Awoke early (6:00) because we'd planned to driver over to teh East side of the Park today. This is the first morning we hadn't wakened to brilliant, almost blinding, blue sky. It was actually somewhat overcast, with lots of clouds. But I had a hunch that by the time we got over to the other side, it would clear up.
I was right! We left around 6:50 and got to Bear Lake around 9:00. There were very few cars out on most of Trail Ridge Road as we crossed thru the park, but as we got further east, not surprisingly, the numbers grew. Because of construction on part of Bear Lake Road, they are only allowing private vehicles on that road past the Moraine Park Visitor Center prior to 9:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m. If you miss the 9:00 cut-off, you need to ride the shuttle which operates in that part of the Park. We wouldn't have minded taking the shuttle and were prepared for it, but certainly makes things more convenient if you have your own vehicle - for extra clothing, snacks, etc. What we were more concerned with was the Bear Lake parking lot being full. We'd heard that it typically fills up by 7:30. So, if it were full when we got there, even though we'd made the 9:00 road cut-off, we'd still have to turn aruond and go back to the Visitor Center and try to park there and take the shuttle . . . and, we'd heard that there's limited parking at the Visitor Center, which would require driving to Estes Park, parking there at a lot, taking the Hiker Shuttle into the Park, transferring to the Ber Lake Shuttle, etc., etc. Talk about a hassle!
Well, the Bear Lake lot was still open - but only 4 more vehicles got in after us! Sounds like perfect (providential!) timing to me! If we'd succumbed to the temptation to stop at any of the scenic pull-outs on Trail Ridge over on the drive over, we wouldn't have made it!
It was by far the largest parking area we'd seen - held well over 100 vehicles, whereas most others we'd seen maybe held 20. But, this entire Bear Lake area is the most popular of the Park. Not only is it close to the crowds of people who stay in Estes Park, but lots of folk like us who stay on the West side make the trek over to visit it. And with good reason!
Another gorgeously serene stop was at Nymph Lake (1st lake), which was partly covered with lily pads.
Our reference point was Hallett Peak, the big jagged peak in that region (12,700 ft), sitting next to a carved glacier, and next to that the peak called Flattop Mtn (12,300 ft). We would see this mountaintop duet from different persepectives and vantage points along the hike, never failing to stir our sense of awe and gratitude for such glorious vision-scapes.
And not just a feast for the eyes. For almost every other sense, too. The sounds of lots of birds chirping, the cascading water fallling, or gurgling in gentle streams, or even just silence. The now familiar fragrance of the firs, pines, & spruces. The feel of the warm sunshine with an occasional breeze. All a foretaste of heaven, for sure!
If the grand beauty of all this wasn't enough, other memorable details of the 5 hours we spent on this hike: the fact that the mostly clear blue sky was somewhat unusual - we heard a man who was standing back from admiring a splendid vista remark that the sky was bluer than he'd seen it in a while in this area. A couple of people were trout fishing on Dream Lake. Seeing them in that setting, against the mountains, casting their lines, was so reminiscent of those gorgeous Montana fishing scenes from A River Runs Through It. While we were eating our snacks at Emerald Lake, I had laid a cracker on my leg while looking for something in my backpack. I felt something tickling my leg. It was a chipmunk crawling right on me to get my cracker! Happened too quickly for a picture, though.
It was surprisingly uncrowded on the trail. I'd read that it was the most popular trail in all of the Park, and all of the people spilling out of their cars at the parking lot reminded us of a sports of concert event (slight exaggeration). So we were prepared for an assembly-line feel to the hike. And while there were certainly more people on this trail than on our other hikes, it wasn't bad at all . . . there were lots of times where we'd be alone for a while, til another couple or group of hikers passed us.
By the time we'd returned to the trailhead, Bill was struggling a little. We'd gained about 600 feet, even more than the Ute Trail. And it's coming back down a rocky, twisty trail that really bothers his legs, more than going up. I wanted to take the easy 1/2 mile walk around Bear Lake itself. Bill wasn't up to it, so I did it solo. Absolutely lovely. I saw the exact same scenes which are iconic of RMNP, as the Ranger said. Only difference was that clouds had moved in somewhat by now, so no brilliant clear blue sky. There are rustic benches every few yards along this nature path - I'm sure to invite reflection, meditation, prayer, and/or rest, all of which I did.
Stopped at 2 or 3 of the scenic pull-outs on the way home. Pretty cloudy and windy now, even a light rain. We tried to see if we could spot down below the place where we stopped at Forest Canyon Pass on our Ute Trail hike. Couldn't locate the exact spot, because hidden under a ridge, but could identify the general area where we were.
Got home tired but quietly exhilerated around 6:00. Fixed leftovers, plus a nice salad & finished the bottle of wine from last nite. It began raining more heavily & steadily - in fact, we noticed it dropping in the rear of the RV. Put towels around the affected area. Bill said that the accident probably pulled loose something on the roof, but he thought that he could repair it, at least temporarily, bu caulking it. Was nice hering the steady rhythm of the rain as we read, and then went to bed.
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