21 replies to this topic

[iceberg]

On the day that the Oatleys & I moved from the west side of the park to the east, Sandy had the brilliant idea of hiking with Ed into Forest Cayon to access the Gorge Lakes. I thought "why not?" One more destination to add to my list of places I've been. Sandy & I awoke at 3 am & I shoveled down another breakfast (which is NOT easy to do day after day in the middle of the night.) I had packed up my car the night before with everything I didn't need for the morning, & at 4:30 Sandy & I were on our way to meet Ed at Milner Pass. Scott wasn't interested in doing this hike (smart man) & needed to tidy up the cabin on the west side prior to heading for the east.The plan was to start at the Forest Canyon Overlook, descend into Forest Canyon, cross the Big Thompson, head up to Little Rock lake & Rock Lake, make our way up to as many of the Gorge Lakes as we could, climb up around the Mt. Ida area, then end up at Milner Pass. A day of adventure for sure.

Sandy & I rolled into Milner Pass right at 5 am where Ed was waiting for us. We joined him in his car leaving mine behind & headed for Forest Canyon Overlook. We arrived before 5:30 & it was still pretty dark out. I should have known it would be an interesting day as the first thing that happened was, being as it was still dark out, & we hadn't seen another car the whole time, I mean who drives on TRR in the dark besides us right? I squatted behind a rock right next to the parking lot to eliminate some bodily fluids, when wouldn't you know it, here comes a car! As the headlights engulfed me I knew I was caught & there was nothing to do but put my head down, squeeze my eyes shut, & wait for the humiliation to pass. Sure enough the car pulled into the parking lot, but then just as quickly left. I must have scared them off.

Humiliation completed, we headed off & began making our way down into the canyon. Once we got to the edge of the tundra & headed into the trees, it was pretty smooth going until we encountered a large boulderfield with no way around it but down. By this time the skies were getting light & we stopped for a few photos.


Sunrise







Sandy in her element







It was steep going & a little dicey for me anyway as we made our way down. Once we made it through the boulders, it got pretty rough as we made our way through all kinds of downed trees.









Finally after meandering through that mess & crossing a medium sized stream, we made it to the Big Thompson. The goal here was to find a way across it. If one did not appear we were prepared to don water shoes & wade across. Fortunately (or unfortunately if you prefer wading) an opportunity presented itself in the form of 2 downed trees criss-crossed one on top of the other. It took a little mental prepping as we watched Ed sashay across.






Fortunately we all made it across without falling in. The next task was to find the outlet stream that flowed down from Little Rock Lake, which Ed did, & being at the bottom of the canyon, we now began heading up the other side. Once again we had to make our way through a bunch of gnarled, pokey, downed trees. We found a few different fisherman trails the closer we got to Little Rock Lake, which made the going much easier. Finally Little Rock Lake appeared which is a pleasant, pretty little lake, except for the voracious mosquitos which would not leave.

Little Rock Lake







Rock Lake








From here Ed pointed out where we needed to go next, which was quite literally up the side of a cliff, but what do you do at this point except go with it, so onward we went. We began climbing the cliffs, which was actually really cool & makes you feel like a real mountaineer, but was also quite exhausting. This took a good deal of time as we would climb for a bit, then Ed would scout out the terrain for where we should go next, then we would climb a bit more.

Looking out on the side of the cliffs







Ed climbing up a section of rock we went up, actually this was when we were traversing, not heading straight up.






Continued.......

[iceberg]

The terrain was definitely interesting, as we experienced several different obstacles to overcome. I think my favorite was the cave that Ed persuaded us to crawl through.







We did encounter a beautiful waterfall on the way up which I always enjoy stumbling across when hiking (or in our case climbing) off trail.







Finally we made our way out of the trees & cliffs & the terrain the rest of the way up to Arrowhead Lake was quite pleasant.


Just prior to Arrowhead Lake








Arrowhead Lake







I knew Sandy wanted to continue on to the next lake up, but I was spent. That cliff climbing took every last bit of energy I could muster. I was done & just wanted to get the heck out of there, taking the path of least resistance, which meant no more cliffs! I looked around & found a nice grassy climb up to the divide & announced that was the way I wanted to go. After shoving down some more protein, we were off. We crossed partially frozen Love Lake before we began our huge ascent up.







This next part of the hike was grueling for me. I was already exhausted, but it was a STEEP climb up the grassy tundra to reach the top. I was about ready to lose it on many occasions as I swear the incline up that sucker was about 85 degrees. Sandy & Ed kept saying "oh, turn around & look at the lakes!" to which I grumbled, "I'll look at them at the top!" Onward we trudged, or at least I did. I'm sure Sandy could have sprinted up. I kept looking up & gauging how much longer, then talking to myself about it. "OK, 10 minutes more. 5 minutes more, 2 minutes more, 30 seconds." FINALLY we made it & I promptly collapsed on the top & sucked the oxygen depleted air for a few minutes, while Sandy & Ed - not even out of breath, strolled around on top & took in the views.

Heading up the steep side of torture







Looking back on Arrowhead Lake







Inkwell lake - the next Gorge Lake up from Arrowhead








Sandy & Ed up on top






Continued.........

[iceberg]

The views at the top were quite impressive, but we still had more elevation to gain. However, compared to the nearly vertical loveliness we had just climbed, this seemd like a nice stroll.

View from the top








General direction we were headed next







We climbed close to the summit of Mt. Ida & Ed, from behind, called out & asked I wanted to summit. I yelled out a convincing "NO!" Then he asked if I wanted to go across a large snowfield, to which I called another definitive "NO!" Apparently I had to choose one or the other, so I ended up picking the snow, which was long, but ended up not being steep enough to completely freak me out & make me reach for the anti-anxiety medication.








The views were lovely, but quite honestly I was ready for this to all be over, so I don't think I fully appreciated them. Sandy kept persuading me to take pics though, since her camera had run out of battery power.









Finally we reached the point where we could start heading DOWN & actually be on a trail. This is my forte & where I can really kick it, so I took the lead. Sandy & I stopped for some goofy photos on the way down. We had left Ed in the dust at this point with visions of the trailhead propelling us forward.

Sandy, so happy with her vibrams!






Me. I think this picture speaks for itself








The trail down to Milner was quite pleasant until entering the trees at which point it was steep heading down & my "3 weeks of hiking" feet were objecting strongly. I did enjoy the part above treeline, & the views were great.







Finally I could see Poudre Lake, & even though I normally find it not attractive, it never looked so good to me as it did then. Sandy & I had a quite a bit of time to kill while Ed made his way down, so after peeling off my boots & seeing my totally ripped up feet with missing skin, we hung out at my car watching the tourists take pics of the Continental Divide sign. I had a giant teddy bear that I had bought for my daughter Katie sitting in the front seat. The tourists found this quite amusing so finally Sandy & I got out of the car & hammed it up a bit.






Ed eventually made it back & all of us, including the bear, headed back for Ed's car at Forest Canyon Overlook. We said our goodbyes & thanked Ed profusely for a day of profound adventure, then headed down into Estes & our cabin for the week. What a day!

[renate1]

Awesome report. You guys had quite the adventure there!

[Grannyheart]

WOW! What a day indeed!!! I seriously don't know how you guys did that, but I'm glad you did cuz I really enjoyed reading all about your adventure and seeing your cool pics. It always amazes me when I see all the hidden treasures (ya, even the downed trees are treasures in my eyes) that one comes across when traveling where so few folks go.....waterfalls and cool caves are also very cool treasures! You may have been exhausted (better than me....I would have been dead! lol), but I'm pretty sure that's a day you'll never forget and actually look back on with a big smile on your face. :) Thanks for sharing!

[soatley]

Some points I'd like to clarify. It was totally your idea to do the hike; I was just along to take pictures of your butt. Also, all three of us were peeing at the same time, so maybe my butt scared them off. As I read your report, I realized I never even knew we went to Little Rock and Rock Lake. I have a picture of each, but somehow in their blahness they became one. As far as not going on to Inkwell, I'm fine with it. It just means we have to go back. Just not via Forest Canyon.

Here are several of my photos from the hike.

Kristin Crossing Big Thompson



Ed Heading up Some Steep Stuff


Couple of Nice Butts


Again


Kristin Crossing the Arrowhead Outlet


Heading up to the Tundra Cake Walk


Love and Arrowhead - Got to Go Back!


Ed Encouraging Kristin


Sandy O

[Grannyheart]

soatley, on 07 September 2011 - 11:50 AM, said:

Some points I'd like to clarify. It was totally your idea to do the hike; I was just along to take pictures of your butt. Also, all three of us were peeing at the same time, so maybe my butt scared them off.

Sandy O

LOL....Sandy, it would be hard to know whose butt scared 'em off unless you lead the hike next time and let Kristin take pics of you from behind. Then maybe we can decide which one of you did the scaring. I'm ruling Ed out since I'm guessing he didn't have any butt showing. :b

[DeeCeeM]

I bow to your greatness for doing this hike! I can't even imagine it! Thanks for sharing your pictures, because it's a sure bet that I'm never going to see most of that in person.

[Jo]

That was quite the little stroll you did! I know from Erik that Forest Canyon can whip the butt of the fittest, bravest, most adventurous person out there. But you had a great guide, great company and the stamina to keep going. Awesome job!

[Igloo Ed]

I wanna do it again! I loved that climb between Rock Lake and Arrowhead Lake.
I'm glad it pushed you, Kristin. It'll be a memory you'll cherish.

[B-Jay]

That was quite a fascinating report. After all that climbing, stream crossings, cave crawling, and snowfield crossing, you were still able to keep your sense of humor. The picture with the bear at the CD sign is hilarious!

Congratulations on your great adventure!

B-Jay

[jflo]

What a great report!! Thanks for sharing your feelings with us. I'm sure I would've felt the same way!! I would love to put myself through that torture too!!!

Do any of you know how many miles you hiked and your elevation gain/loss? I'm interested to know...


Great hike you guys!!!

[DrCloud]

When Ed first put up his report of this little (little because it was only one day) trek, I was both amazed and envious. This other perspective adds to my amazement and envy. I'd sure like to do that, too, but I just don't know if I could haul all these pounds up that west side of the canyon like you managed to. What a wonderful day! HPH

[Mark Zemmin]

Kristin,

Great report. I could feel your exhaustion

Sounds like an awesome adventure. I would enjoy that, especially with Ed helping with the route finding.

[Ronndr]

Inspiring! What a great report!