Fragrant pines, swift running mountain streams, and lakes that reflect like mirrors. Then ascend to rocky heights where clouds skim the tundra along the spine of a continent.
Days at Park: Thu-Sat, 21-23 September 2017
Base Camp 1: Peak to Peak Lodge - Estes Park, Colorado
Base Camp 2: Grand Lake Lodge - Grand Lake, Colorado
Expedition Parks: Rocky Mountain, Great Sand Dunes
Point of Embarkation: Denver, Colorado
This was one of my first solo expeditions and turned out to be one of my favorites. It was the perfect time to go, well past peak summer season and the leaves had begun to turn, but still well before the first snow with all the roads still open. It was about an hour and a half drive from the Denver airport to Estes Park which is situated at the gateway to the park. I imagine Estes Park is one of those bustling tourist towns that I would normally dislike at the height of the season. By late September however, the crowds were gone, in fact some shops were closed and it was no problem to get around and find parking.
Copeland Falls & Calypso Cascades
First hike started at the Wild Basin Trailhead and followed the North Saint Vrain Creek past the Copeland Falls and uphill to the Calypso Cascades. It was a cloudless autumn morning in the mountains and the most memorable sensation was the scent of the pines. It was quite remarkable and unexpected, lasting throughout the entire hike making me feel like I was hiking through Christmas. The creek tumbled over boulders and under many logs of fallen trees, keeping up a happy babbling noise along the way. The trail was well defined and the grade was not very steep except the final climb to the wooden bridge at the edge of the cascades, where a ground squirrel was the only wildlife to make an appearance. Altogether an unforgettable introduction to the Rockies for me.
Estes Cone
In retrospect, this hike should not have been attempted in the afternoon. The sight of Estes Cone with its bare rocky summit poking out among the forested slopes was intimidating to my relatively novice mountain-hiking abilities. From the Longs Peak Trailhead, the East Longs Peak Trail climbs steeply up a thickly forested mountainside until it diverges with the Estes Cone Trail. This trail rises and falls as you skirt around the slopes until it crosses Inn Brook where it descends to the foot of Estes Cone. Occasionally the forest would give way to grassy meadows where I would catch glimpses of the summit, but for some reason could not shake the thought of bears charging. I had not passed a single hiker on my way, so I sang snatches of trail songs and would bang my trekking poles together to warn bears that a meal was passing through. Just after passing the Moore Park Campground, I remember the trail making a sharp turn and I was staring up the steep slope through pine trees which would be the strenuous climb to Storm Pass where another trail intersected. By the time I reached the pass, I was running low on water and needed to rest, due to my exertions at elevation. Before I made it back to the trailhead, dusk was coming on, increasing my bear anxiety. I did catch a glimpse of elk among the trees in the gathering gloom.
Emerald Lake & Bear Lake
Another gorgeous day for hiking in the mountains found me on the more visited trails around Bear Lake. In fact the parking lot at the trailhead was full and I had to backtrack to a larger parking area and take a shuttle bus to the trailhead. I thought I would be getting away from the crowds by hiking up to Emerald Lake first, but as it turned out there was plenty of company along this very scenic route. The trail follows Tyndall Creek skirting around Nymph Lake, which was studded with lily pads, then through a gorge and along the shores of Dream Lake, perfectly reflecting the puffy clouds. We were clearly heading for the huge notch in the mountain range ahead and sure enough the trail ended at Emerald Lake with the rocky shores rising steeply from its green waters. Retracing my steps I decided to make the well traveled circuit around Bear Lake with its views of the notch from a distance and the fall colors on display.
Trail Ridge Road & Alpine Ridge Trail
The rest of the day was spent getting to the second base camp on the west side of the park in Grand Lake. Trail Ridge Road, which would be closed in another month, winds its way to the top of the ridge overlooking Forest Canyon and I took advantage of many of the overlooks along the way. The road continues along the top of the ridge, above the tree line, to the Alpine Visitor Center where the landscape is a rock-strewn tundra. Here the short paved Alpine Ridge Trail climbs up to the cold 12,000 foot summit which left me quite literally breathless.
Kawuneeche Valley & Grand Lake
From the Alpine summit, the road starts to descend where it soon crosses the boundary between east and west flowing rivers known as the Continental Divide. Through Milner Pass, where Poudre Lake lies like a blue jewel set amid yellowing grass in the crown of the Rockies. The road then follows the Colorado River through the Kawuneeche Valley to the town of Grand Lake.
Grand Lake Lodge is a large hotel with surrounding separate cabins overlooking the town and the lake. The view from the windows of the dining room was spectacular in large part due to a small fiery orange tree capturing the last light of the day. This base camp is perfectly situated for exploring the southwestern parts of the park and I made a mental note to return with more time to spend on this side of the divide.
After dinner I made my way back up the road to Coyote Valley Trailhead to walk along the mighty Colorado River, here no more than a simple mountain stream, meandering along the valley floor. Kawuneeche is taken from the Arapaho language for "coyote river" and as the sun set behind the Never Summer Mountains, also named from Arapaho for "they are never summery", I expected to see or at least hear the namesake of the valley. Although no coyotes made themselves known to me, I did brake hard on the drive back to my cabin as a herd of elk was crossing the road in the darkness.
Tundra Communities Trail
Final day in the park started with the sun hitting the Never Summer Mountains as I drove back up the valley, across the divide, and back along Trail Ridge Road to the Tundra Communities Trailhead. Toll Memorial Trail is an easy paved trail that cuts across the tundra to the aptly named Mushroom Rocks. At the end of the trial, I scrambled up the large rock formation and sat enraptured as the wind blew wisps of cloud close enough to reach out and touch as they wafted over me. At the very top of the formation is set a disc-shaped plaque engraved with the names and distances to far flung national parks around the compass. I felt on top of the world in this otherworldly dreamscape.
Alluvial Fan
Time left for one final stop before I made my way south for another park adventure at the Great Sand Dunes. The Alluvial Fan is an area where sediment is deposited from a river as it fans out from a narrow opening like a gorge. In this case much of the "sediment" seemed to consist of boulders. The "trail" started out sandy and easy to follow, but quickly turned into a scramble among the rocks as it approached the Roaring River. I would have liked to have had the time to hike up along the river to the Horseshoe Falls or even all the way up to Ypsilon Lake. Another time perhaps, as I anticipate a future return to the Rockies.
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