Grace Falls

While the wildflowers at lower elevations have virtually vanished for the season, the subalpine wildflowers are still beautiful. Wet meadows are carpeted with all shades of purple, yellows and red.

Muneca and friends downstream from Grace Falls.


Returning up the remains of the old trail to Odessa Gorge, we had incredible views back to Notchtop and Grace Falls cascading down near its base.

The return trip winds its way back through the forest. Occasional viewpoints look out over Bierstadt Lake and other areas to the north. After the Flattop turnoff, the trail swings to the other side, and Glacier Gorge comes into view with Half Mountain, Longs Peak, Keyboard of the Winds, Pagoda, Chiefshead and Thatchtop on the horizon and Spearhead poking up just in front of Chiefshead.

Sandbeach Lake

Erin and Evan were up for the night at the cabin. Looking for a quick hike they could get in before work, we headed almost across the street to the Sandbeach Lake trail. A quick four and a half miles brought us to the lake, with the amazing view of Mt Meeker to the north.


Copeland Mountain dominates the skyline on the other side of the lake. Sandbeach is one of those lakes that you want to have the time to sit and enjoy. It really does have a beach, and the water is warmer than most of the high lakes. Next time I'll bring a book and a towel and pretend I'm at my own ocean in the mountains.

Muneca was so excited to see that someone had built her a beach house. No worrying about high tide washing it all away. But I do wonder how it survived the hailstorm this afternoon.

Deserted Village

One cabin in ruins is all that is left of a small hunting resort from the early 1900's. On the North Fork of the Big Thompson, the river rushes just a few yards away. A large meadow marks the remainder of the hunting camp.

The hike follows the North Fork the entire way - in and out of shade, but always accompanied by the sound of water. Plenty of flowers along the way - yellow coneflower, horsemint and tall monkshood.

But the best part about the Deserted Village hike (or is it Dessert Village) are the cinnamon rolls at the Glenhaven General Store. After hiking 6 miles we earned the incredible treat, and perhaps a nap once the sugar high wore off.

Ptarmigan Tarns

With all the recent rain, we weren't sure what to expect for the day. Starting from Bear Lake, there was a mist that blew in and out. No view of Hallets from Bear - only an eerie quiet and a feeling that there should be a loon calling from the other side of the lake.

Three miles up to Lake Helene and the fog was still with us. Trees appeared and disappeared on the far side of the lake.

As if on cue, Richard made the sun come out right as we reached the tarns. It was a different day.

A small island of ice still floated in the upper tarn despite the weeks of baking heat. There was talk of jumping onto the ice, but a contest to stand in the cold water prevailed. We had two winners.

By the end of lunch, the sun was hiding behind the mist. Also hiding in the mist were the rain clouds which soaked us on the return trip. But it was worth it!

Mt Ida

Our plan was to hike to Arrowhead Lake, which is often an unpredictable hike. After weeks of unseasonable heat, the weather forecast showed that the monsoon rains might drench us instead. Fortunately there is the perfect Plan B - Mt Ida. We hiked through the chilly forest above Milner Pass and arrived at the tundra in time to see a small group of bull elk waking up.

Clouds were in the strangest places. Grand Lake was covered completely by low clouds. Mist kept rising and falling over Mt Ida and surrounding mountains. But we were happy for the first sunshine and had hopes that all would burn off.

The Never Summers kept their fluffy covering for most of the hike up. But then things started changing and the clouds were getting lower and darker. Plan B and Mt Ida looked more attractive.  

As we got to the summit, a marmot was sunning itself. Perhaps a sign that the sun was not going to last long. We were down from the rocks and back on the trail when the rain started. And then the hail started, stinging our shoulders and the backs of our legs. And then the lightning started, as we hurried back to treeline. No photos of the herd of bighorn sheep that were scrambling off the ridge and away from those bolts. We made it back soaked but intact.

Red Deer Lake

I had forgotten how beautiful the area up the Middle St Vrain is. Starting out from Peaceful Valley you can follow the north side of the river for 4 miles to the Indian Peaks Wilderness Boundary. Plenty of perfect pools for fishing, a few cascades along the way, cool and shady and fresh in the early morning.

A few more miles brought us to Red Dear Lake. Unlike most of the lakes that are nestled in between towering peaks, the peaks are all in the distance here and the views are spectacular. The glaciers that carved out this valley must have been enormous.  

Along the way there are plenty of large meadows. We kept wondering what had formed the area - logging camps, fires?  A railroad line had been planned for this pass once upon a time. Old timber still lines the trail in places.

Thatchtop

In the early morning light, we were heading up. After a short section on the trail we found the start of the S-couloir and traveled up through rocks, patches of snow, and beautiful wildflowers.

Once we reached the top of the couloir, the long rock and grass slope of Thatchtop spread out above us. Plenty more "up" to go. While searching for the elusive alpine forget-me-not (with a lemon drop reward), we saw some white tailed ptarmigan blending into the rocks.

Lunch at the summit was a welcome break. Bruce received his 100 mile patch at 12,668 feet - quite an achievement for his month at the Y.

Down the rocks on the other side of Thatchtop, past Solitude and Shelf Lakes, we threaded our way through the forest to Tom's secret highlight - Shelf Creek Falls. 

Emerald Lake

There is nothing quite like getting out on the trail before 6 AM. The sun is only just over the horizon, the color slowly starts to materialize, the air is still. 

After viewing Nymph we arrived at Dream Lake. Hallett and the buttresses of Flattop towered in the distance.  

 Emerald Lake brought us closer to Hallett

A snowshoe hare darted across the trail, but calmly settled down to munching the grass. While his hind legs are still white, the rest of his fur has become his summer camouflage. 

Muneca and friends at Bear Lake

Finch Lake up the Elevator

The heat has finally broken making it a perfect day for hiking. We took the main trail up Wild Basin stopping at Copeland Falls and Calypso Cascades. Then the fun starts. Following the faint trail to the left of the cascades we made our way towards Finch Lake. 

Every drop in the creek brought another photo stop. Tall Chiming Bells are blooming all along the banks. 

We were rewarded with a calm day at Finch Lake. Reflections were perfect and a small duck family kept zooming back and forth, creating little ripples in the mirror. 

Muneca found herself a new friend on the hike. Chippy was very attentive. 

Muneca and friends at Finch Lake. 

Cub Lake and the Pool

A beautiful lake surrounded by great rocks for enjoying lunch. The mallard family and the ground squirrels were trying hard to steal some of our food. We had plenty of beautiful flowers along the way as the trail changed from meadow, to sunny montane, to north facing and cool. The first columbines of the season, twinflower, star flowered pyrola were blooming No moose or wood lilies this time around.

Muneca and her friends at Cub Lake.

Deer Mountain

Every time I have hiked up Deer Mountain it is windy. I get to the true summit and brace myself to take a few photos without blowing of the edge. I've never been able to truly enjoy the views of the high mountains for long. I hunker down on the side facing town and gaze at Twin Sisters instead. One day I hope to be able to just hang out on the summit and relax. 

Wigwam Tea Room

The Wigwam Tea Room lies on the old trail up Aspen Brook that was used to get from Estes Park up to Longs Peak. The buildings are maintained enough to keep them from further decay, but there are no signs marking the history of the place.