I need to go back and count the number of hikes Chris and I have been on this summer. Certainly it isn’t as many as we went on last year, but we have tried to go on a number of hikes throughout the summer.
Chris and I had to clean the church before driving up to Estes Park, and since our
Chris and I had to clean the church before driving up to Estes Park, and since our
reservation for the park wasn’t until noon, we stopped at the church at 9:30 am. Kristen
met us there and we worked with another family for less than an hour to clean.
Kristen drove back home (she had to work later in the day), and Chris and I continued
Kristen drove back home (she had to work later in the day), and Chris and I continued
on to Estes.
We stopped at Jimmy John’s for sandwiches and were on our way.
We stopped at Jimmy John’s for sandwiches and were on our way.
We drove up to the Park n' Ride after entering Rocky Mountain National Park and parked.
The lot was fairly empty, but it was already after noon and most of the “lucky” reservation
holders had come earlier in the morning for cooler hiking times.
The Park n' Ride bus dropped us off at the Bierstadt Trailhead. Now, normally, we try to
The Park n' Ride bus dropped us off at the Bierstadt Trailhead. Now, normally, we try to
avoid starting here because the trail is instantly up up and up as the path switches back
and forth until you finally reach the top of the trail. It is about 600 ft of incline in less
than one mile. Whew.
The nice thing about that is that we have hiked enough at this point that we aren’t too
winded by the incline.
We passed a family that was clearly unprepared for the trail. As we sat and ate our
We passed a family that was clearly unprepared for the trail. As we sat and ate our
sandwiches before beginning our ascent, we watched them prepare to hike.
The mom, who was obviously pregnant, was wearing a dress and flip flops with no
The mom, who was obviously pregnant, was wearing a dress and flip flops with no
support whatsoever. We passed them after a while and she was sitting on a rock resting.
The altitude is crazy even for native Coloradans; if you aren’t used to the altitude,
hiking is even harder.
We followed the trail using the AllTrails App. We skirted around Bierstadt Lake and
We followed the trail using the AllTrails App. We skirted around Bierstadt Lake and
continue following the trail to Mill Creek Basin. As we moved around the side of the
mountain, we had to hike through a burn scar area. It wasn’t terribly beautiful and there
was very little shade from trees. Fortunately the day was overcast or it would have been
hot!
We stopped for snacks after a couple of hours hiking and then followed the trail down the
We stopped for snacks after a couple of hours hiking and then followed the trail down the
side of the mountain until we reach the Fern Lake Trail. At this point we had already
walk 5ish miles. We could have gone on to Fern Lake and a waterfall, but chose instead to
walk to the trailhead.
Since the shuttle bus stopped a half mile from the trailhead, we had to continue walking.
Unfortunately, when we reached the pick up area, another family had been waiting there
for over an hour.
Instead of sitting and waiting, we decided to keep on walking and hoped to come across the shuttle on our way out to the road. The shuttle came after we had been walking for about 5 minutes. We jumped on and had to make a bunch of extra stops just to get back to the Park n' Ride where we had left the car, but we were happy we didn’t have to walk the whole way.