Handstands Around the World

Just seven days after waving goodbye to my mom, I was saying hello to her once again.

Just as our mother-daughter roadtrip has become an annual tradition, so has our mother-daughter overnight backpacking trip in Rocky. This year, we had a permit for one night at Finch Lake, a calm, fairly shallow lake located in the southeastern Wild Basin portion of the park.

We were greeted at the trailhead by a volunteer who asked us if we’d left any food items in our car – which we did, we’d been drinking tea out of thermoses on the drive – and warned us we should instead place them in the bear boxes. Apparently, there have been more bear sightings than normal in Wild Basin this year, with one camper reporting that his campsite got torn up when he wasn’t there (though I haven’t been able to confirm this story).

That’s always the kind of thing I love to hear as I’m getting ready to spend a night in the backcountry.

So we secured our items in the bear box and then set off on the Wild Basin Trail with our heads on swivel while maintaining a fairly constant conversation to warn any wildlife of our presence.

The first section of the Wild Basin Trail is one I’ve hiked at least three times, as it’s the gateway to most of the lakes in the basin. But this time, when we reached the first junction, we turned left.

The annoying thing about this hike is that, at this point, the trail proceeds to double back on itself. We spent the next 1.3 miles (2.1 km) hiking in the complete opposite direction, getting further and further from Finch and Pear Lakes with each step. Granted, we were now nearly 1000 vertical feet (305 m) above where we’d started, but I really wish the trail took a more direct route to the lakes. Maybe the terrain is impassable. I’m not sure. But it’s annoying.

The scenery, at least, is decent at times.

Eventually, we reached a four-way junction, which is hilariously labeled “Confusion Junction” on the Colorado trail map I’m currently looking at. It’s not an incorrect name, though the signage helped a little. The Finch Lake Trail doubles back on itself yet again here, so you’ll want to take what is essentially a hairpin turn to the right. This will put you on the path to the lakes.

From this point, it’s only about 2 miles (3.2 km) and 400 vertical feet (122 m) to Finch Lake. Which doesn’t seem that bad, until you look more closely and realize that you actually have to gain about 600 feet (185 m) before losing 200 of them (60 m) on the final descent to Finch Lake.

“This is going to be fun to climb up tomorrow morning,” my mom observed sarcastically.

She wasn’t wrong.

There are two campsites at Finch Lake and both were empty when we arrived. We chose the right one, as it was a bit larger and more open, and slightly farther from the privy. My mom kept getting lost on her way back from the privy (you could see a bit of our tent as you sat on the toilet, it wasn’t that far 🤣) so perhaps we should have chosen the closer one.

As it turned out, the second site never filled. Permits for backcountry sites sell out in a matter of minutes every year, and unclaimed permits are available for last minute walk-up reservations, so the fact that the site remained empty was unexpected. After the sinister bear warning we’d received, it was more than a little unnerving to be back there all alone.

I also always prefer to camp near flowing water, which will drown out any other noise. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. But this site had neither water nor wind, making for an eerily quiet night. Needless to say, we both slept terribly.

Thankfully, we did not see or hear any bears.

But anyway. Finch Lake itself, honestly, isn’t that great. I mean, it’s fine. But by Rocky standards, it’s certainly nothing special.

Luckily, Pear Lake is better.

From Finch Lake, the trail continues approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) and 500 vertical feet (150 m) to Pear Lake. It’s not an overly challenging nor noteworthy hike. When the trail crosses Pear Creek, you know you’re getting close. From here, it’s one final climb through a krummholz-esque forest to a view of Pear Lake.

A vague path continues along one shore, but we opted to stay here at the end and enjoy the view. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize at the time that all my photos of Pear Lake had sun streaks in them, so I apologize for the subpar quality.

The wind was blowing right in our faces at the lake, so we didn’t stay too long before retracing our steps back to Finch Lake and our campsite. Our plan was to take our chairs down to the shore and relax with our feet in the water for a while before dinner. As it turns out, though, the accessible portion of the shore is far too marshy for that. So instead we set up our chairs a little ways back and enjoyed a slightly obstructed view for a while before giving up and heading back to our site for a night of hoping no bears stopped by.

We stopped by the lake one more time in the morning on the way out, the main purpose being to top off our water bottles, and we ended up at the water’s edge at exactly the right time to witness a neat phenomenon I’ve never seen before. You can see the footage in the short video below.

And then we set about regaining that 200 feet (60 m) we’d lost yesterday afternoon, which is a fairly effective way to wake yourself up in the morning, especially when you hardly slept the night before. Fortunately the hike is almost all downhill after this point, so it was just a matter of forcing our tired brains and bodies to watch where we were going as we made our way down this rocky trail.

All in all, this is probably my least favorite of my Rocky backpacking trips, I think due to the combination of the ominous (and not entirely warranted, in my opinion) bear warnings and lackluster lake and campsite.

Nonetheless, my mom and I always have a good time together, and it was nice to have another mother-daughter backpacking trip in the books.

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Up next: backpacking to Lawn and Crystal Lakes in RMNP

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The Important Stuff:

• Getting there: there are two access points for this trail; the main Wild Basin trailhead at the end of Wild Basin Road and the Finch Lake trailhead, which is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the end of the road. We thought about starting at one and ending at the other but ultimately decided to just stick with Wild Basin trailhead. It was slightly longer but less steep and, from what we’re told, slightly more scenic.

• Fees and passes: there is a $30/car daily or $35/car weekly entrance fee to RMNP; America the Beautiful passes are accepted. From May-Oct, if you arrive between 9:00am-2:00pm you will also need a timed entry permit to access this trailhead if you plan to day hike or a backcountry permit if you plan to backpack.

• Permits: backpacking in Rocky requires a backcountry permit. Permits can be reserved in advance (recommended, as they are highly competitive) or you can try your luck with a walk-up permit on the morning of your hike. Permits are site-specific and cost $36 (this is in addition to the park entry fee). There are a handful of campsites along this trail, including individual and group/stock sites at Finch Lake, two sites (called Pear Creek) just before Pear Lake, and one site at Pear Lake.

• Hiking: roundtrip distance to Finch Lake from the Wild Basin trailhead was 11.3 miles (18.2 km) with 1750 feet (535 m) elevation gain. Add 4.4 miles (7 km) and 790 feet (240 m) for Pear Lake.

• Other: hard-sided bear canisters are REQUIRED for all overnight stays in Rocky. Canisters should contain all food, toiletries, sunscreen, garbage, and any other scented items except DEET, must be closed all the way when not in use, and be placed at least 70 adult steps away from your tent when you’re not at your site.

For more information, see my posts on visiting Rocky Mountain National Park and backpacking.