Road Trip 98

Part 1, The Drive West

We left a day earlier than expected, thanks to the good graces of my new boss, Bruce Klein.  A long day's drive saw us just past Wheeling, WV in eastern Ohio.  Knowing we had a lot of ground to cover, the next day we gritted our teeth, loaded up the cd changer and headed west.  16 hours and 975 miles later we were in Salina, Kansas where we stayed for the night.  Friday was an easy day, just finish Kansas and drive to Denver, Co, a mere 425 or so miles.  

I wanted to spend the evening in Denver rather than continue to Rocky Mountain National Park for two reasons:  one, I wanted to start to get acclimated to higher altitudes (Denver is at 5300 feet, New Jersey is at maybe 50), and two, I wanted to revisit Lakeside Amusement Park.  I had been to Lakeside previously on my solo motorcycle trip to the Rockies a few years earlier, and loved it so much I wanted to share it with my wife Deb.  We had a great night there, and really enjoyed the chance to stretch our legs after being in the car for almost 2000 miles.

Part 2, Rocky Mountain Nation Park

We arrived in the park early Saturday morning, and got a very nice campsite in Moraine Park.  We had planned to arrive on Monday, so this gave us two extra days making a total of 7 nights camping in the park.  The first thing we noticed was the cold wind.  Temperature was maybe in the low 60s, with a very strong wind out of the south making it feel a lot colder.  We had only brought one pair of jeans each, figuring this was summer.  Little did we know what awaited us...

The first thing you have to do when you get to RMNP is to drive Trail Ridge Road.  I've driven on a great deal of roads across the country, from Going-to-the-Sun road in Glacier National Park in Montana to the Blue Ridge Parkway to California's Highway 1, and Trail Ridge Road is perhaps the most spectacular stretch of pavement in the country.  We stopped at the Alpine Visitor's Center, elevation around 12,000 feet, and did a quick hike to an observation point 200 feet about the complex.  We were pretty sure our lungs were going to burst - our New Jersey bodies are not used to being starved of oxygen.  The view from the top was worth the trek, but the whipping wind prevented us from staying long.   

Our first real hike of the vacation came on Sunday, up to Cub Lake, a 2.3 mile trail with 540 feet of elevation gain starting from 8,620 feet.  We started at about 7:30 in the morning.  This was not a very steep trail, so it was pretty easy going for us altitudinally-challenged beginners.  We saw elk and beaver along the way, and the lake itself was very nice.  We continued past the lake to The Pool where we connected with another trail that leads back to the Fern Lake Trailhead.  There were a couple of nice cascades which I spent time photographing, and some interesting rock formations as well.  Upon arriving at the Fern Lake TH, I had to walk on the road about a mile to get the car that we left at the Cub Lake TH.  Total hiking distance was about 6 miles, making for a very pleasant morning.

Monday we did a great hike, a 5 mile (round-trip) hike to Mills Lake that starts at 9,950 feet and gains 700 feet.  About 0.6 miles along the trail you come to Alberta Falls, one of the few large waterfalls in the park.  Since we had started early again, we shared the trail with no one.  After a time at the falls, we continued, with a little confusion over the route, on to Mills.  After about a mile along a very rocky exposed ridge the trail dipped down into the forest again and we started having to cross a lot of snow.  No problem.  At one point you cross a small bridge over a fast-flowing creek, and the trail immediately after that was a tricky snow-covered uphill curve that seemed to hug the edge, where a slip would tumble you down into the river.  Whew!  Another mile or so and we were at Mills Lake, which was just spectacular.  Mountains all around, sparkling water, big rocks to lay on and soak up the sun.  After quite some time enjoying the lake, we headed back along the trail, through the more melted and thus more slippery snow.  A lot of fun.