But first, a very important update regarding the Beaver Nuggets. They were actually pretty good. Basically cinnamon corn pops. I might try to make some when I get home.
Not many stories to tell about RMNP, just had a great time traipsing around in the snow. I did 2 official trails and a bunch of wandering.
There was a lot of snow still even in May, and more fell the next morning. Here's how deep the snow was:
I read it was slippery and that microspikes were recommended so I rented some from a place in town. They were extremely helpful. Here's what they looked like:
Bear Lake was homebase. This is Bear Lake:
I first hiked to Emerald Lake. This is the view you're greeted with shortly after leaving the trailhead.
And here's another:
The first landmark is Dream Lake. Here's what that looks like:
Dream Lake was frozen enough where you could walk on it.
Continued on and up some pretty steep climbs. At 10,000 feet, I was definitely feeling the altitude. Fortunately, I was pretty acclimated to it at this point so I just felt a little short of breath during the really strenuous parts. I just took a few breaks to catch my breath and was good to go.
I made it to Emerald Lake, which, being frozen, looked similar to the other lakes, but you could really start to feel how immense those peaks in the distance are.
There were people skiing down the slope on the other side of the lake, and they were fun to watch. They were just tiny specks from where I was.
Next, I tried to loop around and hit Lake Haiyaha. I got to this point and decided it wasn't worth it. I didn't trust that snow or my balance, and those pine trees were looking pretty pointy.
The other official trail I did was to Alberta Falls. It was a much easier hike than the ones up to the lakes.
A few sections were full of these "tattooed" trees.
The waterfall was great as was the climb to the top.
The trail kept going from Alberta Falls, and I still had some time before I had to return the microspikes so I kept going too. It was less busy, but I saw a few other hikers. It was all kind of blending together at this point. There were constantly new vistas to look at.
I saw a bunch of mule deer while in Estes and in the park. On my way out of the park, I saw a few chillin' in a valley so I snapped this pic.
And this was actually in Roosevelt National Forest the next day, but I got to see some bighorn sheep as well.
When I finally got back to the hotel, my legs were stiff, and my socks were drenched from melted snow. And I realized that despite wearing a sun hat, my face was sunburned. All that snow was basically a giant tanning reflector.
But I had a great time. I met a lot of friendly people on the trail. I don't know if it was the altitude or the fresh mountain air or what, but people just seemed in really good spirits, and I was in really good spirits too.