Rocky Mountain National Park
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Lumpy Ridge Loop
Calling anything “lumpy” is… well, usually not intended as a compliment. But in this case it’s an apt description of the haphazard rock ridge rising above the northern edge of Estes Park, Colorado. Nestled within a low spot amongst the rocks is Gem Lake, the first hike my fiance and I did when we moved… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: North Inlet Trail to Lakes Nokoni and Nanita
Sometimes, you just need a break from reality for a few days. And what better way to escape than with a weekend in the mountains? My fiance, our friend K, and I arrived at the trailhead around 8:00am Saturday morning and right off the bat, things got interesting. We were at the car, making final… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: East Inlet Trail to Lake Verna and Spirit Lake
A while back, my mom and I were signed up for a summer solstice group backpacking trip on East Inlet Trail, with Lake Verna and Spirit Lake as our ultimate destination. Unfortunately, the first day of summer was marked by a massive snowstorm that forced a last-minute change of plans. Fast forward a couple years,… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Flattop Mountain and Hallett Peak
It was a long time coming, but this was the year my friend C and I finally stood atop Hallett Peak! I don’t remember when we originally decided we wanted to do this hike, but it was a while ago. The first time we made plans for it, C had to cancel. The second time,… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Sandbeach Lake
In Colorado, one can find sand in the most unexpected and/or unusual locations. Much like the aftermath of a day at the beach. Case in point: Great Sand Dunes National Park. Case in point #2: Sandbeach Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Estes Cone
Estes Cone was not plan A for Chelsea and me on this particular weekend. But April and May in Colorado are part of what Coloradans call the “spring of deception.” No matter how warm and sunny it is, no matter how many days in a row the nice weather endures, make no mistake: it’s not… Continue reading
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A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day of skiing
Since moving to Colorado, we have managed to go cross-country skiing about once a year. I wish we could go more often, but we don’t have our own gear (yet). Fortunately, there’s a place not too far away that rents gear for a decent price, and there are some trails in the mountains that are… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Black Lake (the winter version)
Exactly one week after hiking to Sky Pond in the winter – my last hike of the year – I found myself back at Glacier Gorge trailhead, this time with a friend, for my first hike of the new year! We were fighting cold gusty winds as we readied ourselves to head up the other… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Sky Pond (the winter version)
Frozen alpine lakes have become one of my favorite things since moving to Colorado. I just love the icy winter scenery so much. It’s already become an annual thing for us to hike to some of the more easily accessible lakes in Rocky every winter. But this winter, my friend and I had a more… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Deer Mountain
It’s not every day that you hike a trail and find yourself nearly face-to-face with its namesake animal. But such was the case on Deer Mountain. (Better than coming face-to-face with a bear on Bear Peak, I suppose.) There were four of them, and they couldn’t have been more than 15 feet (4.5 m) away.… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Twin Sisters Peak
2020 was a rough year for all of us, Rocky included. First, the park was closed for weeks in the spring due to the pandemic. Then it closed again for 15 days in October and November due to forest fires. In all, nearly 30,000 acres of the park burned. It was absolutely devastating to watch… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Lion and Snowbank Lakes
We could stay in Colorado for the rest of our lives (personally, I have few objections to this!) and probably never run out of places to backpack in Rocky. There are so many options. I haven’t actually counted, but I’m fairly certain that at least ¾ of the trails in the park extend more than… Continue reading
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Colorado Summits: Lily Mountain
Due to the pandemic, entrance into Rocky Mountain National Park was a little more complicated in 2020. In addition to a fee or pass, one needed to reserve a timed entry permit. This allowed the park to reduce the number of visitors and spread them evenly throughout the day to better facilitate social distancing. Plenty… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Mount Ida
Summiting Mount Ida turned out to be a ‘third time is the charm’ situation for us. We wanted to climb it our first summer in Colorado, but forest fire smoke severely limited visibility for much of the summer and we weren’t about to walk along the Continental Divide and not be able to see anything.… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Bierstadt Lake
The first time we did this hike, I hated it. In retrospect, I may have overreacted. It’s not my favorite hike in Rocky, but it’s still pretty nice. I’m sure the fact that I was asking my tired legs – which had hiked 10 miles (16 km) the day before – to climb a bunch… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Thunder Lake
Obtaining a backcountry permit for Rocky requires similar levels of intensity as many Colorado hiking feats, including summiting a 14er or finding parking at a trailhead or snagging a front country campsite anywhere during the summer. Permits become available each year on March 1st at 8:00am MST. So on March 1st at 7:59am, I was… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Chasm Lake
I’m sure my opinion will change as we explore more of Rocky but, so far, Chasm Lake is my absolute favorite hike in the park! I’ve done this hike twice; first with a friend in late August two summers back, and second with my mom at the end of last June. Chasm Lake shares a… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Mills, Jewel, and Black Lakes
What strange times these are. I don’t know about you all, but I’m definitely missing the mountains and my usual weekend warrior adventure schedule. I know I’m doing a lot of vicarious living right now through everyone else’s adventure posts, and I hope that I can provide the same for all of you. I have… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: winter at Lake Haiyaha
This is one of the few hikes in Rocky that I actually completed in the winter first, and this experience really emphasized the fact that everything looks so different beneath the summer sun than it does covered in snow. I’d never done much winter hiking before moving to Colorado but I learned quickly that winter… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Sky Pond
Ask someone from Colorado what the must-do hike is in Rocky Mountain and many will probably say Sky Pond. The jagged mountain ridge lines above this high mountain lake are pretty iconic. And it’s just a neat hike. Plus, you pass by two waterfalls and two lakes along the way. It’s a lot of bang… Continue reading
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