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
Looking back, I realize I always took for granted that I grew up just 90 minutes from Yellowstone. For me, having a national park so close to home was just normal. Then I spent six years living in Connecticut, where the nearest “mountains” weren’t really mountains and the nearest national park was a full day’s… Continue reading A guide to visiting Rocky Mountain National Park
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
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
Is it possible to hike a trail too many times? In some cases, the answer to that question might be ‘yes.’ When the hike in question is Sky Pond, though, and it’s wintertime, I would argue that the answer is very clearly ‘no.’ Back in December 2020, Pat and I hiked to Sky Pond with… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: winter at Sky Pond… again
Handstands Around the World 