Exploring and Wine: August 2015

Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, Lake Haiyaha

Rocky Mountain National Park

7/31/2015

This is the most popular hike in Rocky Mountain National Park (Emerald Lake). It's easy to see why- good trailhead access, stunning scenery, mild grades, easy trail. In 6 miles you can see 5 different lakes, forest, streams and waterfalls. This Friday morning was quite busy, and a Saturday or Sunday would be even more crowded. This is quite a nice hike, and would be excellent for snowshoeing as well.

I took my sister and nephew from Wisconsin, and my 3 year old son. I was proud of him, he made it 5 miles out of the 6 before I had to carry him. It was his longest hike to date. Altitude doesn't much seem to bother him, but boredom certainly does.

Nymph lake, filled with lillypads

Nymph Lake

Longs Peak

Dream Lake

Emerald Lake

Longs Peak from the Lake Haiyaha spur

Nice forest trail

Panoramic composite shot of Lake Haiyaha

Lake Haiyaha

GPS Says:
6.0 miles
1309' of elevation gain

GPS tracks loaded into Google Earth. We did Emerald first and then Haiyaha.

If one were to repeat this hike, there is a shortcut at the switchback above Dream Lake so you don't have to circle all the way around the bottom. I didn't investigate to see how viable it is. As this is a high-volume trail, it is important to stay on the trail as much as possible.

Mt. Fletcher 13,951'

8/8/2015

From Blue Lakes Dam

I did this hike true "ultralight" style with only a few items- my phone served as camera and GPS unit, and a running hydration bladder. It worked out fine, although it was pretty cold and windy near the summit. GPS tracking and photos are from an iPhone 6 with no additional processing or editing.

The trail has been rerouted above the dam to avoid erosion. In addition, just like the 13ers.com route description mentioned, the trail effectively disappears above the lake. The route never really exceeded class 2 at any point, despite having to move around the cliff band/ snow gully. I suspect this snow will remain all year.

This large snowfield blocks access to the standard ascent gully

Large flat area on the saddle with Quandary

Quandary Peak (14er) at left

We were thinking about a traverse over to drift peak, but a couple things gave us pause. There were clouds building and visibility wasn't perfect. It was cold and a little windy. Unsure of the weather and also lacking proper gloves, I decided we should skip it this day. It was probably a good choice.