Too Many New Posts!

I can't believe it! I've posted a bunch of new posts today. But Blogger isn't putting them on one page. (!) WHEN YOU GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE, Select OLDER POSTS to more! Go all the way till you get to the post about the North Pole!

Rocky Mountain National Park... Again!

I can see why John Denver wrote songs about this place. Click on the pics to see higher-res versions. Photos can't capture the majesty and magnificence of this park. When you leave the roads, the parking lots, and the people -- and get out into the wilderness -- the solitude is so refreshing it is indescribable. The harder a place is to get to, the fewer people there. So I head for places that are hart to get to. And I'm rewarded by solitude. Several times on the three days I spent in this park, I went hours without seeing another person. Heaven. I take the hikes slow and easy. Some people would say I don't really hike, I merely amble and mosey. Sure, it takes several hours to go only a couple of miles. But hey, it is relaxing -- which is why I come here. And by going slow and easy, I get to see LOTS of wildlife which other people never see.

The weather was perfect! Brilliant sunshine and blue sky makes for nice photographs.

This looks like last year (it's the same place, and probably the same shirt!). But rest assured, all these pictures were taken this year.

Be sure to click on the photos to see the big pictures. If you want some high-resolution copies, just let me know. I've got about 200 photos in high-res, ready to copy to a DVD when I get back home.

Bear Lake: Popular means People

Bear Lake is the most photographed lake in the park, not only because it is so beautiful, but because it is so easy to get to. Bear Lake is generally crowded.

Bear Lake is the starting point for a lot of my favorite hikes. In addition, there is an easy, almost perfectly-flat, one mile trail which encircles Bear Lake, and which almost always has people on it somewhere.

But it is definitely beautiful.

Some people don't follow the rules and feed the wildlife. Any place that has lots of people also has some beggars asking for a handout.

Nymph and Dream Lakes: Postcard Lakes

Staring at Bear Lake, a number of trails take off into the wilderness. One of my favorites is the trail leading to the three "postcard" lakes, so called because they appear on a lot of postcards and publicity pictures advertising the Rocky Mountains. From Bear Lake, you take a trial up a fairly stiff uphill walk about three quarters of a mile. At the top of the climb where the trail levels out is the smallest of the three lakes: Nymph Lake. From Nymph, the trail goes another three-quarters of a mile or so, with level stretches interspersed with more climbing.

Out in the open, you can get a clear shot of Long's Peak.

The scenery is gorgeous, no pun intended.

Finally, you get to the second lake: Dream Lake. This one is probably the prettiest of the three. This year, there were some snow banks here and there the last quarter mile to Dream Lake, but the trail was easily passable.

The trail skirts around Dream Lake to the north.

The lake is chock full of speckled trout, cut-throat trout, etc. You can see them from almost everywhere along the shoreline in the clear water.

Rocky Mountain Lake Scenery. Aaaahhhh... heaven.

The trail continues on past Dream Lake, the final three-quarters of a mile to Emerald Lake.

Emerald Lake: Treeline at the Foot of Hallett Peak

The third and last of the "postcard" lakes is Emerald Lake, at the end of the trail. It lies at the foot of Hallett Peak, so close that you can't get the lake and Hallett Peak in the same frame of your photograph without a superwide angle lens. Lots of snow and ice way up here.

Here's Hallett Peak.

Mills Lake, The Loch, and Timberline Falls

Mills Lake is a great hiking destination. So is The Loch. I've been to Mills Lake before, but hadn't been to The Loch before this trip. Reports all say The Loch is one of the most beautiful lakes on the park. Both Mills Lake and The Loch share the first three miles of trail: the Glacier Gorge Trail. Most hikers either go to Mills Lake or The Loch, but not both. I was in an ambitious mood this particular trip, and so I hiked first to Mills Lake, then turned around and came back to the junction and took the other fork, hiking up to the Loch. I was actually hoping to go all the way up past the Loch, to Timberline Falls and on to Sky Pond, but alas... too much snow and ice. Here is Mills Lake. This is true classic Rocky Mountain High Lake scenery at its finest. That is long's peak on the left, the highest point in the park, at well over 14,000 feet. You will notice that this lake is at the tree line, which is about 11, 000 feet. Be sure to click on the pic and see the larger version. I hiked the mile or so back down to the junction, and then took the other trail up to The Loch. I had no idea the trail to The Loch was so steep. It followed a loooong and steep gorge almost straight up for almost a mile. Click on this pic and get an idea of how far UP this gorge goes. WAY up. At the top is The Loch. Everyone had said how pretty The Loch is, but I personally like several other lakes quite a bit better. The Loch was up in the snow and ice zone. The sun shining on me allowed me to be comfortable even in a short-sleeve shirt. I hiked past The Loch, up to Timberline Falls (on the far side of The Loch and about 500 feet higher up). I spent 15 minutes walking a half mile past The Loch. But then I began to encounter solid masses of deep snow -- several feet deep -- and the going got real, real slow. I spent an hour going less than a quarter mile plodding through the snow, ice, and slush. As I approached the base of Timberline Falls, I saw people coming back down, slipping and sliding down the steep icy trail, falling, scaping their knees, shins, etc. Several of them were bloody. I decided to throw in the towel. Oh, well. There's always next year. The day was long, and I was tired by the time I got back to the car.

Sprague Lake

Sprague Lake, easy to get to, easy to walk around. Just about sunset, too. Nice.

Normally this lake is crowded, but this late in the day, I had the place to myself. There was one guy fishing at the opposite end of the lake.

Hollowell Park to Cub Lake

Definitely my most ambitious hike yet. Well over ten miles, well over 2000 feet of elevation change, this hike took me from 8:30 in the morning until after 7 pm. Yes, that's pretty darn slow. But I took it slow and easy, ambled along, took almost an hour for lunch, and another hour at cub lake. I started out at Hollowell Park, elevation around 8400 feet. Nice gentle upslope walk. Uphill. And up, and up. Way up. Way, way, way up. The rise is steady but gentle, uphill for almost four miles. I saw several other hikers in the first two miles. Then the trail splits, one way going up south to Bierstadt lake and Bear Lake, and the other going up north to Cub Lake. I went north, and didnt' see another person for the next six hours. The trail kept going up, but the rise was gentle enough. You finally reach the top, somewhere around 10,500 feet, in a saddle between Steep Mountain and Mount Wuh. No joke, those are the names of the peaks on each side. This is HIGH. At the top is where I stopped for lunch. Nice views. Over the ridge, the trail starts downhill, and wow, does it get steep. I would never be able to make the trip the other way. It is almost a climb down, way down, way way down. You drop probably 700 feet in less than a mile. It is STEEP down. About two-thirds of the way down, you finally begin to see Cub Lake below.

Cub Lake is gorgeous. This is the lake that I walked completely around two years ago, without realizing that the trail only goes along one side. I found myself bushwacking for about half a mile along the marshy shoreline.

I spent about an hour just relaxing on the shore. I had the whole lake to myself for quite a while.

All good things must come to an end. I finally left and walked the final three miles back to the Cub Lake Trailhead, and caught the park shuttlebus back to the parking lot at Hollowell Park. Great day. Fantastic day.