Rocky Mountain National Park 2

Johnny Jones, 1 July 2001

continued from Rockies 1

Tuesday morning Bryan and I went to the Ranger Station a couple blocks away for information, and we learned that four lakes were just beyond the point Bryan and Amy got to on the East Inlet Trail.

That whetted my appetite for mountain lakes. I remembered from the website, "There are lakes, about 150 of them. Some occupy pastoral, forested settings. Others are perched on almost inaccessible shelves high in the park's wilderness, remaining frozen almost year round."

But for beauty in the area, the Ranger recommended a trail just up Trail Ridge Road, near the start of the Colorado River.

We asked if there was anything we needed to be wary about. She warned us about bears and mountain lions. A couple of the lions had been spotted near where we would be, just the previous day. But there was not an "encounter." She said we should be OK if we didn't hike alone, if we were back before dusk, if we talked or sang, and if we didn't run on the trails. "It's mostly lone joggers out after dusk that have encounters," she said.

The trail was a loop, but we didn't intend to hike the entire 12 miles. But we were about five miles in, and I thought what lay ahead might be easier than the climb that lay behind. The ranger told us we would find a ridge ­ fewer ups and downs. We consulted, prayed, thought about it, and decided to go for it.

The ridge was along an old road that bordered a contained stream ­ a canal, clear as glass. We watched a beaver come and go, and saw every rock on the bottom as we walked for miles. We had to cross once, on a narrow flattened log above a swirling, wide part. This was part of the park: "Throughout Rocky Mountain National Park, the unforgettable sound of rushing mountain waters breaks the wilderness silence. The high country gives rise to small streams and great rivers, notably the Colorado, the Cache la Poudre and the Big Thompson. Some of the park's more than 450 miles of streams tumble down waterfalls, which bear such names as Ouzel, Timberline and Thunder."

When we got to an old wooden sign that pointed towards a lake, Bryan and Amy wanted to find it. It was getting later ... but they went together to try.

They lost the trail, and Bryan tried climbing a bunch of boulders to see it the lake was above them. "I would close my eyes to pray, then open them every time I heard a rock fall," Amy said. It was one of those moments Mommies are glad to miss.

We didn't see any predators, but we were late enough to see lots of prey: More than a dozen deer and elk in a meadow just before the trail's end. Amy and I were both thinking, "If the deer and elk are this plentiful, the lions and bears can't be far behind." It was definitely after dusk.

The next day we decided to head towards the other side of the park. Bryan and Amy wanted to climb a mountain, and Chip and I wanted to climb up to some mountain lakes.

But we learned that 2500 cyclists would be on the road on Thursday, so we put off our adventure until the following day.

And what did we do on Wednesday and Thursday? More trails in the area ­ and none were disappointing. We saw old log cabins and wildflowers, wildlife and wild water. We never tired of discovering high streams and meadows, and the oceans of white- peaked mountains like waves rippling in the distance.

And the woods. "Also preserved within the park boundaries are some of Colorado's more pristine forests. Great stands of ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, aspen, subalpine fir and spruce adorn the mountains below treeline. The forests are interspersed with mountain meadows that fill with colorful wildflowers during the brief high country summer."

Our days were filled with sun and breeze, and our nights sleeping-cool. But our lakes and peaks still lay ahead of us, as half the week has passed in our little cabin in the woods.