47 replies to this topic

[jjkirkendall]

I'm making my first trip to RMNP during the last week of September and due to time constraints we'll be getting to Denver around 11am on Saturday and heading up to RMNP right from there. Since we're making such a big change in altitude i'm trying to figure out the easiest and shortest hikes that would not kill us on the first day there.

Any recommendations for a place to photograph during sunset? I don't need to have the sun itself in it either, just the soft light itself is what i'm looking for, I'm just trying to figure out where to go that will be on the lower side in the park. It can be a short hike here, we're more than prepared to hike back after the sun has gone down.

On sunday we have the entire day for the park, but we're not the type to be able to handle a single 10 mile hike in a day. Instead we're looking for several shorter ones and maybe something in the area of 4 to 5 miles total.

I'm looking for a place to photograph during sunrise that's a shorter hike to get to so it doesn't take too long to get there in the dark, then the couple of moderate trails throughout the day, then a trail to end at as the sun sets and isn't too hard to get down off of in the dark. I wouldn't be opposed to driving up or down TRR in the dark to make it for sunrise or set from one of those overlooks.

Based on other posts here, it seems like we should try to do Alberta Falls, Bierstadt Lake, and Gem Lake.

Monday morning we'll spend going over Trail Ridge Road and doing the short walks up there before we continue to the other side of the park towards Glenwood Springs.

Thanks!
Jeremy

[Aaron]

On day one you could do Bierstadt (start at Bear Lake) and/or go see Sprague Lake,Alluvial Fan, and Lily Lake.

Second day you could do anything in the Glacier Gorge area that you'd like like Mills Lake, The Loch Vale, etc and pass by Alberta Falls along the way.

If you have the time try to get up Trail Ridge Road to the visitors center at least.

--Aaron

[jjkirkendall]

Aaron, on 15 August 2011 - 03:56 PM, said:

On day one you could do Bierstadt (start at Bear Lake) and/or go see Sprague Lake,Alluvial Fan, and Lily Lake.

Second day you could do anything in the Glacier Gorge area that you'd like like Mills Lake, The Loch Vale, etc and pass by Alberta Falls along the way.

If you have the time try to get up Trail Ridge Road to the visitors center at least.

--Aaron

Thanks for the input Aaron!

I try to go on the lighter side when backpacking, I know some of the longer trails can be pretty messy but are these generally dry by the end of September, assuming it hasn't just rained? I'm not sure just how many trails might also have some kind of paving, as i've been to the southwest where the parks are often paved with something on the busier trails. I'm hoping to go through the park in cross trainers with trekking poles unless it's muddy.

[Adventurist]

Bridal Veil Falls is a great morning hike. Cub Lake or The Pool can be a nice hike. There's Calypso Cascades in Wild Basin. From Bear Lake you can hike to Nymph, Dream and Emerald Lakes and see how you feel at each Lake with the elevation. I've seen some great sunsets from Moraine Park.

The one hike I recommend after a day of acclimatizing is to arrive at Bear Lake early and hike from Bear Lake towards Odessa Lake then on to Fern Lake and then on to the Fern Lake trailhead. Then walk down the road a short distance where the shuttle bus will take you back to Bear Lake. I believe the total distance is around 9.2 miles with most of the mileage going downhill.

These is just what I can think of at the moment but there's plenty more available.

Adventurist, on 15 August 2011 - 07:23 PM, said:

Bridal Veil Falls is a great morning hike. Cub Lake or The Pool can be a nice hike. There's Calypso Cascades in Wild Basin. From Bear Lake you can hike to Nymph, Dream and Emerald Lakes and see how you feel at each Lake with the elevation. I've seen some great sunsets from Moraine Park.

The one hike I recommend after a day of acclimatizing is to arrive at Bear Lake early and hike from Bear Lake towards Odessa Lake then on to Fern Lake and then on to the Fern Lake trailhead. Then walk down the road a short distance where the shuttle bus will take you back to Bear Lake. I believe the total distance is around 9.2 miles with most of the mileage going downhill. I just reread your post and it sounds like you only have Sunday? So this would be a great Sunday hike.

These is just what I can think of at the moment but there's plenty more available.

Sorry...I totally buggered up that post.

[Bill 007]

Day one..sunset from Rock Cut on Trail Ridge Road....Sunset over the Never Summers is incredible.

Bill
We typically hile to Emerald or Bierstadt for our acclimation hike. Both are have fantastic photo ops! Emeald and the spires and Bierstadt has the whole Continental Divide.

[jjkirkendall]

Bill 007, on 15 August 2011 - 08:17 PM, said:

Day one..sunset from Rock Cut on Trail Ridge Road....Sunset over the Never Summers is incredible.

Would you say it's safe to fly in to Denver at 11am and be up on Trail Ridge Road by like 6 and not leave until 7:30 though? I'd love to catch a sunset from TRR but the advice i'd been hearing was to stay lower on the first day. Approximately how long does it take to get to Rock Cut on TRR? We may not get to RMNP until like 2pm and i'm a little worried if we start an easy trail we may not get off of it until 2-3 hours later if we go at a slower pace.

[jjkirkendall]

Adventurist, on 15 August 2011 - 07:28 PM, said:

Bridal Veil Falls is a great morning hike. Cub Lake or The Pool can be a nice hike. There's Calypso Cascades in Wild Basin. From Bear Lake you can hike to Nymph, Dream and Emerald Lakes and see how you feel at each Lake with the elevation. I've seen some great sunsets from Moraine Park.

The one hike I recommend after a day of acclimatizing is to arrive at Bear Lake early and hike from Bear Lake towards Odessa Lake then on to Fern Lake and then on to the Fern Lake trailhead. Then walk down the road a short distance where the shuttle bus will take you back to Bear Lake. I believe the total distance is around 9.2 miles with most of the mileage going downhill.

These is just what I can think of at the moment but there's plenty more available.

Sorry...I totally buggered up that post.

That sounds like it may be exactly what we needed for Sunday, I wouldn't have been able to talk them into a 9 mile hike too easily but if it's mostly downhill that makes everything a lot easier.

[Lynette]

jjkirkendall, on 16 August 2011 - 05:25 AM, said:

I'd love to catch a sunset from TRR but the advice i'd been hearing was to stay lower on the first day. Approximately how long does it take to get to Rock Cut on TRR? We may not get to RMNP until like 2pm and i'm a little worried if we start an easy trail we may not get off of it until 2-3 hours later if we go at a slower pace.

You should not have a lot of problem with altitude unless you are hiking. Rock Cut is maybe half an hour/45 min. up TRR. Sounds like an enjoyable/relaxing evening.

Sorry, I can't answer your other questions.

[jjkirkendall]

Lynette, on 16 August 2011 - 05:44 AM, said:

You should not have a lot of problem with altitude unless you are hiking. Rock Cut is maybe half an hour/45 min. up TRR. Sounds like an enjoyable/relaxing evening.

Sorry, I can't answer your other questions.

Awesome, so we'll plan on being at TRR by around 5:45 so we can get to Rock Cut about 1/2 hour before sunset. Thanks!

[Lynette]

jjkirkendall, on 16 August 2011 - 05:28 AM, said:

That sounds like it may be exactly what we needed for Sunday, I wouldn't have been able to talk them into a 9 mile hike too easily but if it's mostly downhill that makes everything a lot easier.

I would second the recommendations of Mills Lake, the Loch, Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes, Ouzel Falls in Wild Basin for easy/moderate hikes. ... Bear Lake, Sprague Lake, Lily Lake/Lily Ridge, Lake Irene for very easy hikes/places to hang out and a relaxing overview of the park.

I would not necessarily put Bear Lake to Fern Lake trailhead in the easy category. Going past Odessa Lake, it is one of my favorite hikes in the park. However, 9 miles in the mountains, even on a trail that is not so strenuous, can still be a challenge, depending on your abilities. We did this one on our last day after being there for a week, and loved it.

There are so many beautiful trails, and so much to see. If you have an easy time acclimatizing that first day, and are pretty well conditioned at home, I would say go for it... but we've found out what it's like to set our sites too high and have to turn around... I might choose something else for a first time trip if it's that short.

Oh.. and here's a link to some of my images from Rock Cut. I know others have done better, but this is a sampling!

Edited by Lynette, 16 August 2011 - 06:08 AM.

[jjkirkendall]

Well it looks Bridal Veil Falls is a bit too long to get to before the sun is up with the group i'm with. I need to be at wherever i'm photographing by 6am, so the best I can probably get out of them is hiking by about 5am, luckily being used to the eastern time zone will make it feel like 7am. :-)

Which would you guys recommend for sunrise, Emerald Lake, Lake Haiyaha, maybe Lake Helene, Mills Lake (and we could catch Alberta falls in 1 trip), or Cub Lake.


So maybe something like:

Saturday arrive around 2pm
Bierstadt for around 2-3 hours, no rush
Sprague/Alluvial Fan and other easy stops as time allows
Rock Cut by 6:30 for Sunset

Sunday:
Get to ___ trail and arrive at ___ lake by 6am, back to the trailhead around 7-8

Bear lake -> Odessa Lake -> Fern Lake -> Fern Lake Trailhead, take around like 6 hours with plenty of stops and breaks and it's around 3pm

They'll probably be pretty tired by this point and want to head back to the room for a break. We'll see what kind of shape everyone is in and come back to the park for Sunset, hopefully able to hit a 1 mile short trail for sunset.


Monday:
Another 1-2 mile trail for a sunrise somewhere
Any last easy stops along the road, driving completely over TRR, stopping at every pull off, and to the other side
Short stop around Grand Lake before we head to Dillon to meet some family

[mistylady]

Sunrise: Sprague Lake. Short, quick, beautiful. No hiking to get there. Stop for sunrise on your way to another hike.

[jjkirkendall]

Lynette, on 16 August 2011 - 06:00 AM, said:

I would second the recommendations of Mills Lake, the Loch, Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes, Ouzel Falls in Wild Basin for easy/moderate hikes. ... Bear Lake, Sprague Lake, Lily Lake/Lily Ridge, Lake Irene for very easy hikes/places to hang out and a relaxing overview of the park.

I would not necessarily put Bear Lake to Fern Lake trailhead in the easy category. Going past Odessa Lake, it is one of my favorite hikes in the park. However, 9 miles in the mountains, even on a trail that is not so strenuous, can still be a challenge, depending on your abilities. We did this one on our last day after being there for a week, and loved it.

There are so many beautiful trails, and so much to see. If you have an easy time acclimatizing that first day, and are pretty well conditioned at home, I would say go for it... but we've found out what it's like to set our sites too high and have to turn around... I might choose something else for a first time trip if it's that short.

Oh.. and here's a link to some of my images from Rock Cut. I know others have done better, but this is a sampling!

Those are some great photos!!

I agree, I shouldn't have called it easy, but it'll be easier to hike downhill for 9 miles than to try and do maybe 4 miles up and 4 back for example. Plus if we do start to get tired, it'll be easier to keep hiking the way we're going because it's downhill, unless we haven't gotten close to the halfway point that is. I think if we take our time it should be possible. It'll probably be the only longer hike we go on, but like you said, we'll see how everyone is feeling before we do it. If the early morning hike isn't as easy as it should be, we'll consider a bunch of shorter ones like Mills, Loch, Nymph, Dream, Emerald, etc.

I definitely need to go back with a group that'll be able to handle more trails and spend a week here.

[Lynette]

jjkirkendall, on 16 August 2011 - 06:23 AM, said:

Those are some great photos!!

I agree, I shouldn't have called it easy, but it'll be easier to hike downhill for 9 miles than to try and do maybe 4 miles up and 4 back for example. Plus if we do start to get tired, it'll be easier to keep hiking the way we're going because it's downhill, unless we haven't gotten close to the halfway point that is. I think if we take our time it should be possible. It'll probably be the only longer hike we go on, but like you said, we'll see how everyone is feeling before we do it. If the early morning hike isn't as easy as it should be, we'll consider a bunch of shorter ones like Mills, Loch, Nymph, Dream, Emerald, etc.

I definitely need to go back with a group that'll be able to handle more trails and spend a week here.

Definitely more time than one full day!

Here's a link to our experience past Odessa Lake with links along the sides to our other hikes in years past. It's not all downhill, but after the first mile or so, it isn't too bad... Again, it depends on what you are used to. We don't have mountains in Nebraska!

We had 3 full days this year... and it wasn't nearly enough, but it was better than nothing.

[mwilson]

The Bear-Odessa-Fern is a great hike, but I always find the final leg from Fern Lake (which is beautiful) out to the Fern Lake TH to be a bit of a trudge!