Ahhh! Rocky Mountain high...Colorado! We've made it to "high" country. John Denver got it right! Incredible mountains. Crisp waterfalls. Cool weather. Clear skies. Clean air.
Rocky Mountain National Park was established in 1915 to protect and preserve 416 square miles of some of the earth's most spectacular mountain scenery. It is home of 72 named peaks of 12,000' or more the tallest being Long's Peak which tops out at 14,259'. Bordering the western most edge of the Park is a mountain range with an appropriate name - Never Summer Mountains!
Getting to the "high" country wasn't particularly easy. We entered the park from the southwest via Hwy 34. The Trail Ridge Road is a twisty, windy road with numerous hairpin turns. It is the highest major road in North America topping out at 12,183 feet above sea level. On top of that...the Recovery money that our government has offered up is going into road construction. Most of the climb to the summit was on a one lane road with several construction traffic delays.
Mental note to self: next visit...enter Rocky from Estes Park!
Once we reached the Alpine Visitor Center at the summit of the Trail Ridge Road, the views were incredible. The air was a bit thin at 12,000 feet...but we weren't planning on hiking in the tundra. Our first order of business is to locate a place to stay!
The Tundra is an amazing landscape. Trees do not grow above 11,500'. Not much does grow here except the heartiest of plants and animals. The average temperature hovers around freezing. (It was a balmy 43 when we reached the summit.) Winds up to 100 mph regularly blast the mountaintops.
Rocky Mountain National Park is the protector of the largest expanse of accessible alpine tundra in the US with 11 miles of roadway that allows visitors to get out of their vehicles and experience the rarefied air of this arctic-like landscape.
Our first "critter sighting" in the Rockies is the cuddly little Yellow Bellied Marmot. We encountered this fellow at the Lava Cliffs turnout just east of the Alpine Visitor Center. To survive the harshness of this altitude, these furry creatures hibernate for most of the year. They come out in the late spring...pile on the fat nearly doubling their size...then its nap time for the next 8 months.
We were fortunate to find a campsite here in the Rockies. Most all of the campgrounds in Rocky Mtn National Park are "reservations only" and we being wanderers sans ressies...had none. We pulled up to the Reservations Booth at Aspenglen Campground and asked Linda, the Campground Host, if there was anything available. To our good fortune campsite #C-28 was not reserved for the next two days. We grabbed it and set up the Hob.
Camping quickly became the true highlight of our National Park journey. And one of the best moments of the camping experience was breakfast. Now we seldom eat bacon at home...but at 8,200', crispy bacon and hotcakes cooked in the bacon grease cannot be beat!
I had brought an alarm clock with us on our Trek to make sure we were up at the crack of dawn as to not be late for our daily hikes. Not necessary! Every morning beginning at about 5am...the local bird population began singing to one another. Loudly singing to one another! Consequently, each morning we were serenaded by the chorus of our feathered friends reminding us to get up out of our bags and enjoy the day!
On our way back to the Hob, we encountered a "Bighorn Sheep Crossing". The Ranger who was close by mentioned that this sight is very rare and we happened upon it at just the right time.
There were at least a dozen female Bighorns prancing across the roadway on their way down to the meadow below.
Critter sighting #3
The following morning, we were again treated to another "rare sight". Not only were the dozen or so female Bighorns grazing just off the road...but their male counterparts were close at hand as well!
The Bighorn Sheep is the official mammal for the state of Colorado and is symbolic of the Rockies. These sure-footed creatures typically hang out in the granite slopes of the high country yet today they came down to pose for us humans!
As we entered the Aspenglen Campground, we were treated to the roaring sound of this Fall River waterfall. Each night in the Hob, when all campers (and birds) had finally gone to sleep and the campground was still, we could hear the constant roar of the Fall River not far in the distance. A most pleasant sound in which to drift off into dreamland.
June 17th. Yep...the birds did their job - the Early Morning Orchestra was right on schedule! We were up at the crack 'o dawn...ate our 'cakes and bacon...brewed up a pot of Snake River Coffee...and headed off for the Trails! Today's trek will be a 9 mile loop beginning at Bear Lake. From there we will ascend up to Nymph, Dream and Emerald Lakes before making our final climb to the lofty Lake Haiyaha (pronounced Hi-ya-ha). Bear Lake is at a lofty 9,475 elevation. At Haiyaha, we will have climbed to 10,220 feet.
As we both found out early in the Trek, at this elevation the air is really thin! And beautifully crisp! We thought we'd adapted to the higher elevations having been hovering around the 6-8000' level at the past 5 Park visits. But we found out quickly that at 10k...the breathing becomes much more of a chore! The really good news is that at this elevation...the crowds are as thin as the air! After leaving Emerald Lake, we saw but only a handful of hikers on our way up to Haiyaha.
This glacier fed lake was the third lake we visited on our Trek. The shores are adorned with gorgeous granite boulders, Douglas Fir, Ponderosa, Aspen and Engelmann Spruce. Many spots along the trail are still covered by snow.
We "summited" Lake Haiyaha around noon. The wind was blowing fiercely. We took a quick look at this spectacular sight, snapped a few pix and then retreated behind a large granite boulder to rest and eat our lunch.
The Elk are everywhere! In fact, so plentiful are these beasts that Rocky Mountain is becoming overcrowded with Elk. The Elk population hangs out primarily in the meadows where the grasses grow tall and sweet. The Mule Deer, however, are frequent visitors in the campground.
Bear warnings were everywhere and we were instructed each evening by the Rangers to keep all foods locked up in our vehicle at night. Mr. Ranger suggested we store all lotions, deodorant, perfume...anything with a fragrance...in the car as the bears have a very keen sense of smell and a curiosity about them. A few days earlier, a camper left some salt in his tent. Returned from his hike and found the tent shredded by the Bear who had found the salty substance inside!
Alberta Falls
The 2.1 mile trail down from Lake Haiyaha to Alberta Falls is quite primitive. No cairns (a pile of stones marking a trail) to keep you on track and plenty of snow in which to disguise the path. Throughout our Trek, I let Terry lead the way, hiking at her pace (which didn't set any land speed records! However...much to my delight...the more we hiked, the quicker her pace became!)
"Terry...where are you going?" I had to ask on several occasions as she frequently took the wrong turn! Back on track and descending at a leisurely pace, we passed but 5 other hikers on this section of the trail. The peaceful serenity of back country hiking is a religious experience for me. The mountains, the lakes, the streams, the trees and the critters are my connection to the natural world. So much different than city life. A much slower pace. No hustle-bustle. No traffic. No news! No hot shower!
Hmm. The hot shower is something that I do appreciate about city life! Yet that isn't going to happen for a few more days. Terry to the rescue! She has found a solution! Boil up a pot of hot water on the Coleman. Take it into the Hob. Strip down naked as jaybirds while giggling like school kids...and begin to sponge the trail dust off our aromatic bodies!
I'm casually mopping up the sweat from my feet and lower limbs with the warmth of the washcloth working my way upstream when Terry shrieks, "don't even think about washing your butt with that cloth before I wash my face!" I surrender the cloth and she finishes her HobBath...refreshed and ready for dinner.
Another mental note to self: When camping at high altitude...NEVER feed your spouse chili! I mean NEVER! At this altitude, a single bowl of Chili was all it took to get the oxygen masks to drop from the top of the tent!
June 18th. We'd like to stay another day or two here at Rocky Mountain...but it's Father's Day weekend and all the campsites are spoken for. Alas, we must depart this majestic mountain and head down the hill toward our next destination - Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Happy Trails friends!
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