A cancellation at the Winding River Resort in Grand Lake, CO, allowed us to plan an extended weekend up there. The plan and reservations were for Thursday through Sunday, but Wednesday afternoon came and we packed in a hurry and left anyway. I was hoping at least 1 campsite would be available at Rocky Mountain National Park since it was Wednesday, but no such luck. The Elk Meadow Lodge and RV Resort just outside the main entrance to the NP had a number of spots open for the evening, so we pulled in there in the nick of time. A nasty storm reached us from the mountains just after we set up the camper for the night. I'm liking having a camper :)
The next morning we did some shopping at the Estes Park Safeway. I don't believe we have ever seen a Safeway that busy. We continued up Fall River Road and into the NP.
This was the first trip with our Jeep in tow. I had just gotten the truck setup for towing the Jeep with the camper the same week. The camper hangs out the rear of the truck about 18", so towing the Jeep normally would cause the Jeep to interact with the rear camper jacks. I used a 12" off-the-shelf hitch extension to give the Jeep just enough room for turning. A U-turn would still cause a problem, so we just have to pay attention. We were able to park the camper and use the Jeep to tool around to town and such all weekend. Having the Jeep was great.
On up Trail Ridge Road, we finally spotted a herd of elk above tree line. If you've never been on Trail Ridge Road, it is a fantastic ride. Rising to 12,183 feet, it follows a path offering spectacular views of the mountains, valleys, and everything in between.
We continued down the other side of the Continental Divide and on to Winding River Resort, just outside the NP entrance. After checking in, setting up, and having a nice quiet lunch in the camper, we set out for Grand Lake. We parked at the town park by the lake and walked to the docks. The grass was wet, so we sat on a bench enjoying the lake atmosphere while keeping on eye on our little Calvin at play. After finishing off a root beer float from the local ice cream shop, we walked up to the downtown boardwalk shops. It drizzled off and on the rest of the afternoon. We took some time and walked around the entire campground and eventually made our way over to the Thursday night ice cream social. It turned cold as the sun set. After a quick wander around to see the ponies, cows, bunnies, goats, pigs, and sheep, we headed back to the camper. And all night it rained. I'm liking having a camper :)
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Friday morning it rained. I wanted to go hiking, though. We did our normal morning routine and I got things ready to go on a 3.5 mile hike along the east shore of Shadow Mountain Lake. Calvin had fallen asleep in the Jeep before we made it to the trail head. We pulled him out of the car seat and strapped him in the child carrier backpack. He woke up smiling. The rain was letting up and drizzled off and on for a while. Mommy pulled away in the Jeep while Calvin bobbed along as I hiked down the trail.
The trail crosses over the river a 1/2 mile or so downstream of the Shadow Mountain Lake Dam. The area was clearly getting a lot of wet weather this year and all the rivers and creeks were rushing, the lakes and wetlands full. Our trail made it's way back up to the dam via a boardwalk at the mouth of an entire valley of grasses swaying softly just above a vast marsh. The sun was shining as we hiked past the dam and along the east shore of the lake. Calvin started to nod off again and bobbed behind me for the next couple miles. Most people we pass would comment on how good Calvin had it. Being carried in a comfy seat with a gentle bounce certainly sounds nice. Maybe my dad would do that for me :) Calvin and I were playing as we hiked past the Shadow Mountain Lookout Tower trail and I stepped aside as a couple came jogging down the lookout trail and past us. Clouds started building again as Calvin laughed hysterically when he would grab my hat and pull my head backwards. We played like this for some time as it started drizzling. A final short climb up the trail brought us to the East Shore Trail Head.
We arrived much earlier than expected. I was anticipating a 5.5 mile hike, while it ended up being only 3.5, so Jenn wasn't yet waiting for us. I could see a larger storm just to the west, clearly dumping rain on the area. I had no mobile phone service, so I asked a gentleman we passed earlier if we could take some shelter in his car while the storm passed. He was in no hurry, as his wife and kids were shopping in town. Sam was vacationing with his family from Texas. Calvin sat on my lap and ate lunch meat, cheese, and raisin bread while Sam and I talked about hiking, careers, fireworks, and weather. The storm had abruptly turned north as we had climbed in the car, so it only drizzled and later rained lightly while we sat talking and entertaining Calvin. An hour passed before Jenn drove in earlier than planned at 2:30pm. She didn't see us in the car and backed into a parking spot where she could easily see us at the trail head. Calvin and I thanked Sam for the shelter and walked over to the Jeep.
Jenn was surprised to see us, and glad to see we were okay. She hasn't yet gotten accustomed to being away from Calvin for long periods and was just glad to see us. I was tired and hungry, so on our way back to camp we stopped by the Trail Ridge Grill for a buffalo burger.
After relaxing and playing with Calvin at camp, we had dinner and went for a walk around a nearby mountain neighborhood. The dirt roads were muddy and filled with large puddles all weekend. I wonder if they make mud terrain tires for strollers? Kodo's paws, legs, and underbelly were caked with dirt and mud. I'm liking having a camper :)
Saturday morning, the 4th of July, brought more rain as I packed up the backpack again for another hike. The plan was to take the Tonahutu Trail from the North Inlet Trail Head and head to the Kawuneeche Visitor Center on our way back to camp. This route is a heavily used horse route by the local horseback riding operations. I didn't actually encounter any horseback riders, though the trail was dug deep by horses. I had little knowledge of this area and never hiked here before. I was a little worried the trail would be to steep for me with Calvin on my back. By the time I had reached the spur trail turning towards the visitor center, I had barely warmed up and Calvin was still having lots of fun. The Tonahutu Trail closely follows Tonahutu Creek, which like others, was flowing wildly at max capacity. I decided to try and text Jenn that the plan was too short and I was going to continue on up Tonahutu Trail and head to Green Mountain Trail Head via Green Mountain Trail. After a couple attempts, the text message was sent and I decided to continue on my alternate route.
The trail was very muddy due to the weather and required very good hiking boots. A couple of guys wearing tennis shoes passed me slowly while I continued to hike. They had a tough time navigating the mud. After a short time they stopped, waiting for the 3 women following behind. I took the opportunity to get one of them to help give Calvin a drink from his sippy cup, which I could only do by removing the backpack. As the 3 women in their group came up they laughed at the sight and we talked briefly about Calvin. They decided to stop here and turn around. I continued up the trail.
The trail climbed consistently, but easily, alongside the creek. Two short sections climbed a little more steeply. It rained off and on throughout the morning hiking. It started to clear up finally, but the stillness brought out the mosquitos. I had not planned on the little buggers, and ended up hiking a fast pace rubbing and swatting at my arms and shoulders the next mile or two. I was hoping to spend some time at the Big Meadows area for lunch and a rest. By the time I reached the area I was still swarmed and Calvin was getting hungry. I pushed on a short while to the Green Mountain Trail intersection and had enjoyed the Big Meadows views only briefly. I watched in my rear view mirror while mosquitos attacked Calvin's head. Calvin didn't seem to notice. At the trail intersection I asked several people for some repellent. The first group had a single dried out wipe that I tried using anyway. I could still smell the chemicals and I think it did help a little. The next couple had brought some spray and were happy to help. This helped tremendously. Mosquitos were still around and eager to attack, but at least it calmed down enough to feed Calvin some lunch.
Calvin was pretty oblivious to the mosquitos and slowly ate his cheese and bread while he diverted his attention back and forth to rocks, dirt, people, and everything else that was new. A lone hiker was coming up to the intersection during this time, and I noticed he had a little girl of his own in his backpack carrier. We talked briefly about the mosquitos and how he didn't think of bringing repellent, either. Just as he was about to continue on, the same couple I borrowed some spray from came back up the trail, heading back. They were more than happy to let the other hiker and little girl use some of their spray, as well. I packed up earlier than I had hoped when it started drizzling again. A group of teenagers watched as I strapped Calvin back in the backpack seat. One guy was intrigued by the backpack, saying he had never seen anything like it before.
Calvin and I headed down the Green Mountain Trail, which climbed up a small ridge before heading downhill the remainder of the hike. Just as I took Calvin off and took him out of his seat under a bathroom structure roof at the trail head, it started to rain hard. Jenn was not waiting for us. The text message I had sent earlier did not specify what time I expected to be at the trail head, nor did it explicitly let her know I wanted her to pick us up there. After the rain stopped and Calvin and I played with rocks and zippers for some time I asked a fellow coming out of the bathroom if he had mobile phone service. I did not. He did and let me borrow his phone to call Jenn. Turned out Jenn had every intention of picking us up but was confused about what I'd want to do since I had the Rocky Mountain National Park entrance pass with me. At $20 for a simple day pass, I understood our plight. I could either spend another $20 or hike with Calvin another 5 or so miles. I saw Jenn round the bend in the road a few minutes later. I pointed at the Jeep coming and told Calvin that Mommy was coming. I asked if he could see Mommy. Before we could even make out the driver's face, Calvin was looking at the Jeep and started to hesitantly wave, recognizing the Jeep, but not the driver. As soon as Jenn was clearly visible and waving back, Calvin's smile grew big and he waved more insistently. It's so much fun to watch Calvin become more aware and be able to visibly see him understand a situation and react accordingly.
During the afternoon and evening we played in the camper as it rained. I was headstrong about going to see the fireworks show at 10pm. Jenn was a little worried about trying to take a 1 year old to see fireworks. We agreed to try. After the rain stopped and the evening starting cooling down, we put Calvin down for a nap at 8:15p and would wake him up in 30min or so. Jenn knew this was kind of a bad idea, but she let me continue with the plan. At 8:45p, Calvin started stirring, so I went to get him out of bed. "WAAAAAAAHHH!" was all we heard for the next 30min or so. He did not like being woken up. I was almost ready to give up and cancel the idea when we tried putting him in the car seat in the Jeep. He started quieting down and it looked like it might work.
We had scoped out town earlier to see where we might want to watch from. Grand Lake only has one way in and one way out. You can then go into the downtown area, or travel a higher road around town to the far end of the lake itself, where a trailhead and public boat launch offer a wide open space at the shore's edge. As we approached the town's main entrance, cars were already lined up on the shoulder, parked. We were still a mile from downtown. We continued on our plan up the higher road towards the boat launch area. The cars and people thinned out quickly along this road, most clearly headed into downtown. The boat launch was filled with cars, but not quite packed. The little Jeep fit easily in a space between some other cars, the hood pointing directly at the center of the lake. Calvin was still doing fine. We climbed out of the Jeep and stood around waiting for the show.
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The Grand Lake fireworks were awesome. Calvin was wide eyed at first, staring at each one. He never startled. The surrounding mountains created booming echoes. At one point I started whispering "BOOM!" to Calvin as each firework exploded. He started giggling. Then quickly started laughing as I continued the game. We all enjoyed the show a lot. As a compromise, Jenn had command of when to leave. With only one traffic route out of town, she chose to leave before the show was finished and try to beat traffic. A good choice. We cruised past everyone still watching along the roads. As we turned out of town and headed for the campground, we could see the sky light up brightly with the show's finale. From what we could see, it looked to be a grand finale. Calvin fell asleep on the way back, and didn't make a peep as Jenn laid him in bed. It was a little chilly that night, so we turned on the heater and we all slept soundly. I'm liking having a camper :)
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The next morning we woke up before Calvin. I laid in bed as long as I could, then decided to get up anyway and start getting things ready for the trip home. Jenn and I moved around the pack 'n play quietly, trying not to wake the adorable package inside. Calvin was laying on his stomach, his hands tucked under his belly. We whispered to each other how big he was getting. Calvin is getting almost as long as the pack 'n play. There used to be so much room in it just a few weeks and months ago. He eventually woke up and smiled as he recognized the people looking at him. We ate breakfast, packed up the camper, hooked up the Jeep, and headed back to the East side of the Divide.
Jenn and I learned one piece of advice during our stay at Winding River. Don't ever let a grown man own a loose, yapping dog named Sparkle.
A few weeks ago Jenn and I spent a weekend driving. We drove all weekend because I have been searching for my paradise in Colorado. "But, Colorado is all paradise!" you might exclaim. Darn close, but I'm picky. I haven't been able to find that one spot that I want to go to time and time again. That weekend of driving proved to be very helpful and I decided to spend a few days last week near Eagle to explore a particular spot a little more.
One of the criteria for finding my paradise is being able to get a spot without a reservation. Being 4th of July week and it being Colorado, I would have been pretty happy with plan C. As I drove up to Yeoman Park Campground, it being on the way to Fulford Cave, I was dumbfounded. There were a total of 3 campsites taken! I talked briefly with one of the campers who told me that he was the only one in the campground on the 4th of July. This was a very pleasant surprise!
I estimated the trail was about 3 miles one way and gains about 1600 feet to end at around 11000 feet. This told me that it was going to be a pretty difficult hike for someone who doesn't really exercise. Guess what? It was! It follows a creek pretty close all the way up to Lake Charles. The first mile wasn't too bad and I was feeling pretty good. I didn't use my GPS, so I wasn't sure how far we had gone and felt we were doing good. That, of course, was when the elevation gains really started. "Just over that ridge" became the phrase of the day. Each time it really looked like it was the last big climb and there would be a lake at the top. That was too many climbs ago. After 3 or so hours of hiking uphill we finally saw the lake. The water was pristine, and the view was awesome. We quickly opened our packs and broke out the food. Our gourmet 3 course meal was better than anything I've ever eaten before. The ham...the cheese...the white bread...mmmmmmmmm.
After seeing my parents off, I packed up another sandwich and a few other things and drove up another forest road in the jeep. This road connects Yeoman Park with Crooked Creek Pass. I was nearly awe struck with the drive. The first couple miles were gorgeous. Although I hadn't passed anyone, the road was clearly used by several vehicles just that morning. One particular set of tire tracks confused me. I drive a narrow track Jeep CJ5. This jeep has just about the narrowest track of any vehicle I've seen, except for ATVs. But this one set of tracks was slightly narrower than my jeep and wider than an ATVs. It puzzled me.
A couple miles up the road is the Peter Estin Hut. This hut is part of the 10th Mountain Division trail system. I've heard of the huts, but have never been to one. The huts are located in generally remote areas and aren't very easy to get to. The trail system connecting the huts is known more for winter skiing and snowshoeing, but is also active during the summer for hiking and mountain biking. The parking lot for this hut had several vehicles, so I decided to go have a peak at one of these huts. Ummm, hut, as it turns out, is not really the appropriate word. I think I would call it the Peter Estin Holy-Crap-This-Is-Awesome Lodge. It was a beautiful two story lodge with solar panel electricity, large piles of fire wood, and the hands down most beautiful drop dead gorgeous unbelievably fantastic view I have ever seen in person. I'll have to see what it takes to stay here sometime.
Unfortunately, he had stopped for a large pine tree that had fallen across the road. There was no going around it. We were on a pretty good shelf road with a steep drop off on the down side, and a very steep incline on the up side. The tree was probably a foot and a half in diameter, with both it's base and it's top wedged between other trees. It was clearly not going anywhere without some help from a big chain saw. But, I just spent an hour or so getting to this point with no other way around except all the way back. So, the guy driving the ATV helped me hook up my tow strap and his chain around the trunk of the fallen tree and then up to my jeep. I slowly tightened the strap and then floored it. Four new potholes in the road were quickly created. The tree was laughing, I could hear it. I backed up to give a little slack in the line, and then gunned it. The tree said, "Sorry, play again." I tugged it a couple more times for good measure and gave up. It was a big tree, and it wasn't budging. Bummer. We packed up the strap and chain and I hauled ass back the way I had come. I had more to see today.
I continued on to Lime Park and then up to Woods Lake. So, remember how the view was so great before? All the views were just as un-freakin-believable as that throughout my drive. I saw vast untouched meadows. The 13 and 14ers of the Holy Cross Wilderness were in the not so distant background. A couple pristine mountain lakes were along the way. Even a deep canyon with sheer cliff walls on either side. And, of course, meandering streams cut through the meadows just waiting for someone to spend a little time fly fishing in them. I have found my paradise.
I was planning a short peek and only had on shorts and a t-shirt. A couple of girls and their dogs sat at the entrance waiting for the rest of their family to come back out. I don't understand how a 2 or 3 foot culvert 15 feet long downhill into a dark, wet, cold, hole in the ground might make you want to just wait outside. After a tip from the girls on how to situate myself in the culvert, I slowly slid into the dark, wet, cold, hole in the ground. Once I got to the end of the culvert, the place opened up considerable and I could stand up easily. The rough, rocky bottom sloped steeply downward and was covered with icy patches. I waited a couple minutes to get myself situated and then took cautious steps farther down and into the cave. I made it a whole 30 feet when I started hearing voices. A group of 4 guys were making their way back. I looked around the entrance room a little more and then three more guys appeared. They let me know that there were no other people in the cave. I decided that was a good signal to be done. I was only trying to get a quick peek and that's what I did. I crawled back up the culvert. Two new guys had just come up the trail and were getting ready to go exploring. They were much better prepared than me. They said they would be in for a couple hours and even brought long burning candles to mark their route. They mentioned that this hole in the ground has around 5 miles worth of places to explore. This is no rinky dinky hole. I will need to come here again with more appropriate clothes, better lighting, and much more time. Jim, when are you coming with me?
My Dad and I went camping this weekend at Rocky Mountain National Park. We set up camp at the Aspenglen campground near the Fall River entrance. After setup, we headed out of the campground on a trail heading southwest, which turned west and took us to West Horseshoe Park. Down in the valley we were able to see our first elk herd. During September the elk are in the rut and the bull males gather up a herd of cow females. So, when you see a herd, there is almost always a single bull watching over the herd. Nothing too exciting, so we hiked back the way we came and made it back to camp just a few minutes after it started to drizzle. We moved some stuff around in the back of the truck and made room so that my Dad and I could sit on our camping chairs under the camper shell in the truck bed and out of the rain. We played some cards until the rain cleared up and had dinner. It started getting a little chilly so we decided to drive around a little and watch some elk. The elk in Rocky Mountain NP are fascinating. Without natural predators, and with nearly constant interaction with humans the elk are plentiful and exceptionally tame. It's almost gauranteed that you'll see elk on a visit to RMNP. We saw two herds hanging around the Horseshoe Park area, one was trying to cross the road. The elk, apparently, go to elk school because they were crossing at the marked crosswalk, and would only cross when the Forest Service people would stop traffic. Looked like the school crossing in front of my neighborhood! We drove to the southern park, Moraine Park, to see if there were any more herds, but drove back to Horseshoe Park since we didn't see any more. By this time it was pitch black and people were dissappearing. As we passed the cross walk in Horseshoe Park we noticed the previous herd had just finished crossing with the bull taking up the rear. We could barely see anything by now, but pulled over to listen for a while. The bull was some what vocal and we could listen to him bugle several times. Nearly falling asleep, we went back to camp, played a little UNO, and went to bed.
The next morning we had some oatmeal and drove from camp looking for a good hike. The weather was chilly and partly cloudy. On our way through Horseshoe Park we saw the same two elk herds from yesterday, stopped and looked a while, then we moved on. Looking to the west revealed very cloudy, rainy weather. As we drove down to Moraine Park the weather was mixed and spotty, but mostly sunny. We drove all the way to Bear Lake, where the weather quickly changed to heavy, wet snow. We were in no mood for hiking in cold, wet snow and turned around to go back to Upper Beaver Meadows area. When we passed this area just 30 minutes ago, it was sunny and pleasent. Now snowing all the way, we stopped in at the Moraine Park Museum for a little indoor activity. We found out that while we were in the Museum the Forest Service closed Trail Ridge Road due to the bad weather. Guess we're not going hiking today!
My brother and a friend were coming up to camp Saturday night and it was getting close to their arrival, so we left the museum and headed back to camp. The snow let up and the elk were still in Horseshoe Park. We turned down the Old Fall River Road to see if we could get a better view. Too many trees. The weather turned pleasent, albeit chilly, so we went for a very short hike to the Alluvial Fan. I suppose I couldn't even call it a hike since the trail was paved! The short snowfall made for some really nice views of the mountains. The aspen trees were changing also, creating large brush strokes of gold in the vast green pine. We were cruising on back to the campground when my brother called. Perfect timing...we just got back into cell phone range.
It was around lunch time and we all decided to go watch the two elk herds in Horseshoe Park before heading down to Estes Park for some lunch. We watched both herds for quite some time. It was amazing to watch the bulls keep their herd together. When a cow would start wandering off, the bull would eventually go round her up. One bull even flanked a cow by going on the far side of a small ridge then coming up in front of her suddenly. It was very much like watching a border collie work a herd. The other herd also had a short time of excitment. We were watching as most of the herd was laying down (we could see about a dozen elk) in a small dip and the bull stood at it's head. Suddenly, the entire herd (turned out to be 44 elk) was up and moved 30 yards out of the dip. That's when we noticed another lone bull appear just 75 yards away. We were hoping for a fight, but the lone bull just grazed while the herd eventually calmed back down. We left for lunch.
After lunch, my Dad left for home and my Brother, Alex, and I left to find a hiking trail. The weather was still chilly, cold in the wind, but it wasn't snowing or raining anymore. We chose to hike down Deer Ridge Trail to Upper Beaver Meadows. Luckily we all took hat, gloves, and winter coats. It was cold now that we were out of the truck for a while.
About a half mile down the trail, right at the first split in the trail, we saw a herd of elk in a small aspen grove. They were no more than 30 yards off the trail. The big bull was on the far side of the herd another few yards up a small hillside. We found a tree and sat to watch for a while. We heard a few other bulls in the distance bugle while our bull 
The lone bull just stood and watched each of us individually walk up and past. All of us felt about the same as we made our way through the clearing -- very small. The bull suddenly appeared very, very large with nothing between us and him. We could see our names written on each of the 10 points as he watched us. We all made it across the clearing and quickly continued on up the hill toward the road and out of the path of the two bulls. Talk about an adrenaline rush! Wow! We continued to hear the bugling bulls below us as we cut up and across the hillside to the road, past a small group of mule deer on the opposite side of the road, and on into the truck.
We talked about the hike during dinner at Estes Park Brewery. Then cruised back into camp and shivered while we hundled around a fire for a few hours and recounted the days events. What an awesome day! After watching the Halloween-like orange and black glow of the last coals we bundled up in our sleeping bags hoping we wouldn't freeze over night. But once the initial stab of cold fabric touching my skin went away I quickly got cozy and slept.
