RMNP - Going with the Flow

[Tue 6/14 - Thu 6/16]

We're back at Coffee on the Rocks in Estes Park enjoying coffee and a breakfast sandwich at 8am. We've changed our plan a bit and, fortunately, all has worked out great. 

This place understands me

Tuesday morning, after stopping here for coffee and connectivity, we headed back into the park. Morning rain and clouds had kept us from our planned hike from Bear Lake Trailhead. Instead we hiked Deer Mountain Trail - a 6 mile, out-and-back hike with 1,400 ft of elevation gain - to the top of Deer Mountain. We had read it was a popular trail, so felt fortunate to get a parking spot near the trailhead when we pulled up around 11am. We hiked under clear skies while the storm system slowly lifted from the peaks to the south.

The trail was busy at the bottom but thinned out as we gained elevation. It was sunny but hold-onto-your-hat windy whenever we weren't protected by trees. There were several overlooks with great views of Longs Peak, Moraine Park and Estes Park. It was a great way to get oriented to the northeast corner of the park.

We're heading somewhere up there

Storm lifting from Longs

Ponderosa pines provided a nice break from the wind

The hike was a manageable challenge, with a steady incline before a take-your-breath-away stair climb to the summit at 10,013'. The views were worth it!

Continental Divide with Morraine Park in the foreground

"Merry Christmas from the Langes"

If it wasn't so windy, we would have had lunch on the rocks, soaking in the views. Instead, we decided to head down, keeping a brisk pace on the steady downhill. 

Heading back

We got back to the van, cleaned up a bit, then decided to drive through the northeast corner of the park, along Old Fall River Road. We had read this was a good spot for wildlife viewing. We stopped at a waterfall and spotted an elk eating lunch right next to the parking lot. Further down the road, we spotted a moose along a stream. There were several signs for 'Bighorn sheep crossing' but, unfortunately, we didn't see any.

Elk

Moose (in the foreground)

We got back to camp around 5:30, enjoyed happy hour and an amazing steak dinner next to the campfire. Cleaned up and climbed in the van around 9pm. 

I forgot to set an alarm so we 'overslept' until 6:45am. Had coffee and breakfast, loaded up our packs and rode our bikes to the park-and-ride, where we caught an 8am shuttle to Glacier Gorge Trailhead for the hike up to Mills Lake and on to Black Lake. 

It was clear, cold and windy as we started out. The trail was busy but not too crowded and, again, cleared out as we gained elevation. We had hiked the first portion of the trail on Monday, alongside Glacier Creek and several beautiful waterfalls. 

Glacier Creek

We started to hit patches of snow, but they were brief and manageable. After about 2.5mi, we arrived at beautiful Mills Lake (9,940'). 

Mills Lake (Black Lake in the bowl below those peaks in the distance)

After the lake, we passed through a marshy area, then began a steady climb up to Black Lake. We had heard this part of the trail had a lot of snow, but the ranger assured us we could get through with micro-spikes. We started to hit frequent patches of snow, put on our spikes, then hiked almost entirely through snow the rest of the way.

Elevated platform to get us through a marsh

Stream feeding Mills Lake

Snowy Trail

The last stretch up to Black Lake was steep and slippery, as the late-morning sun was starting to soften the snow. Plus the wind was blowing hard, making it slightly unnerving. It was a thrill to finally get up to the lake, 5.2mi from (and 1,480' above) our starting point.

Final climb; later learned there were stairs somewhere under that snow

Made it!

The lake is surrounded by several peaks - Powell (13,176'), McHenry's (13,242'), Chief's Head (13,521'), Longs (14,259) and Storm (13,321). We weren't sure which was which, but they sure were beautiful. The entire scene was so immense, we couldn't capture it in a single photo.

Chief's Head Peak (13,521') on the left and McHenry's Peak (13,242') on the right... (I think!) 

Still some ice on the lake

We were incredibly fortunate to have the entire lake to ourselves. We would have loved to linger over lunch, but the wind was howling and it was cold, so we headed back down.

Initial descent

Waterfall with sideways icicles due to wind

We made good time on the way down, although our legs were extra tired from climbing through the snow. We got back to the trailhead around 1:30pm, roundtrip around 10.5mi. Caught a bus back to the park-and-ride, biked back to camp, setup the hammocks and enjoyed a lovely afternoon nap. Happy hour and dinner (leftover chicken tikka masala and corn on the cob) by the fire. Cleaned up and in bed by 9pm, exhausted after a great day!

Up at 6:20am. Our original plan was to do another hike from Bear Lake today, but we feel like we've gotten a good taste of this area of the park and want to experience something new. So we packed up the van and headed into Estes Park for breakfast, connectivity and to take care of a couple errands. Now we're off to Ouzell Falls and Lake, on the eastern edge of RMNP. It's a gorgeous day, cloudless and the wind had died down. Hoping for a great hike!

On to Rocky Mountain National Park

[Sun 6/12 - Tue 6/14]

On the road around 10am. The drive from Cheyenne to Estes Park was quick (under 2hrs) and easy. The final stretch before arriving in town, along a winding river canyon, was gorgeous. Arriving in Estes Park, however, was a wake-up call as to how popular this area is - the streets were packed with bumper-to-bumper traffic at noon on a sunny Sunday. We headed to a packed Safeway to buy food for our next 5 days of camping. There were probably 75-100 people snaked through the store waiting to check-out!

A portion of the winding checkout lines!

Self-checkout moved relatively quickly and we packed up the coolers, then picked up a sandwich & salad at a roadside cafe before heading over to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, just outside the park entrance. We found a picnic table to enjoy lunch, then headed inside. Karri wanted to bounce our hiking plan off a park ranger to confirm trail conditions and make sure we weren't being too aggressive. The ranger was impressed with her research and endorsed all of her suggestions, gave us the latest trail conditions, then helped us prioritize our list. 

Back in the car, we headed for the park entrance, waited in a long line of cars for 20+min, then on to Cub Lake Trailhead for an easy-ish 5.5mi hike we chose as a warm-up to several days of hiking at elevation. 

Start of Cub Lake Trail

On the trail

Cub Lake

The hike was perfect - beautiful, not too strenuous and not very crowded. There were signs of a recent forest fire in the trees around the lilypad-covered lake.

We got back to the car around 5pm and made the short drive to Glacier Basin Campground, our home for the next 5 nights. Our site (A-12) is tiny but nice, with great views of nearby peaks. We quickly setup camp, enjoyed a cocktail and got working on warming up dinner - leftovers from our steak dinner in Cheyenne - delicious. 

Setting up camp

Steak salad and refried potatoes

We climbed into the van around 9pm under clear skies and a rising, near-full, moon. We were both tired and slept (pretty) well. Up at 5:45 for coffee and oatmeal, then biked to the nearby park-and-ride to catch a 7am shuttle up to the Bear Lake Trailhead.

The trailhead is a launch-point for some of the most popular trails in the park. We got there around 7:15 and the parking lot was already more than half full, with hikers milling around or waiting to use the restroom. We loaded up and headed out on the trail - a planned 8-mile loop to several mountain lakes (Bear, Nymph, Dream, Haiyaha, Glacier and more) and past Alberta Falls and Glacier Creek. 

The trail was crowded with a mix of hard-core hikers and families out for a mountain 'stroll'. The trailhead is at 9,400' and we quickly encountered patches of snow on the trail. We were thankful for our removable micro-spikes which gave extra traction on the melting snow (Karri, of course, had read that these are recommended!).

Bear Lake

Putting on micro-spikes to cross a snowy stretch of the trail

Dream Lake

Snow on trail near Emerald Lake

Frozen Emerald Lake

Dream Lake again; Haiyaha Lake up the slope to the right

Our toughest stretch was between Dream Lake and Haiyaha Lake, which had a steep, narrow switchback covered with deep snow. We passed a few hikers who had decided to turn back, but pressed on. It was sketchy at times but we're glad we did it. After about 1/2 mile, we hit a clearing and the trail was clear and dry again (for a while).

Couldn't have done this stretch without the micro-spikes

Trail is somewhere under that snow

Our reward for pressing on

River crossing

Snowy trail

Emerald waters of Lake Haiyaha

We stopped for lunch on large rock on the edge Lake Haiyaha (elevation 10,240'). I briefly contemplated a quick dip but instead opted to dip my toes in the ice-cold water.

We were drenched in afternoon sunlight for the final stretch of the hike back to the trailhead. The trail followed alongside the swollen Glacier Creek, with several beautiful waterfalls.

No snow here

Waterfall on Glacier Creek

In a cruel twist, the last half-mile of the trail was uphill, making us realize how tired our legs were. The hike ended up being just under 8 miles, as we skipped a short section that we plan to cover later in the week. We got back to the trailhead, caught a bus back to the park-and-ride, hopped on our bikes and made the short ride back to camp, arriving around 1:30pm. We were exhausted, hot and dust-covered, so decided to take a quick shower (with our invaluable portable shower) in a clump of trees next to camp. Then we setup our hammocks and each took a delightful afternoon nap in the shade.

Nappy time

We got up late-afternoon, had a beer and a light snack before getting organized and starting to prep for dinner.

Camp chef

We lit a campfire and enjoyed a delicious fireside dinner of chicken tikka masala with rice. We cleaned up, prepped our packs for Tuesday's hike, and climbed into bed around 8:30, exhausted.

We both slept well. Woke without an alarm at 5:50 and rose to overcast and threatening skies. We quickly made coffee and oatmeal, which we decided to eat in the van as the raindrops started to fall. Our plan for today was to do another hike from Bear Lake Trailhead but rainclouds made it clear that wasn't going to happen - at least not until the weather clears. So we packed up the van and drove back to Moraine Park in the hopes of seeing some wildlife (spotted an elk) and then out to Estes Park, for coffee, a pastry, and cell service. I wrote this post while Karri did some research on a revised plan for the day and some potential modifications to our plan for next week. 

The weather is clearing up. We're going to head back into the park and try the Deer Mountain trail.

No cell coverage at our camp so likely won't post again until Friday. 

On the Road - Montana and Wyoming

[Sat 6/11 - Sun 6/12]

Saturday was a driving day as we covered just over 700 miles between Anaconda, MT and Cheyenne, WY. The drive was beautiful and surprisingly easy, with very little traffic and 75- or 80-mph speed limits most of the way. We started with thick cloud cover, but quickly transitioned to puffy white clouds against a beautiful blue sky for the rest of the drive.

Snow-caps in the distance

Painted sky

Ribbon highway

We left Anaconda around 9am and rolled into Cheyenne around 7pm, checked into our hotel (Fairfield Inn - a convenient, clean and comfortable spot), cleaned up a bit, and headed to dinner at Wyoming's Rib and Chop House. We decided to splurge a bit on a nice steak dinner before 5 nights of camping in RMNP (not to suggest that we don't eat well in camp!). After dinner, we drove around Cheyenne for a bit before heading back to the hotel. It's a classic western town - reminded us both of our stop last year in Ogden, Utah - with wide streets, a fun looking bar/nightlife district, and lot's of shops selling antiques, western wear, outdoor gear, etc. Plus lot's of Jesus billboards...

Bring it in

We've only got a 2-hour drive to our campsite, so decided to have a relaxing morning. Slept in a bit, breakfast at the hotel, now both catching up on last-minute online activities (Karri researching hikes, me writing this post) while we've got solid internet.

We'll make the short drive to Estes Park, stock up on groceries, then head into the park. We're camping for the next 5 nights at Glacier Basin Campground, which Karri strategically reserved for its proximity to Bear Lake Trailhead - launch-point for some of the best hiking trails in the park (so we've read). After that, we have 2 nights at an inn near Estes Park, then 3 more nights of camping before we head to Denver and beyond.

We're not expecting much cell-coverage for the next 5 days, so posts may be sparse (or non-existent) until we get to the Inn on Fall River on Friday.

We're both very excited to explore the park. Hoping we did enough conditioning to handle some challenging hikes, and that we're not adversely impacted by the elevation - our campsite is at 8,500' and most of our planned hikes go up from there. We'll see...

Next Adventure!

[Fri 6/10 - Sat 6/11]

We're back on the road - destination Rocky Mountain National Park! Left Seattle Friday around noon after a minor hiccup with the van ('check engine' light which turned out to be a false alarm). We've been planning this trip for months, but hadn't decided on our exact route to get there. Once we got on the road, Karri did some quick research and we decided to take the northern route - I-90 through Washington, the Idaho Panhandle, southwestern Montana, and Wyoming. We've driven the I-90 stretch several times, but have never driven the stretch from Billings down through Wyoming. We're excited to explore a new route.

Pulling out of the driveway

We covered about 600 miles on the first day, stopping for the night in Anaconda, MT. Anaconda is an old copper mining town, home to one of the tallest free-standing brick structures in the world - a 585' tall smokestack from an old copper smelter. When we checked into the Forge Hotel, the receptionist told us we had a 'view' room... 

The view from our room in Anaconda - you can make out the base of the smokestack left of center

Main Street in Anaconda - tons of old town character

Up at 8 (Mountain Time), breakfast at the hotel and on the road at 9. We're planning to drive about 700 miles today to Cheyenne, WY. Overcast skies with some sunshine. Enjoying the Montana scenery as I type this post from the the passenger seat!

Snow-capped peaks in the distance