Saturday in RMNP, destination - unobtainable

We got up and headed to Rocky Mountain National Park Saturday morning, hoping to reach Ypsilon Lake above the Alluvial Falls area. Its a 9 mile round trip with about 2,000 feet of elevation gain to get there, so not exactly a walk in the park. We had our snowshoes in the car, but didn't want to carry them and I had forgotten the bungies needed to secure them, so off we went without them hoping to not encounter super deep post hole inducing snow.



The trail starts steep, and the grind continues most of the way. The good part was that the early sections had no snow, even in the shaded areas. We pressed on making good time up the climbing sections and stopping very little. We soon got to the point where we would cross the stream that feeds the Alluvial falls, and since we'd never ventured this high up in this area of the park, pics followed.



"Big Arms" for Linda


The steep terrain continued, but the dryness stopped abruptly when we crossed the 9200 foot elevation mark. Jill was optimistic about the snowpack level, and I was a bit pessimistic (I guessed 9k feet).



As we crested 10k feet, we were traveling along a spine which was pretty cool. The bad thing was that the skies were darkening, temps were dropping and we could tell a front was moving through. So you don't want to stop too long on the spine, especially when you glance over and see a smoked tree from a lighting strike...



We pressed on, enduring non-stop climbing end what seemed to be endless snowbanks. I ran ahead a couple of times to scout out, then called back to Jill on the radios. We had gone 3 miles of the 4.5 and didn't want to give up. Here Jill gives me the "not another climb look".



Shortly after cresting this climb, we ran into a flatter section. Of course, it was also completely snowed in with 3 feet of crunchy white snow blanketing the ground every direction. We followed some tracks and looked for the yellow tags on the trees, but we could tell we weren't going to get much further without snow shoes. So as I started postholing every step, I stopped turned around and grabbed one more picture of Jill trudging through the snow. We moved back to the flat area, ate our lunch then proceeded to zip back down the mountain moving rather quickly to avoid the cool temps and the storm that appeared to be very near.



We didn't hit our destination, but there just wasn't much we could do. We talked to another couple who had been up in the area trying to ice climb, and they warned of waist deep snow further ahead and that they ultimately abandoned hopes of climbing due to their inability to navigate the correction direction. Not exactly words of encouragement.

A good, tough hike regardless.

Weekend Adventures - Part 2

After our long day of being up before dawn and hiking to a lake at 11,000 feet, Jill & I were worn out. We grabbed some dinner in Grand Lake and headed back to the tent anxiously awaiting sunset so we could get some much needed sleep.

Things didn't go quite as planned as neither of us seemed to get much sleep for some reason. The funny part was every time that I woke up and looked over I thought Jill was sleeping soundly. And every time that Jill woke up she looked over and thought I was sleeping as well. I think we alternated tossing and turning at different times all night long.

Regardless, we got up just before sunrise. Our plan was to go hit Cascade Falls, which was about a 7 mile hike, but wasn't as severe of a climb. Unzipping the tent, we peered out to see a small group of elk about 30 yards from our tent. So we didn't sleep much, but waking up to the sites of RMNP was worth it after all.

The morning was cool and crisp, with fog in all the lower areas. We started down the hiking path and made it about a mile before Jill stopped and pointed out something in the field. About the same time she pointed the animal out, it noticed us and was on the move. We were about 1/8 mile from it, but it was quite clear that we had just seen a wolf. The animal was very large, much more so than a coyote, and it moved very quickly. I had no chance at getting a picture of this reclusive creature, which makes me appreciate how all these nature photographers can do it.

We had barely quit talking about how great it was to see a wolf before we stumbled upon our next wildlife find. Again, Jill pointed out a big black mass out in the field. As we neared and got a better angle, we realized it was a family of moose getting an early morning snack along a creek bed. They took note of use, but didn't seem to threatened as I got to within about 50 yards of them for some quick photos. Why didn't I bring my big lens again?



After the wolf and the moose encounter, I was sure that we'd finally see a black bear to complete the rarely seen animal trifecta. While we did stumble across a deer who barely moved until we got within 6 feet, but no bear was to be found. Perhaps they were still napping in the cool morning air.

We pushed on towards Cascade Falls cursing every small climb as we went. Our bodies were tired, but we could hear the falls so we knew we were near. Finally, we reached our destination and were very pleased to see Cascade Falls. Much bigger than I expected, especially this late in the season, we both agreed it was well worth the hike.









We spent an hour or so taking pictures, enjoying the views, and eating a snack before packing up and heading out. We passed a lot of hikers on the way back to the car, and we were both glad we had "traveled like old people" and hit the trails early. I've said it many times before, but to truly appreciate Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park, you've got to get out of the car and hike in to the sights, which is exactly what we've been doing.

We're entering the transition between Summer & Fall, which means the leaves will start to turn and the elk will start the bugling. And that means Jill & I will be up before dawn at RMNP again many more times in the coming months. When did I become a morning person?

Chasm Lake Hike - RMNP

Jill and I did a big hike (by our standards) up to Chasm Lake at the base of Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday. Its about a 9 mile route, starting at about 9500ft and climbing up to 11,800ft at Chasm Lake. We got there early, but the parking lot was already jammed with people who were climbing Long's Peak, and had been there since 3 or 4 a.m.

We started about 8, and climbed steadily on the way up stopping to take pics at various places. It wasn't too long before we got above the tree line and were presented with some great views of Long's and Mt. Meeker. We reached Chasm Lake, sat down and had a splendid lunch while taking it all in. After some more photos, we headed back down to the car to call it a day.

Words do this place no justice, and even the pictures don't come close to conveying the incredibly massive, rugged beauty of this place. RMNP's beauty cannot be appreciated by simply driving through in your car, its a park where you must give penance to be rewarded with its true beauty.

On to the pics (Click for more pics on pbase):

Columbine Falls

Columbine (CO State Flower) in front of a waterfall

Looking back towards Peacock Pool

Final approach to Chasm Lake

Chasm Lake & Long's Peak

Peacock Pool and Columbine Falls