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Well, I went back and forth on whether or not I was going to write something up for our last day in town (hence the nearly three-month delay) but I figured what the hey. This one's more of a mini-report than anything, what with this being our departure day and all, but I suppose a trip report wouldn't really be complete without it. Not a whole lot to mention, really. I decided I did want to squeeze in one last hike, short as it may have been, before packing up and heading out. Since I'd been to Sprague twice for sunrise already this week, I decided to head up to Bierstadt. Which, as my usual luck would have it, would prove to be somewhat of a letdown. Upon our return, I realized that had I actually gone to Sprague on this morning, I'd have been shooting in the company of one Erik Stensland. Go figure.
I decided to make a mini-loop hike out of it by starting out at the Bierstadt Moraine trailhead (aka the Bear Lake Park & Ride), shooting sunrise at the lake, heading back down via the Bierstadt Lake trail and looping back via the trail from there to the park & ride. When I arrived, it was still pitch black out and there was a light and steady rain falling. So I sat in the car for a few minutes just staring at the middle distance deciding whether I wanted to hoof it up to the lake in the slop or not. Ultimately, the call of the park won out (as it always does) and I strapped on my headlamp and made my way up. It was more of a climb than I thought it would be, and with the wet ground, I didn't quite set the pace I wanted, but I quite enjoyed the dark and soggy stroll.
At one point, I saw two sets of ominous green eyes illuminated by my headlamp, which I'll admit startled the heck out of me at first glance. But peering over them again, I realized it was just a pair of mule does resting on the hillside next to the trail. Nevertheless, it served as a reminder that no matter when or where you find yourself in the park, it's probably a pretty safe bet that you're never really alone out there.
I hit the EXTREMELY WINDY shore of Bierstadt shortly before sunrise, and with the water level higher than I'm used to and a lot of snow still persisting on the trail around the lake, I had to do a bit of scrambling in order to find a halfway decent composition. I never really got the kind of shots I was envisioning, but considering the relative scarcity of calm water on the otherwise choppy surface, I can't really complain.
Once I decided I'd gotten everything I was going to get for the outing, I made my way down to the Bierstadt trailhead and hopped on the trail back to the lot. Nice easy little stroll.
It was still relatively early yet, so I stopped by the Donut Haus on the way back to the cabin and brought back some delicious fresh-baked sustenance for the girls and myself.
Once we'd (begrudgingly) packed, loaded and said our goodbyes, we spent some time hanging out by the rocks at Marys Lake where Jen had had her climbing lesson earlier in the week and took another batch of cheesy family pictures (sorry, no outtakes this time.)
We even had a little company while we were doing so.
It didn't take long before they got bored watching us and decided to take a dip.
Our last order of business before leaving town was lunch at the Grumpy Gringo. Tasty.
Well gang, that's pretty much it. At least until the next trip (which, at the time of this writing, will be in less than three weeks! Woo-hoo!)
