rmnp winter
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Chasm Lake (the winter version)
I’ve wanted to see Chasm Lake in the winter pretty much since the moment I first laid eyes on it. That was in the summer, nearly eight years ago. Since then, I’ve made two summertime return trips. But I’d never made it there in the winter, mostly due to the fact that one section of… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park: winter hiking in Glacier Gorge
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
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Two Rivers Lake & Lake Helene
We haven’t had a lot of luck with this hike. The first time, 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 very enjoyable and we couldn’t… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Cub Lake
The Cub Lake trail is one we neglected for years. It wasn’t intentional. It just never seemed to be at the top of my list. In the summer, I prefer to take advantage of the nice weather and hike in the tundra. In the spring, this trail is a muddy mess. And shortly after I… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Wind River/Glacier Basin Loop
Normally I’m excited for snowy mountains and frozen alpine lakes and snowshoeing, but this past winter I had trouble locating my enthusiasm. It might have been because winter took its sweet time arriving in Colorado. The mountains ended the year with snowpack that was far below normal, and it didn’t actually snow on the plains… 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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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: 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