our community members who donated boots, ski pants, ski jackets, hats and gloves, and let us borrow snow shoes!
This video is dedicated to you :
So happy for the kids to be able to experience the wonders of our beautiful Colorado mountains – you surely made a memory that no one will forget. Thank you Matthews House for making such a difference!