waterfalls

alpine hikes & holiday lights (Estes Park)

Published November 20, 2016

5 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 🙂

: Glacier Gorge Trailhead

: [frozen] Alberta Falls

: conditions vacillated between icy trail & shin-deep snow

: Welcome to the Loch!

: footsteps crunched the Loch’s icy surface — WOW, no words.

: Tree Lighting Ceremony 2016

: Day 2 hike

: towering lodgepole pine

: switch backed UP 1,000ft

: I choose mountain hike over Disney World every time 🙂

alpine hikes & holiday lights (Estes Park CO)

Posted in RMNP | Tagged hiking, holidays, rivers-lakes, waterfalls | Leave a comment

quick hike UP, then Utah

Published September 9, 2016

Dropped Ro at Divine Canine & vehicle-loaded Thursday after work – weekend destination: Utah. Monday, Colorado Springs; Saturday, Salt Lake City – count it, 5 days between marathons. FAAANNNTASTIC!

8 hour drive to Salt Lake. Well that’s no fun – breaking it up over 2 days however, no problemo 🙂

Lived B-I-G and slept Thursday nite at the historic Hotel Colorado (scored with mid-week, off-season pricing). Presidents Teddy Roosevelt & William Howard Taft plus multiple governors & early-20th century celebrities adorned hotel walls in black-n-white photographs – super cool…unfortunately, little time to browse. Quick ‘express’ hike planned.

Hanging Lake.

Crystal clear water, emerald green hue, and a mountain waterfall. SPECTACULAR view!

That’s the way I described the hike in June 2012. 4 years later – same SPECTACULAR view.

Quick UP & down trek – returned coated in a thick layer of human salt. No wish I woulda. Absolutely no regrets.

Lunch, 3 hours of desert, then north an hour – greeted by the backside of the Colorado Rockies. “Welcome to Cottonwood Heights” and the beautiful Wasatch Mountains. City slogan: “City Between the Canyons”, flanked by Big Cottonwood Canyon to the North and Little Cottonwood Canyon on the South.

Tomorrow a.m. – marathon #70, my third in 13 days.

: world’s most irresistible toy — the teddy bear — received its birth at Hotel Colorado

: 1.2 mile vertical climb

: W-O-W!

: clear, clean & emerald green

: behind the Falls

: life is meant to be LIVED

Hanging Lake (Glenwood Springs CO)

Posted in Western Slope | Tagged hiking, waterfalls | 3 Comments

waterfalls, geysers & bears – oh my

Published July 23, 2016

I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, and even some affection. But with Montana, it is love. — John Steinbeck

Original plan was to run not one – but TWO marathons back-to-back in Montana. Roped Ash & Tom into helping with the long drive north & scheduled a family vacation ’round Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks. Unfortunately an unexpected health issue caused me to drop from both events – but didn’t deter us from enjoying a couple days in the Rockies. LOVE LOVE this place!

After yesterday’s late check-in, slept ‘til 8 before heading west to Virginia City — Montana’s first territorial capital. Grabbed breakfast & toured a few historical Old West landmarks – but oddly, no Bonanza memorabilia…wrong state. Who knew?

Bonanza was a NBC television western series that ran from 1959 to 1973. The show is set around the 1860s and it centers on the wealthy Cartwright family, who live in the area of Virginia City, Nevada.

Boot Hill — fave day stop. Hilltop cemetery where 4 guys hung in Jan 1864. Not a vacation without a local cemetery stroll. LOL>

last Montana tourist destination before Day 2 park hopping? the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. Safest way to see a bear, a wolf, a couple of bald eagles too 🙂 LOVED watching these massive lumbering giants scavenge under rocks & trees for food hidden by rangers. Whenever in Yellowstone, gotta add this [stop] to your itinerary. Highly recommended.

Quick lunch, second day of geyser trekking – then headed to the falls, Yellowstone Falls.

Lower Yellowstone Falls is the largest volume waterfall in the Rocky Mountains of the United States…308 feet (94 m) high, or nearly twice as high as Niagara Falls.

Hiked both upper & lower falls – a true butt buster, so pace yourself. Jogged back from Lower Yellowstone to retrieve our car (parked at Upper, a mile away), then drive-returned to our digs in Ennis. Watched a family of deer ford a local river. FAAANNNTASTIC!

Gorgeous pink sunset, followed by late nite nachos & live music at the Gravel Bar. Livin’ B-I-G in Big Sky Country 🙂

Day 3 plans? Grand Teton Nat’l Park – seeing these peaks on horseback. #noregretlife