RMNP - Upper Beaver Meadows 2017

On Tuesday, I need to make sure I get back before the Grandkids come over after school.  Today, I also had some additional chores to get done, so I took a 'quick' jaunt up to Upper Beaver Meadows from the Deer Mountain Trail.   It was about 17 degrees and the wind was blowing consistently between 10 and 25 miles and hour (my guess).  This generated a wind chill of about -1.  So, it was cold.  There wasn't nearly as much snow as I thought there might be, so no snowshoes or yaktrax were necessary.

Cold weather AlkaliIke

There wasn't nearly as much snow as I thought there might be, so no snowshoes or yaktrax were necessary.

No snow down low

While not the best of days to be out or the prettiest area to do, it was good to get out off the prairie and into the hills.

Overall Track Statistics for RMNP - Upper Beavers Mdws 2017,   1003 data points

 Length 7.331 miles  :  Garmin Length 7.548 miles

 Start Elevation - 8968.34 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 8968.34 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 8229.33 feet

 Date of Hike - Mar 07, 2017

 Start Time - 09:34 AM

 End Time - 12:46 PM

 Total Duration -     3:12 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 1724.74 feet

 Total Descent - 1806.14 feet

 Net Ascent - -81.40 feet

 Maximum Grade - 16.75%

 Average Speed -  2.29 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.35 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 535.70 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  2.91 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) -  7.88%

RMNP - Bluebird Lake

Earlier in the year, I had hiked to Ouzel Lake; Bluebird Lake is "only" a few miles from Ouzel, so I thought I would tackle Bluebird.  It looked like it would be a beautiful day and I couldn't think of anything I would rather do the day before my 58th birthday.

If you want to learn more about the hike to Ouzel Lake, please stop by my journal entry for that on July 21.  In July, everything was green, now Fall is in full swing.

Leaf litter on the trail

Aspen color and blue sky

Golden aspen in the Sun

The aspen at higher elevations are almost done

The hike from the Ouzel-Bluebird junction to Bluebird Lake is one of the more strenuous climbs I've made.  It doesn't look like much on the map, but there are about three tough climbs along with moderate grades in between that make it a leg-burner.  The trail is mixed scrub pine (subalpine forest is the catchy name for it), along with rocks and some decent scrambling.

Looking down on a chute to scramble up

Once you get there, Bluebird Lake is stunning, nestled below several 12 and 13000 foot peaks (Ouzel, Mahana, Copeland).  Here are some pictures, I hope you like them.

Bluebird Lake & Ouzel Peak (12716')

West Ridge of Copeland Mountain (13176')

Mahana Peak(12632')

The day started great but it looked like some thunderstorms might be moving in so I headed down.

Dark clouds behind Ouzel Peak

It turned out the storms all dissipated, but better safe than sorry.

Overall Track Statistics for RMNP - Bluebird Lake,   1750 data points

 Length 12.676 miles  :  Garmin Length 13.668 miles

 Start Elevation - 8544.78 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 10991.44 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 8345.44 feet

 Date of Hike - Sep 23, 2016

 Start Time - 07:56 AM

 End Time - 02:25 PM

 Total Duration -     6:28 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 3058.89 feet

 Total Descent - 3258.23 feet

 Net Ascent - -199.34 feet

 Maximum Grade - 26.50%

 Average Speed -  1.96 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.11 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 759.51 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  2.89 mph
Maximum Gain over Mile (%) - 13.14%

RMNP - Hallett Peak

Since I took my daughter and son-in-law to Flattop Mountain, I've always wanted to tackle Hallett Peak (12711').  Today was the day to tackle that.  It was not the best day to hike, the weather was cloudy, it was cool, and their was a small chance of snow, but off I went.  Since I would be parking at the Bear Lake trailhead, I knew I needed to get a reasonably early start, otherwise the parking lot would be full.  Sure enough, when I got there the lot was filling up, even on a less than glorious day.

Some color at Bear Lake

This is a pretty cool look over Emerald Lake

A cloudy and cool day

The hike to Flattop Mountain is long, steep, and uneventful.  It is a popular trail in that it provides stellar views, connects to the trails on the west side of RMNP, and tops out at 12000'.

Color, Color everywhere (below the cloud layer)

Along the trail near Bear Lake (this was taken later in the day)

Note the horses just at the bend in the trail

Flattop is not a trail for the faint hearted, because it is steep and with much of the trail above 10000' there is not alot of oxygen up there.

Long's Peak from along Flattop trail

Joe Mills Mountain (there is a bushwhack up to there somewhere)

On the hike up, I met up with the park rangers that were out looking for elk.  I suggested that there might not be many elk at 11000'.  They agreed, but said they were tracking the radio collar signals of the elk and that 11000' would be a good place to do that.  I agreed.  As we continued to talk for a bit, they mentioned that this is also a way for them to find elk in distress or dead.  It is much easier to locate a non-moving radio collar than searching the ground.

I soon reached the horserack near the top of Flattop, where I sat and took a break.  Soon a couple came up.  They had some rather funny accents.  It turns out they were from Wales.  I suggested that the weather wasn't all that uncommon for them.  They agreed, but said the elevation was quite the challenge.  This was their third day in Colorado.  There were staying with an aunt in Boulder.  We split up, but would meet again at the top of Flattop, where for the first time, I had someone take my picture.  Turn about was fair play after I took their picture.

Robb

Robb

The hike to Hallett from Flattop is along a jumble of boulders and talus.  It is a rather steep ascent but very doable.  I'm sure the view when it is not snowing is spectacular.  Maybe another day.

Tyndall Glacier from above

McHenry's Notch (this is just north of Snowbank Lake)

Glacier basin and the rock wall from Tyndall Glacier 

Looking North along the Continental Divide

Hallett Peak (later in the day)

Summit Hallett Peak (12711')

I can now check Hallett Peak off my list.

Overall Track Statistics for RMNP - Hallett Peak,   1455 data points

 Length 9.764 miles  :  Garmin Length 10.163 miles

 Start Elevation - 9514.70 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 12711.15 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 9318.01 feet

 Date of Hike - Sep 21, 2016

 Start Time - 07:47 AM

 End Time - 01:11 PM

 Total Duration -     5:23 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 3470.08 feet

 Total Descent - 3666.77 feet

 Net Ascent - -196.69 feet

 Maximum Grade - 30.78%

 Average Speed -  1.81 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  1.88 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 866.83 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  2.68 mph
 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) - 15.67%

RMNP - Sprague Lake to Sky Pond

This was a hike I had planned to do in August.  I've been to Sky Pond a couple of times before, but it has been two years since the last time.  I didn't expect anything to change but I like Sky Pond.  This is a popular trail from either the Bear Lake TH or the Glacier Gorge TH.  I chose to start at the Sprague Lake TH.  This would give about six extra miles in total.

The trail takes you from Sprague Lake along the ridge above Glacier Creek to an intersection with the Glacier Gorge Trail.  The Glacier Gorge trail takes you past the extremely popular Alberta Falls (no picture), then on up to the junction with the Mills Lake trail.  From the junction with Mills Lake trail you proceed to the Loch and on up to Timberline Falls, Glass Lake, and then Sky Pond.

Since it was early September and I was above 9500' the aspens had already started to change their color.

Early Fall colors on the Sprague Lake Trail

This was one tall aspen 

Still colorful wildflowers near Sky Pond

This is a moderate hike, but with some challenging aspects.  The most challenging is the climb alongside Timberline falls.  This is about a forty foot climb on the rocks right next to the waterfall.  It is common for some of the climb to be wet.  It is not a technical climb, but you must be careful.  Another thing is that this area can create quite a traffic jam on busy days.  I didn't have too much of a wait on the way up but waited quite a while for my turn on the way down.  The good thing is that all the hikers make sure and help each other, thus making it a little less daunting for the less experienced.

Sky Pond sits in a cirque formed by Thatchtop (12668'), Powell Peak (13208'), Taylor Peak (13153'). and the Sharkstooth (12829').

Powell Peak

It is also the home of Taylor Glacier.  Sky Pond sits in the bottom of the cirque.

Sky Pond looking southwest

Sky Pond near outlet

Southwest shore of Sky Pond

Sky Pond from just below the climb to Taylor Glacier

While nearly all the mountains in RMNP are spectacular, I find the Sharkstooth one of the most fascinating formations in the park.  You can just imagine entire sections of the mountain falling into the cirque.  Really cool!

Sharkstooth (1)

Sharkstooth (2)

Sharkstooth (3)

I'm not sure if it is still ok, but when we first visited Sky Pond in 2000, there were several climbers attempting various routes on the Sharkstooth.

The outlet of Sky Pond has a nice, small waterfall (much smaller than Timberline Falls).

Outlet Falls (1)

Outlet Falls (2)

This hike was a little different from most in that I spent quite a bit of time at Sky Pond, bouldering around and exploring various other parts of the shoreline and miscellaneous routes back to the main trail.

I felt good about this hike because I wasn't too tired at the end, did a few things different, and visited one of my favorite spots.  All in all a great day.

Overall Track Statistics for RMNP - SpragueSkyPond,   2068 data points

 Length 14.450 miles  :  Garmin Length 16.251 miles

 Start Elevation - 8548.79 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 10937.04 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 8546.10 feet

 Date of Hike - Sep 12, 2016

 Start Time - 08:58 AM

 End Time - 03:50 PM

 Total Duration -     6:52 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 3529.36 feet

 Total Descent - 3438.12 feet

 Net Ascent - 91.24 feet

 Maximum Grade - 34.51%

 Average Speed -  2.10 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.36 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 720.64 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  2.90 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) - 10.99%

RMNP - Five Lakes, a Pond, and a Falls

This was the second of my 'get back to hiking' plan.  I thought that if I could handle this hike without much difficulty, I could get back to hiking the way I was back in July.  The original plan was to hike up to Emerald Lake in RMNP.  I had not been to Emerald in many years and have never been in the summer.  The hike was much shorter than I remember, so I extended the hike into a loop.  I visited Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, Lake Haiyaha, and the Loch.  Along the way, I encountered a pond or two and Alberta Falls.

The hike up to Emerald Lake is a busy trail.  Dream Lake is a popular and recommended hike for those who are still acclimating to the elevation of RMNP, so there were many folks from the midwest up there.  Dream and Emerald are lakes along Tyndall Creek which is the outlet of glacier melt from Tyndall Glacier.  I'm not sure what the water history of Nymph lake is.  This area of RMNP is heavily photographed, so I will add mine to that pile of pictures.

Nymph Lake

Dream Lake - I think Dream is the most picturesque of the three lakes

Dream looking to the outlet

Dream from the inlet

Emerald

Emerald outlet

To get to Lake Haiyaha you climb over and around the ridge from Dream Lake to the Chaos Canyon area.  Chaos Canyon is quite different from the Tyndall Glacier Canyon where Dream and Emerald sit.  It is named Chaos for a reason.  The canyon is littered with rocks and boulders that range from the size of a volley ball to the size of a house.  The 'official' trail works its way to the south side of the lake near the outlet.  I chose to do some minor bouldering and climb up and over to get to the north side of the lake.  This was quite a challenge, both in route finding and managing to climb over/around many boulders.

Bushwhack through to the lake

Lake Haiyaha and Chaos Canyon, Hallett Peak is on the right

Now it was time to go to the Loch.  The Loch is a large lake at the end of Glacier Gorge and on Icy Brook.  To get there required that I hike down the mountain from Haiyaha to where Icy Brook joins Glacier Creek.  From this junction you can hike up to the Loch Vale then on to Andrews Tarn and Sky Pond or you can hike to Mills Lake then on up to Black Lake and Frozen Lake on the west slope of Longs Peak.  The Loch is another popular destination.

The Loch and Taylor Glacier

An unnamed Pond along the way

I sat down to have some lunch.  Since the area is popular, the chipmunks (Chip & Dale) have become quite acclimated and aggressive toward people.  So they bothered me during lunch.  They are pretty smart.  Several times while I was paying attention to Chip on the left, Dale would try and sneak up on right or in back.  Ah well, they left hungry and I left irritated with them.

It was time to head back, so I took the trail heavily traveled down the mountain to Alberta Falls, then on to the truck at Bear Lake.  Alberta Falls was running well, but I didn't take any pictures as there were probably 30 or so people also trying to take pictures.

All in all a good day, although short.  I was definitely ready to tackle something bigger next time.

Overall Track Statistics for RMNP - FiveLakeandaFalls,   1235 data points

 Length 8.426 miles  :  Garmin Length 9.398 miles

 Start Elevation - 9687.40 feet

 Maximum Elevation - 10193.08 feet

 Minimum Elevation - 9202.43 feet

 Date of Hike - Sep 09, 2016

 Start Time - 09:24 AM

 End Time - 01:50 PM

 Total Duration -     4:26 hours:min

 Total Ascent - 2021.88 feet

 Total Descent - 2506.86 feet

 Net Ascent - -484.97 feet

 Maximum Grade - 14.52%

 Average Speed -  1.90 mph :  Garmin Average Speed  2.11 mph

 Maximum Ascent over Mile - 495.28 feet

 Maximum Speed over Mile -  2.91 mph

 Maximum Gain over Mile (%) -  7.89%