Rocky Mountain High

So, first, could somebody please turn off the John Denver soundtrack running an endless loop in my head. Makes it hard to concentrate. Ahhh, thank you. Now, a little about Rocky Mountain National Park. Established in 1915, it covers over 400 square miles with the Trail Ridge Road traversing the park east to west and crossing the continental divide. Just driving the Trail Ridge Road is an adventure and takes about two hours. The west side of the park (where we’re staying) is not quite as popular or crowded. There’s still lots of hiking and wildlife (moose on my side!), but the east side has way more visitors and most of the signature hikes with easier access to stunning alpine lakes and waterfalls. 

On Thursday, 9/19, we did the drive across the Rockies on Trail Ridge Road. Our morning started off with a moose sighting which pretty much made my day. 😊 Elk are everywhere, but moose are much more difficult to spot. This sweetheart was blithely munching away in a swampy area right next to the Timber Creek campground. 

Here moosie, moosie. What a face.

The aptly named Never Summer Mountains. Love it.

We stopped at the Alpine Visitor’s Center, at 11,796 feet it’s the highest in the park system. Of course, we hiked to the top of a nearby hill so we could call it over 12,000 feet! I had mentioned in the last post that the elevation was kicking our butts. I now have the scientific proof to back up my claim! While the percentage of oxygen remains the same regardless of the elevation, the air pressure decreases which means the molecules are further apart and I get less oxygen with every gasping breath. At 12,000 it’s 30-40% less oxygen with every breath! Which means breathing increases and my heart is pumping faster trying to supply muscles and brain with sufficient oxygen. Altitude sickness is common here and symptoms include shortness of breath, fatigue, headache, nausea, dizziness and irritability. Ha! I’m not bitchy, it’s the altitude!! Lol.

Over 12,000 feet.
On top of the world (or close enough for me!).

View from the Alpine Visitor's Center.

The park has three distinct ecosystems: Montane is below 9,000 feet with forests of pine and aspen. Subalpine is 9,000 to 11,400 feet and is wetter with over 30 inches of precipitation where fir and spruce dominate. And then we have the Alpine region which is above 11,400 and is characterized by thin soil, strong ultraviolet light, extreme cold, drying winds, and no trees at all. With a six-week growing season, plants hug the ground where the temperatures can be 20-30° warmer than the ambient air temps.

Alpine tundra. A tapestry of low growing plants fighting for survival.

Leaving the Alpine Visitor’s Center, we continued on Trail Ridge Road stopping at several of the viewpoints. Riley got out for walkies at Lake Irene and we got a family photo at the highest point on the road (12,183 ft).

Lake Irene.

Lake of the Clouds in the Never Summer Mountains.

Family photo op.

Why? I just can't resist that face. Lol.

The Gore Range.

Lonely bull looking for love. Lol.

Looking back down Trail Ridge Road.

For the return trip we opted to take the Old Fall River Road, a dirt/gravel road which at one point was the main thoroughfare through the park. It winds through some amazing scenery and Riley even got a little creek time. 😊

Old Fall River Road.

Spectacular views and ...

... a little creek time for Riley.

On Friday, Riley was amply provisioned and left with a big marrow bone to keep him occupied while we took off for the east side of the park and an 8-mile “Best of Bear Lake” loop hike. We knew it would be a long day, but circumstances conspired to make it even longer. We left the coach at 9am and made it to Bear Lake Road by 11am where we encountered our first obstacle. Park Rangers had the road closed. We were told parking was full and we should return at 2:30pm. Well that certainly wasn’t going to work. Rog asked if we could get to Bear Lake by shuttle and was told no, come back in the afternoon. We went to Plan B and found a parking spot at a different trailhead, which just happened to also be a shuttle stop. Rog talked to the driver and he said, sure you can take a shuttle to Bear Lake. We hopped on, transferred at the transit center and made it to the Bear Lake trailhead by noon. The hike was awesome. We saw four alpine lakes and a waterfall, as well as stunning scenery in our 8-mile jaunt. I had plenty of opportunity to enjoy the scenery too, since I was moving very slowly on the uphills. (See affects of altitude above. Lol.)

Bear Lake.
The namesake for this area, but honestly far from the most stunning. It is close to the parking lot, though. Lol. 

Leaving Bear Lake, our first stop was Nymph Lake and then Dream Lake was a little further on. Emerald Lake wasn’t supposed to be part of the loop, but it was a little under a mile out and back. I hadn’t counted on it being a mile straight up, but it ended up being one of our favorite stops. We had lunch perched on a boulder with craggy granite spires ringing the lake.

Nymph Lake.

Dream Lake.

A streamside photo op.

Up, up, up to Emerald Lake.

Looking back down at Nymph Lake.

We made it! A beautiful spot for a lunch break.

Rog surveys the craggy mountains around Emerald Lake.

Back down to the main trail and our next stop was Lake Haiyaha. When we came to the end of the spur we started laughing, saying maybe it should be Haiyaha Puddle instead. Joke was on us though, a little scrambling across a boulder field and we found the actual lake and it was absolutely stunning.

Lake Haiyaha.
Way prettier than the puddle we first found.

An amazing ancient pine tree on the edge of the lake.

Lake Haiyaha was ringed by large boulders.

From there we hiked through a section of forested trail, up and down, finally coming to Alberta Falls. The last bit back to Bear Lake was half-mile trudge uphill and then we did the shuttle in reverse to get back to the car. By now the elk were out in force and there were so many people parked along the roads the shuttle could barely get through.

I loved the woods walk portion of the trail.

Wildflowers, a curious chipmunk, and a cutthroat trout.

Getting that perfect shot just for you!

Alberta Falls.

The trip back over the mountains just at sunset offered some more amazing views (and several more elk jams). We finally arrived back at the RV around 7:30pm, several hours later than we’d anticipated. Riley was very happy to see us, and I gotta give him high marks. He was the perfect angel, no accidents and nothing disturbed. Although with his batteries totally recharged, we promised him lots of attention and exercise  tomorrow. We were more than ready to call it a day.

Light filtering though the clouds.

Our lonely bull silhouetted against the sky.

Pano of the Gore Range at last light.

We enjoyed our visit to Rocky Mountain National Park, but I think if we make a return trip we’ll try to stay on the east side of the park. There are tons more trails we’d like to explore and now we know to make allowances for the crowds and hit the trailheads as early as possible, which is hard to do if you add in a two-hour drive from the west side of the park.

Our next stop is another lakeside National Forest campground near Leadville, CO. Are you getting tired of Riley in the water pictures yet? Lol.