RMNP

Alberta Falls

No weekend marathon, no Seven Continent challenge.  Colorado HOME, back on Mountain Time.  Overheard Ash making hike plans for Saturday.  No one minds a tag-along, right? 😊

Early a.m. Start, hour-half commute north to Estes.  Day destination: Rocky Mountain National Park.  More specifically: Loch Vale, off Glacier Gorge Trailhead.  Haven’t summer-hiked in RMNP past few years.  Their NO DOG rule, Park’s biggest deterrent.  This weekend with grandpup lying low/on the mend, Ash & Tom brought Party Marty over to hang with Ro.  BROs UNITED.

Park arrived quarter-to-7, wait-line of 10-15 cars already.  No parking at Glacier Gorge.  2 miles further UP, Bear Lake lot also FULL.  ARGH!  Think I hit the same snag, couple of Fall seasons back.  Luckily, the Park operates a mighty efficient transport system from a set of nearby commuter lots.  FREE too.  Just a matter of remembering.  Check, done.  Back on track.

Glacier Gorge Trailhead.  Super scenic mile-hike thru quaking Aspen, Ponderosa pine.

Alberta Falls, day’s first photo opp.  Water powered o’er the Falls.  Previously trekked to Alberta Falls, twice (2012 & 2016) – both winter hikes, Falls frozen-over both times.  STUNNING when captured in ice; however maybe more BEAUTIFUL thundering STRONG/HIGH with water.

Hike day starts at the Falls (lose 80% of the tourists).  People chatter gone; day noise swap.  Chipmunk, bird calls, glacier-fed streams, smell of pine.  LOVE our Rocky Mountains.

2 miles more to Loch Vale, a large alpine lake 3 side-surrounded by craggy snow-capped peaks. Perched above the water, lunch-snacked on a store burrito.  WOW whatta view!  Continent count now 5, travelled all 50 States.  Easy to forget PARADISE you have in your own backyard.

Back on Mountain Time, good to be Colorado home.

 

 

Alberta Falls-Loch Vale, RMNP

 

 

Loch Vale Trail/RMNP5 weekends of running, time for a hike – maybe even 2 hikes.  After Thursday’s ‘first snow’, nothing but mountains & snow camping on the brain.  Temps plummeted to the 20’s…so settled on glamping & 2 RMNP alpine hikes (making the most of my 2016 Parks pass).

Woke to sunshine Saturday.  Beaver Meadows Entrance, quick left to Bear Lake.  20 minute ride, trailhead-parked at Glacier Gorge (last pull-off before Bear).  Winds blew, BIG smile.  Initial hike goal: 5 Lakes (Loch Vale, Haiyaha, Dream, Nymph & Bear)

Just under a mile to Alberta Falls, another 2+ to Loch Vale.  Most tourists can make the Falls hike; super thankful for winter & open trails.  Forgot how beautiful Alberta Falls can be…even frozen solid.  Tested the ice; crampon spikes a good gauge for weakness.  Must’ve flash-froze over the past couple days, thin ice covered in snow.  Snapped a pic, hiked on.

Last trekked Loch Vale 4 years ago, mid-November.  That day, hiked in heavy snow – white-out conditions limited our group’s day goal.  Winter precip accumulated 3” inches an hour, awesome memory making snow angels.  hike LOVE.

Today’s path vacillated between ice (sunshine melt/refreeze) & shin-deep snow (tree cover shade).  Both lodgepole & Ponderosa [pine] lined the Park’s well-maintained trail system.  Crazy beautiful, sunshine & solitude.

Left to Mills, right to Haiyaha, Loch Vale straight ahead.  Tested out trail conditions to Haiyaha…deep snow, no visible trek tenth-mile out.  Not happening today.  Turned back, Loch Vale < half-mile away.  Pushed thru a grove of trees, saw the Loch.  Frozen alpine lake blocked in by the some of the Park’s highest peaks.  Outdoor WOW moment.  Opened armed, let the cold wind blow, envelope me.

Snow whipped off the rock heights above.  Crampons scratched the Loch’s surface but no cracks.  Breezy, strong numbing wind.   Footsteps crunched over the thick ice.  No words.  Just WOW!  Wind-retreated after 15 minutes.  Sheltered behind two boulders, downed half a turkey wrap.  Only one Lake today…but absolutely no regrets.

Sunset.  Headed into Estes Park for a pricey dinner & the city’s tree lighting ceremony.  ‘Cowboy Brad’ welcomed visitors with a mix of John Denver & Colorado Christmas carols.  No better way to usher in the season.  FUN night!

 

Home?  Heck no.  Not before a Sunday a.m. hike — only 3 miles roundtrip.  Felt small under tall lodgepole pine, switch-backed UP 1,000ft, followed signs for ‘Trail Around Lake’, dropped off trail to snap shots of slushy Bierstadt Lake.

BEST vacation from a vacation – I choose mountain hike over Disney World every time 🙂

 

 

alpine hikes & holiday lights (Estes Park CO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFPtcdnD0sM

 

 

Best way to celebrate Colorado Day?  Outdoors of course 🙂

On August 1, 1876, president Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado as a state. Colorado Day was celebrated as a state holiday on August 1 for many years, and then was moved to the first Monday in August.  The day no longer became a public holiday, but rather an observance, when the state started observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a public holiday in 1985.

Started the day with an early hour-half drive to Estes Park.  Rocky Mountain Half Marathon, my first Half in 18 months.  6am Gun time – something special about racing pre-dawn, settling into pace, then experience sunrise.

Rocky Mountain Half Marathon

 

Circled Estes Lake. Mile 2 jammed up on the running path – lotta runners, maybe 2 across possible.  Picked up pace & caught the 1:50 racers.

Mile 4 thru 8 – UP.  Elevation AND incline – but no negativity this day.  I dug in, held pace & picked off tens of runners walking the last mile up.

Miles 9, 10 & 11 – big smile.   Ripped DOWN (rare for me, generally I pull up, hold back).

UP again at mile 12 to the Stanley, then finished flat to the Fairgrounds. (Kinda weird ending – passed a ‘3’ which we all assumed was mile 13…but that happened another half mile later, then the final tenth mile was actually .3 miles.  Not a deal breaker but I went out fast, far too early.)

Good day.  13.1 miles, half the distance – nice to have some gas left in the tank.

Hills & altitude – my new favourite combo.  Finding hills to be an age equalizer.

 

Bib       Name              City                              Chip Time       Division Place

327      K R Haga        Louisville CO              1:52:21             6

 

 

Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park – Planned to re-hike Black Lake, hadn’t been in 3 years (2012 challenge: 52 weeks, 52 hikes).  9am in the Park but couldn’t find parking, even RMNP’s Park N Ride advised to come back at 2pm.  Seriously?  (Easy to get frustrated with summer tourist season but learning to share the love.  National Parks are OUR parks as Americans – all Americans, no discrimination.)

Snuck the Prius in Moraine Park campground & hiked the extra mile to Cub Lake trailhead.  Not a lotta trees in the meadow (Fern Lake fire burned most in 2012).  Temps soon soared near 90, warm day.  Last mile forested, blanketed in wildflowers 🙂

Cub Lake – pulled off my shoes & soaked.  Lily pads, 2 ducks, dragonflies, small blue fish.  Nibble, nibble, BITE.  Hey, that’s no fish – pulled off a blood-sucking leech attached to my foot.  ‘Nough soaking, hiked back – 4.6 miles total.

½ marathon run followed by a Nat’l Park hike.  Colorado Day done?  Nope, not yet.

Othello

Othello

 

Colorado Shakespeare Festival (Boulder) – 8pm curtain time, biggest concern was sleep deprivation.  Half-moon outdoor arena, center aisle seat, Flatirons sunset, temps in the low 70’s – yep, pretty much PERFECT.

From the opening dialogue, was hooked.

Iago couldn’t have been more sinister, nor Othello more tormented.  Acting from these 2 overshadowed all other players.  Othello a North African Moor, interracial marriage – and Iago’s sheer cunning to drive noble Othello mad.

NOT the Shakespeare of my youth.  Far exceeded all expectations – I’ll be back next summer.  FAANNN-frickin-TASTIC!

Colorado Day, day after?  Sleep 🙂