11 replies to this topic

[jflo]

On this, my third day of vacation in CO, My friend Dave and I started with a nice breakfast at Dozens (nice restaurant in downtown D-town), thus began our meandering drive to Boulder, then to EP. With a stop in Boulder at REI (I needed some shoes), we were off to Upslope brewery, which is on the way to EP ( on Lee Hill Rd,right near the Drive-in sign). Great people, very good beer...

As usual, we stopped at the Diamond Shamrock in Lyons to fill up the tank, and start through the canyon... By this time the day was wearing on, so we wanted to get up there soon. With a stop in Pinewood springs, we were finally on our way to EP! (I thought we'd never get there!) We made it by 4:00 or so, and we were itching to do a hike that wouldn't take too long, but would be a little challenging lung-wise. We decided on Gem Lake. Neither Dave nor I had ever hiked it, so it was a welcome treat for both of us.

The trail starts out at 7862 ft, and gains 910 feet in 1.8 miles... just what we needed. It was a very warm day. Good thing I had plenty of water.

A couple of pretty flowers along the trail...



The hike had exquisite views of Estes and the Front Range all the way up to the lake.



Pretty soon we made it to Paul Bunyan's boot...


On this ridge, you can see a climber heading up to the top...


Cont...

[jflo]

This sign, for some reason, made me think of John...

And inspired this shot, from said privy... (I knew John would be proud of me)


And with one last little push, we were there!



On the backside of the lake(loosely termed)


After a wonderful respite and some much needed hydration, we were welcomed by some spectacular views on the way back...


Then it was off to Smokin' Dave's for some awesome 'que and to the Inn On Fall River to check in...

[John]

The Gem Lake Privy is one of my faves!

[renate1]

That's a privy with a view

[foxfire]

Thanks for sharing. Done Gem twice, fun both times.

Fox

[waterrat]

renate1, on 19 July 2011 - 06:07 PM, said:

That's a privy with a view

Very true!

Been there once, and liked it. Thanks for sharing. :)

[B-Jay]

Day #3 sounds like a delightful day with your drive & stops on the way to the park and then still having time to do the Gem Lake Trail.

I've taken pictures and stopped at that privy too.

B-Jay

[mistylady]

We hiked Gem Lake for the first time last September. I loved the views, rock formations, privy :), and the lake itself. Nice place to kick back and relax. But, beware the chippies!

[Becky J.]

It was great to revisit this trip with your pics.
Thank you,

Becky J.

[Mark Zemmin]

mistylady, on 20 July 2011 - 10:26 AM, said:

We hiked Gem Lake for the first time last September. I loved the views, rock formations, privy :), and the lake itself. Nice place to kick back and relax. But, beware the chippies!

Funny, we thought the same thing, the chippies are very bold at Gem. You can tell they have been fed a bunch.

Mark

[HighPlainsMedic]

You guys are bad.. however it brings a thought.. new picture challenge

[goatboy]

how'd i miss this one? thanks for the pix, i love this trail have climbed (is that a word?) this one all my life
goat