a former gymnast with a neverending case of wanderlust
(This post was originally published back in 2019.) Bear Lake Trailhead to Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes is one of the first hikes Pat and I ever did in Rocky, way back when we were barely acclimated and still so new to exploring the park. It's a hike we've repeated at least half a dozen… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes
I've hiked in Glacier Gorge in the summer. I've also hiked in Glacier Gorge in the winter. A lot, in fact. Winter in Glacier Gorge is one of my favorite things in Rocky. And while I've published posts on Sky Pond in summer and Sky Pond in winter and Black Lake in summer and Black… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park: winter hiking in Glacier Gorge
In the years since we moved to Colorado, more than one person has told me that Lawn Lake is their favorite hike in Rocky. Obviously, I couldn’t ignore a recommendation of that caliber. And while it’s not #1 on my Rocky hikes list – Chasm Lake retains that designation – I can see why people… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Lawn and Crystal Lakes
Just seven days after waving goodbye to my mom as we began the drive back to Colorado, I was saying hello to her once again at the Denver airport. Just as our mother-daughter Montana roadtrip has become an annual tradition, so has our mother-daughter overnight backpacking trip in Rocky. This year, we had a permit… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Finch and Pear Lakes
I’m just going to come right out and say it: this might be the most underrated waterfall in Rocky. Given the deluge of rain we received in May and early June this year, I figured it would be an optimal time to hike to a waterfall. And boy, was it ever. Of course, we also… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Bridal Veil Falls
Pat and I haven’t had a lot of luck with Lake Helene. The first time, in August 2018, we began our hike under blue skies, but as soon as we sat down at Lake Helene to eat a snack it began to rain. Between the precipitation and the low-hanging clouds obscuring the mountains, it wasn’t… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Two Rivers Lake & Lake Helene
Up until June 2022, Lake Haiyaha looked like this. Image source On June 28, 2022, there was a rockslide on the mountainside above Lake Haiyaha. On this peaceful, sunny morning, a large section of the landscape broke free and began to tumble down Chaos Canyon. Rocks ranging in size from small pebbles to apartment-sized boulders… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Lake Haiyaha
You know how sometimes you’ve been wanting to do something for so long and you’ve built it up in your head, and then you finally get to do it and it’s not as amazing as you were hoping, and you end up being really disappointed? This was not that. It was, however, something I’d been… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Upper Glacier Gorge Lakes
The CCY Route – named for the three sequential summits of Mount Chapin, Mount Chiquita, and Ypsilon Mountain – is a pretty but challenging hike in the lesser-traveled Mummy Range of Rocky. Completing this hike means that you’ll bag three summits in one day. However, to do so you have to climb up and over… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: CCY Route
Chasm Lake is, hands down, the best hike in Rocky. I’ve hiked a lot of trails in the park over the past four years, and I keep waiting for another hike to come along and dethrone this one, but that has yet to happen. I’m fairly certain it never will. This past August was actually… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Chasm Lake… again
Handstands Around the World 