Rocky Mountain Hike


Category Colorado
This post was published on Monday 22 July 2013.

This morning I woke up pretty tired, and lacking motivation to get up and go, which surprised me given how much I have been looking forward to staying in the Rocky Mountains!  I just couldn’t be bothered to work out what to do..

Anyway, I looked through my guide book and found a map with a good-looking hiking route out to a couple of lakes and back.  However, my plans changed once I arrived through: a) the bus I got on went to a different drop-off point to the one I wanted (!) and b) part of the route I wanted to walk was shut.

So, I ended up at Bear Lake and did a big loop round to Cub Lake Trailhead.. a total of ten miles!  Here’s the map given to me by one of the Rangers:

Bear Lake Corridor Trails
Bear Lake Corridor Trails

I started at Bear Lake, headed out to Lake Helene, then up to Odessa Lake, past Fern Lake, to the Pool, and then past Cub Lake and up to the Cub Lake Trail Head as the direct path from the Pool to the Fern Lake Trail Head was closed.  That is a total of ten miles, starting at 9,475 feet, and achieving a maximum elevation of 10,697 feet, a gain of 1,340 feet.  That means I started and finished the hike.. at more than twice the height of Ben Nevis, and climbed right up to the tree line (the point at which trees can’t grow because there isn’t enough oxygen), almost on a level with the glaciers!

It was tough.  It was by far the most difficult hike I’ve ever done.  I ran out of water twice, but filled it up from the mountain streams.  It took me almost six hours to complete, the sun was beating down the whole way, with some welcome patches of shade from the trees, and I was utterly exhausted when I arrived at the shuttle bus stop at Cub Lake Trail Head.  But, from Bear Lake to the Pool, it was stunning.

Here is the journey in pictures:

Just after Fern Lake, I passed half a dozen people ascending the trail on horseback.  They were impressed how far I’d walked at that point, one of them even saying, ‘You the man!’  Being an American, I don’t think she was being sarcastic, which makes that probably the only time someone has said that to me (and meant it!).

I twisted my ankle while passing Cub Lake.. which means the last two-and-a-half miles were done a lot more slowly than the previous seven-and-a-half.  The scenery also became quite boring after Cub Lake—it was mostly grassland and trees, the mountain peaks were hidden—and the temperature was soaring (when I got back to my car it was mid-30s).  All that meant the last hour or so was a real struggle!  But, I completed the walk..

Rocky Mountain National Park is really quite incredible.  Unlike the impressive, bizarre and enormous sandstone canyons and structures of Southern Utah and Arizona, it is a ‘proper’ mountain range.  The gorgeous streams and lakes were punctuated by the sound of the wind rushing through the trees.  It really strongly reminds me of the Alps, except more accessible and (because of the heat) less bleak.

Tomorrow I drive through the other part of the park, on the Trail Ridge Road, which climbs to over 12,000 feet and has stunning views over the park.  I can’t wait!  I think it will take me a while, as I’ll be stopping so regularly to take photos..