In July, I was fortunate enough to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and was joined by my two good friends, George and Sandy. It was my first trip since the outbreak and I was grateful for their friendship and for their willingness to travel during these extraordinary times.
We “Three Amigos” found most people in Colorado were highly observant of social distancing, mask-wearing and other pandemic precautions, even during our trail hikes. Both outdoors and indoors, I was very pleased to find people practicing the same disciplines that have been working so well here in Toronto, Canada.
Among our many activities and adventures, we managed to complete 4 hikes, each one progressively more challenging. Our ultimate challenge: the summit of Mount Elbert, Colorado’s highpoint.
Here are our 4 hiking adventures:
Hike #1 – Ouzel Falls via Wild Basin Trailhead
On the way to Ouzel Falls (left) and “Dipper Pete“
We chose our first hike to be the 3-mile hike to Ouzel Falls from the Wild Basin Trailhead for two reasons. First, this hike involved less than 900 feet of elevation gain, yet took us from an elevation of 8,500 to nearly 9,400 feet, which was a non-stressful way for George and me to transition from seafarers to mountain men. Second, this hike is renowned for its deep forest scenery as the trail winds alongside a rushing stream with views of Copeland Falls and Calypso Cascades along the way.
Fun Fact: The 40-foot Ouzel Falls is impressive but did you know that the falls are named after the water ouzel, aka the American Dipper? The Dipper is known for not only bobbing its head into the water in search for food but also diving down to depths of 20 feet. It has an extra eyelid to help it see underwater.
The experience was all that we hoped. We arrived mid-afternoon and enjoyed warm, dry and sunny Colorado weather. The major fires of late summer 2020 had not yet erupted. Shortly after the photo of me was taken, I slipped off an unstable rock into the water – and became the unintentional Dipper!
Hike #2 – Sky Pond
We selected this hike as our next acclimatizing step, as it would take us from 9,175 to nearly 11,000 feet, an elevation gain of about 1,800 feet over a distance of 4.2 miles. Not too tough but a step up from the day before. Equally important, the hike offers great variety and beauty: a stream, three lakes, two waterfalls; forest and alpine terrain; and a scramble up a rock outcropping.
Beautiful it was! I particularly enjoyed our lunch spot atop an overlook of Sky Pond with a mountain ridgeline towering behind. Equally dramatic was the waterfall coming off of Sky Pond, with a huge “snow sculpture” underneath.
Tip: We learned the hard way that the early bird gets the worm. The two very popular trailheads accessing this hike were both full at 6:30am when we arrived. We had thought that because RMNP was imposing access restrictions to limit car traffic to those with pre-purchased passes, there would not be a parking issue. Wrong! But we did find a parking spot at a less popular trailhead, which turned our 8.5mile hike into an 11-miler.
Hike #3 – The Continental Divide atop Flattop Mountain
My body was achy and unhappy with me at dawn the next morning as we prepared for our final hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. Flattop Mountain, a 6-hour, 8.5 mile round-tripper with vertical rise of nearly 3,000 feet. Its flat summit at 12,326 feet straddles the Continental Divide. The final third of this hike is entirely above the timberline so an early start is key in order to be out of harms’ way before the typical summer afternoon thunderstorms roll in. I chose this hike in part because of the appeal of standing atop the Continental Divide where rainwater flows either west to the Pacific or east to the Atlantic. Still, I don’t like arising at dawn!
The hike offered tremendous view off its high ridgeline of Dream Lake and Emerald Lake nearly a thousand feet below us. We enjoyed close-ups of mother ptarmigan and chicks, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots and a deer. And we came across all sorts of Colorado wildflowers, including a white and lavender stunner, the Columbine, Colorado’s state flower.
Mother Ptarmigan and chick (left) and Columbine, Colorado’s state flower (right)
On top, we had tremendous 360 views of east RMNP and beyond as well as of west RMNP with the Colorado River and Grand Lake in the far distance. George proposed we head across the ridge to summit the neighboring Hallett Peak, but I was pretty tired and Sandy observed some distant clouds looking like trouble, so we passed. In hindsight, that might have been a good decision as we found ourselves pelted with hail an hour or so later on our way down. I was struck by how precipitously the temperature can plummet in foul weather.
Hike #4 – Mount Elbert, Highpoint of Colorado, 14,433 feet
“Why?!” is what I ask myself at 5:30 AM the next morning as I looked up at Mount Elbert.
From the north trailhead, it is nearly 4,500 vertical feet to the summit. Round-trip, it’s a 9-mile “adventure”. The summit ridge is long and entirely above the timberline. You don’t want to be up there in any dicey afternoon weather. On the bright side, the ascent does not involve anything technical in the way of climbing or scrambling; just the ability to ascend, and ascend, and ascend.
As we set off from the trailhead, Sandy noted it was 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2°C). I was carrying over 3 litres of water, too many trail bars to count, and a stick of salami because George made me. And me wearing numerous layers of clothes including ski mittens because Sandy made me. I felt like a cross between a pack mule and a polar explorer. I’m sure I looked swell.
After a few hours, we were above the timberline and not too long after that it got steeper. It became clearer that George and Sandy are in much better aerobic shape than this old dog. Fortunately, they were patient, and I did keep moving and ascending and ascending. Somewhere around 14K feet, I began to count off every 200 steps and would then stop to catch my breath. Repeat and repeat. At least the weather was cooperating: it was a bluebird day, I noticed through my sweat.
Finally…the summit!
Finally at about 10 AM, 4 ½ hours after our start, we found ourselves on the summit! We ate lunch. I drank another ½ litre of water and began to feel better. I considered whether I was ready for Everest.
Fortunately, the 4,500 vertical descent cured me of any such grandiose thoughts of Everest. Even with trekking poles, you really feel it in the knees. I recalled how I felt the day I descended 9,000 feet coming down Kilimanjaro. I had conveniently forgotten that pain. Alas, Everest will have to await a future life.
Needless to say I slept well that night. But, no matter what hikes you attempt make sure you have a plan, take provisions, take extra things like a hat and gloves (just in case), have at least one buddy (fortunately, I had two) and most importantly take the time to acclimatize yourself both mentally and physically for the challenges ahead.
Let’s get out there and Carpe Diem!
Peter
Hi Peter – Great, complete launch of the website – very professional. Pictures are fun! Can’t wait for it to be filled up with many more itineraries. You may need to consider retiring sooner rather than later so that you can get on with it! George