Rocky Mountain high (altitudinally speaking)

Day 17 – Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

After yesterday’s rainstorms, we decided our best bet for today would be to get up early and get our hiking in before the inevitable afternoon thunderstorms hit.  So we set our alarms for 4:30 with hopes of being on the trail by a little after 5.  Then 4:30 hit and we realized that was a terrible idea, so we went back to sleep.  We finally got up at about 6:30 and made it to the trailhead by 7:15.

Long's Peak.  Our hike would lead us to a lake in the cradle below.

The hike for today was to a place called Chasm Lake, which is located below Long’s Peak in the southeastern portion of the park.  The hike was “only” 8.4 miles long, which is just over half of what our last hike at Teton was.  However, the hike at Teton started at 6,000 feet rising to 9,000 feet.  Today’s hike started at 9,000 feet, rising to 11,900 feet.  A couple thousand feet might not sound like much, but it is amazing the effect it has on you.



The Chasm Lake trail up towards Long's Peak.

The trail we took to get to Chasm Lake is the same trail that other hikers/climbers take to get to Long’s Peak.  The difference is, the Chasm Lake trail peels off after 3.5 miles, while the Long’s Peak Trail continues for another 3.5 miles over a boulder field, up a trough with loose rocks, and up small ledges on the rock face called The Narrows until reaching the summit at 14,500 feet.  You also have to start the trek at 3 am to make sure you are down before the afternoon weather hits.  Maybe next time.



A view of the mountains through the trees on our way up the trail.

The first half of the trail was a seemingly unending series of switchbacks through a forest of fir, pine, and spruce (what we have learned is called a Montanne ecosystem).  The trail was nice, but the density of the trees made for limited views outside of the forest.  As we rose, the trees begin to get shorter and more sparse until we hit 11,000 feet, which is where the Alpine tundra begins.  After this, all vegetation was low to the ground, including grasses, shrubs, and flowers (check out the “Flowers” tab up above for pictures of some of the flowers we have seen along our hikes.  I am not a flower person, but we both thought that they are all very beautiful, especially set against the contrast of the jagged rocks and dead trees).  Amy and I learned today that these low-lying plants actually form their own ecosystem close to the ground and are able to keep the air temperature on the ground higher than that of the alpine air above them.

Out of the forest, into the alpine tundra.  Nowhere to go but up!

One reaching the alpine tundra, the trail straightened out more, which also meant that the grade of the incline increased.  Coming out from under the trees also allowed us to see our surroundings for the first time.  While beautiful and impressive, we still enjoyed the views in the Tetons more.  I think we kind of spoiled ourselves with that hike.  We made our way along to the point where our trail separated from the Long’s Peak trail, with ours heading for the southern face of the peak and the other circling around to the northern face.  As we moved towards the lake, we entered a “bowl”, for lack of a better word, that had been carved out by a glacier.  As we walked around the (sometimes nerve-rackingly narrow) ledge, we could see ponds, streams, and waterfalls below us.

The first portion of our climb.  Another section lie above,
out of view.

We got to the edge of the bowl below the peak, but still had a couple hundred feet of climbing to do before getting to the lake.  This last ascent involved our first actual scramble (not a true climb), as we had to maneuver our way up over boulders, loose rock, and sliprock.

Amy checking out the lake.  The water is so still and
clear, it almost blends in with the rocks.

We finally made it to the top and got our first glimpse of the lake.  The water was, once again, crystal clear (and still very cold, Amy reported) and we had fantastic views of the imposing Lon’s peak and the surrounding peaks.  But again, we compared it to Lake Solitude in the Tetons and it came up short.

Llamas making the trek up as we made our trek down.

After a brief snack and some water, we began our trip down.  It was an easy trek, and we made it to the bottom in well under two hours (as opposed to the almost 4 it took us to climb up).  The only excitement on the way down was when we saw a man with 4 llamas making their way up the trail, carrying all of his gear (he must have been on a multiday hike).  At first we weren’t sure if they were llamas or alpacas, but he informed us that alpacas are actually “no”pacas, as they aren’t used for carrying anything.  Those four llamas and a few marmots were all for wildlife viewing today.

Lunch by Lilly Lake, clouds rolling in.

After our hike, we headed to Lilly Lake for a picnic lunch.  As we sat there, the dark clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped considerably.  It looked like we had timed it perfectly for the rain, but alas, the rain never came (at least where we were.  We could see it coming down in the distance).  We hopped in the car and headed to two of the visitors centers to check out a movie and museum about the park.

We decided we were done exploring for the day and headed back to camp.  The weather is perfect and there are no bugs, so I am sitting here typing while Amy is reading.  We just learned that the fire ban has been lifted, so after our showers, we will have our second campfire of the trip.  Then, early to bed so we can get going early on our trip to Moab, Utah. (It is good that we are moving on because all I had left for Rocky Mountain puns for the titles were “Rockin’ & Rollin” – not sure how that would have been appropriate – and “Rock Bottom” – which I really didn’t want to have the opportunity to use).