Boulder & Rocky Mountain NP

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Boulder, CO

Day 10 – July 4

Before we headed for our Rocky Mountain National Park hiking and camping adventure we spent some time with our daughter Suzannah who was in school in Boulder. We had breakfast at Walnut Cafe, Suzannah’s favorite spot in Boulder. Somehow, we were lucky to be seated fairly quickly at this very popular hotspot. After breakfast, about 10 minutes away, we then started out on a hike at Mt. Sanitas nearby in Boulder, but thunder began at about 1/4 mile in, so we decided to stop. It is never smart to hike at this elevation with any threat of lightning.

We went back to Sz’s apartment complex and hung out at the pool. The complex was throwing a pool re-opening party that afternoon so we stuck around for that. Free drinks, and then free Mexican dinner at a food truck provided by the apartment complex.

After the early dinner we went back to Mt. Sanitas. We hiked up the fairly challenging steep and rocky Loop Trail of 3.2 miles. We got nice views of Boulder on one side of the rocky trail, and views of mountains on the other side, the closer ones resembling the hogbacks of the Napali Coast mountains of Kauai. It was beautiful. The hike down had some challenges at first, with some rugged trail and a few switchbacks.  Eventually, it leveled off for the final mile. We saw some deer near the end of the hike.

 

Em and I spent the night at the Airbnb. It was an uncomfortably stuffy, hot room but the host, Robby was nice. I took a jet bath before bed.

Rocky Mountain National Park Hiking

Day 11 – July 5

Off to Rocky Mountain National Park, which was only about 45 minutes from Suzannah’s apartment in Boulder.  We took the route we discovered the year prior when we were there. This route was Boulder to Lyons via Route 36, then turn on to Route 7 towards Allenspark and then RMNP. It’s a beautiful scenic winding route along flowing creeks, aspen forest, and red rocks towering above, and takes only a few minutes longer than taking Route 36 all the way to Estes Park. We got to the park around 11:00 A.M. Our NP pass got us in with no charge at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center entrance. We went straight to the Moraine Campground where we had reservations for two nights. Arriving at our site, a foraging deer welcomed us. We set up camp at the nice site on the outside perimeter of one of the loops, with a boulder-laced hillside behind us that provided nice views when climbed.

There was a horse trail atop the hill that passed just above our site. This campground is well situated, centrally in the park.  After setting up the tent we got some hiking logistic insights from another couple nearby and then set off to drive the scenic Trail Ridge Road, RMNP’s “Highway to the Sky”, all 48 miles of it around the park. We planned on lunch at the Alpine Visitor’s Center that we visited last year but it was so crowded we couldn’t get a parking spot…it took us about 5 minutes just to get in and out of the lot. Not far up Trail Ridge Road we stopped at Medicine Bow Curve overlook and had a lunch of peanut butter and jelly crackers out of the car. We saw three elk grazing nearby as we ate.

Trail Ridge Road is a magnificently beautiful ride, though dangerous at points. As with last year, we again saw lots of wildlife along this road. The scenery and wildlife are as plentiful and amazing on this road as in any National Park we have been to.

We got to the west side of RMNP on this route and stopped at Holzwarth Historical Site. We walked the .25 miles from the ranger station there to the old resort compound established by John Holzwarth in 1915.  A ranger led a very interesting tour of the main house, then we toured the other original structures on our own. We walked a path through the deep green meadow along the river, then headed to the car to continue along Trail Ridge Road.

About three minutes up the road we saw a group of cars pulled over, and the people were observing something. We pulled in and were treated to a scene of a mother moose and calf running through the green meadow, exactly where we had just walked minutes earlier. The moose were about 50 yards away. It was a beautiful site, and seeing a moose running with its calf is a rare one according to a gawking local we met.

We had to hurry to meet with Suzannah in Estes Park for dinner as we lost track of how far we actually had to drive back to the section of park near Estes Park. We caught up with her around 6:00 P.M. Suzannah joined us in our car and we drove to the main downtown street in Estes Park, parked and looked for a restaurant.  We settled on Mama Rose’s Italian restaurant, largely because it had a table available. We ate inside and had a homey, relaxing, filling meal. Afterward we strolled briefly on the river walk behind the restaurant, and then along the main strip. It was a nice night and there were dozens of shops and eateries to graze. Around 8:30 P.M. we brought Suzannah back to her car and she went back to Boulder, and we to our campsite for the night.

Rocky Mountain National Park Hiking Emerald Lake – Mills Lake

Day 12 – July 6

Breakfast at campsite.

Up and out of the site by 7:00 A.M. We got to the Bear Lake Trailhead by 7:45 to ensure parking at this very popular Rocky Mountain National Park hiking area. It was a very hot day, and it was already busy here but there were several spots still available. Once parked and with backpacks on we met up with a ranger at the trailhead who casually asked what our plans were for the day.  I mentioned hiking to Lake Helene. The ranger discouraged this plan due to the difficulty we would encounter with the snow on that trail. (Hmmm… a very hot day, but snow hazards on the trail…must be Rocky Mountain NP). He recommended we substitute Lake Helene with a hike to Mills Lake. We took his recommendation.

We first hiked the 3.6-mile roundtrip Emerald Lake trail. This took us past Nymph and Dream Lakes as well. We came across snow packs on the trail. Nymph and Dream lakes were pretty, and worth the hike on their own, but Emerald Lake was just stunning. It reminded us of Iceberg Lake at Glacier NP. The crystal-clear lake was surrounded by high, snowy, craggy, granite cliffs, and there was a waterfall in the near distance flowing down the steep mountainside into the pool-like lake.  It is for views like this that we love hiking places like this so much. There were several people at the lake but not too crowded since we got such an early start. We crossed paths with a lot more people on the trail on the return trip, so we were happy to have gotten there when we did.

After this excellent hike we took a short break to rest and refuel at the trailhead/parking lot. While refueling under cover of the large timber shuttle stop, we witnessed an older woman experiencing a heat stroke and falling down. She turned out to be ok but it reminded us how hot it was.  We really needed to be smart about hydrating.

We then went on to the 5.6-mile roundtrip Mills Lake trail, which started from the same trailhead. This was a bit more challenging. The hike up to Mills Lake is a steady, uphill trek into the breathtaking Glacier Gorge trail system of the Park. We got spectacular views of mountain ridges, rugged peaks, and wildflowers along the trail. We crossed a log bridge and some swift rapids and the magnificent Alberta Falls waterfall on the trail as well. Alberta Falls was about .8 miles in, and is a destination in and of itself for many people. We frolicked along the rocks overlooking the falls but it was crowded so we decided to wait to do this on the return trip.

Once we passed Alberta Falls, the number of people on the trail really thinned out. There were very few people at Mills Lake when we got there. There was a family of four fishing and a few others. We could see multiple mountain peaks towering above, and another gorgeous waterfall trickling down one of the mountainsides into the lake. I took my hiking shoes off and dangled my feet in the refreshing clear water from a rock. We had a little snack on the lakeside, enjoying the magnificent scenery and silence, then had our pic taken by a fellow hiker, and started our way back. We played around Alberta Falls on the return for about 15 minutes.

When back at the trailhead by the parking lot we took the .1 mile “trek” to see Bear Lake itself since we were there anyway.  After the day of hiking we left the Bear Lake area and headed to Sheep Lake to look for Big Horn Sheep. We learned that the sheep are usually seen here at dusk, which was in about an hour, so we went to dinner at the Trailhead restaurant next to the nearby Fall River park entrance and Visitor’s Center. This turned out to be a great take. We got excellent burgers, and balcony seating with a nice view of aspen laced mountains. There were not many people either so we got right in and ate in a relaxed atmosphere, and we didn’t have to go into town (Estes). This is definitely the place to eat when near this part of the park.

After dinner we went back to Sheep Lake but again, no sheep. We hung out for about 20 minutes, then headed to the campsite. Emilie went into the tent to rest while I climbed the hill behind the campsite to get some pics of the view.

Then beer, snacks and sky gazing by the fire before bed. There appeared to be a group of five young people squatting in the site next to ours. They arrived around 9:00 P.M., were very loud and inconsiderate, and were gone early the next morning. They made for a somewhat noisy night, but not too bad. We figured they weren’t much worse than the screaming toddler we endured both nights from the site across from us.

Rocky Mountain National Park Hiking – Ouzel Falls

Day 13 – July 7

Our final day of Rocky Mountain National Park hiking started with breakfast at the campsite. We packed up camp and headed to the Wild Basin section of the park before heading to Boulder.

When we got to Wild Basin, we were told by a ranger that the parking lot ahead was full, but we could park in overflow at this point here which would mean a 1.8-mile hike to the trailhead we were looking to get to. At the last second another ranger came by and said a couple of spots were available up ahead at some picnic pullouts along the river. So, we were allowed to proceed and we ended up at one of these picnic spots, and had to only hike .5 mile to the Ouzel Falls trail trailhead. This was a very nice 5.4-mile round trip trail that passed a couple of other hiking destinations: Copeland Falls and Calypso Cascades.

The falls at Calypso Cascades surged through several small granite chutes falling in a cascade about 100 feet long. The water was flowing very strong and loud at both Copeland and Calypso as we sat and watched, and hiked along them toward Ouzel Falls. I was going to put my feet in at Copeland Falls but decided to do it at the end of the hike instead of now. The sky was looking threatening but we continued on toward Ouzel Falls which was another mile past Calypso Cascades. About .5 mile in we heard thunder and it started to rain a bit. So, we took shelter under a granite overhang where a woman and her three kids were also taking shelter.

I gave my long sleeve shirt to the youngest kid to help keep her warm. After about 15 minutes we headed out again. We made it to Ouzel Falls and the bridge overlook. It was nice but a bit underwhelming as a destination. But then we noticed we could take an unofficial trail up the left bank of the river. It got us much closer to where the Falls were crashing over the cliff to the river. It was a bit of a challenge but we went for it. This was a good choice, as it really made the hike! It was a great close-up view of the crashing water.

On the way back, it started to rain much harder with lots of thunder and lightning. We coincidentally were right at the same granite overhand that we took shelter under on the way up. So, we took shelter here again, but this time for about 30 minutes, letting the heavy rain soften before leaving.  By the time we got back to Copeland Falls there was no way I was going to put my feet in the water.  It was rushing much harder and the water level was raised significantly due to the heavy rain. But it was a beautiful site to see. We got back to the car and headed off to Boulder. About an hour later we were eating a great Mexican dinner at the ultra-cool Centro on Pearl Street with Suzannah and her roommate Carly, and then walked around the Pearl St. neighborhood a bit before heading back to spend the night at their apartment.

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