hiking!

Over the last few weekends I have been exploring the Rocky Mountains more than I have in the total time I’ve lived out here in Denver. Let me tell you, it’s been a real treat to see the Rocky’s in all their glory. I finally got the chance to go to Rocky Mountain National Park not once, but twice! I originally thought it was overrated, but let me tell you – it is most definitely not.

Weekend 1

After camping the website for last minute entry slots, we set off in the early morning to drive the 2 hours from Denver to Estes Park, where the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park is. On our way, we stopped in Boulder for coffee and a light breakfast at Einstein Bros. Bagels. I got a breakfast sandwich of some kind and it tasted phenomenal, although it was a little bit mushy. Still, the 20 oz cold brew had me feeling right as rain and excited for the day to come. We were in a race against the unpredictable mountain weather, so we skedaddled to the park entrance and got ready to set off on our hike. Now, you might call me a little bit of a degenerate, but I really enjoy having a cold beer while hiking, so I made sure to pack some 805 as a throwback to college (shoutout).

Not even an hour into our hike, we were stopped by the most majestic herd of elk that I’ve ever seen. When we stumbled upon them we only saw a few, but one by one they all walked out of the woods into the meadow we were in. It was so cool to see them munch on some nice grass while enjoying the cool mountain air. Truly, what a life.

As we continued on our hike, the sky lightened up, providing us with enough false confidence to keep treking onwards. Still, we kept a brisk pace as we traversed montane meadows on our way to Cub Lake. We also saw a sign indicating another lake (pool?) further along the trail.

It seemed Mother Nature had alternative plans in store for us. About a mile or so out from Cub Lake, we began feeling drops and donned our rain gear (be prepared!). Not even thirty seconds later, a torrential downpour of rain made us take shelter under some nearby trees. While this was very much unplanned, it did give us a good opportunity to sit down, rest, and take a lunch break! We brought Subway sandwiches for the trail and it definitely hit the spot.

Once the rain cleared up, we decided to use our better judgment to take a u-turn and head back to the car. Mountain weather is incredibly sporadic, especially during the summer, and we didn’t want to chance another incident of bad weather, especially in a place that might not have any shelter. On our journey back to the car, I got to take in the surroundings some more and appreciate the day. While we didn’t get to our destination, the journey and the trail conversations made me content enough to consider the day a success.

Before driving back to Denver, we took a road through a high alpine section of the park. We meandered along mountain ridges and got to see the harsh environment from the comfort of the car. It’s astonishing how anything manages to survive up there with how windy and arid it is.

On the way home, we stopped at In N’ Out for a delectable meal. It’s always my go-to for post-hike cuisine, and it always leaves me feeling plenty satisfied.

Weekend 2

We enjoyed Rocky Mountain National Park so much that we decided to run it back the very next weekend! We did the same thing – snagging the entry time the night before. Except this time, we also grabbed an entry time for Bear Lake Road, which allowed us to hike up to some mountain lakes that we didn’t have the option to hike to before.

Again, we woke up bright and early to drive up to Estes Park, entered the national park, and passed through the checkpoint to go down Bear Lake Road. We got super lucky in the parking lot, and I used my super awesome parallel parking skills to secure parking for the day. We applied our sunscreen, grabbed a few June Shines for each person, and hopped on a shuttle to the trailhead.

After a quick little lap around Bear Lake (which is at the trailhead), we began our hike. It didn’t take long for us to reach Nymph Lake, the first of four lakes we were hoping to see. Nymph Lake (to me at least) felt like more of a pond, with lily pads drifting on the water’s surface and bunches of swamp grass near the shoreline.

We continued on to Dream Lake, which was an elongated lake that was at the base of a mountain. The woods encroached on the lake, as trees grew right up to the shoreline.

Next, we checked out Emerald Lake, which was slightly higher up. It was more arid, only having a few patches of trees here and there, and a waterfall on the other side whose roar was audible from the rock-lined shore.

Finally, we hiked over to Lake Haiyaha. Lake Haiyaha was the largest of the lakes we hiked to, and also happened to be my favorite, probably because it was where we stopped for “lunch”. In reality, “lunch” was just a ton of snacks that we brought. Shoutout Arthur for bring healthy snacks instead of the peach rings and kettle chips I brought. We took our time eating lunch and enjoying the view. There was also some sort of a mineral smell that Ashley and I noticed that was probably in the top 5 scents I have ever smelled.

After we wrapped up at Lake Haiyaha, we returned down the trail to the trailhead, took the shuttle to the parking lot, and drove up a dirt road that took us back up to the alpine zone we visited the week before. Upon arriving at the top of the alpine zone, it began to get really stormy. I’m assuming that the mountains create channels for the wind, so gusts get amplified and it gets really windy at the top. Not only that, but since we were so high up, it was cold enough for sleet. I was very grateful to experience this while inside my vehicle.

After a while, the weather cleared up, and we made our way down from the high alpine. We even got to see a double rainbow, which amplified the joy of the day.

After leaving the park, we obviously had to hit up In N’ Out again, and we chowed down. In N’ Out is truly the only fast food I will ever eat again. Everything else does not even compare.

To reflect, I’m grateful that I got to share these days with some super cool people, and I’m excited for whatever adventures are yet to come.

That’s all! Thanks for reading!

-Jacob