Rocky Mtn Ntnl Park, The Pool
Very little snow in the park this year
Conor and I ran up to Rocky Mtn Ntnl Park on Monday to get in our first hike of the year. Our last hike together was in the snow so it is fitting that we start this year with a snow-hike as well. Sadly, I left my snow-shoes in California so we had to choose a trail that was not deep powder snow, but that still left us many options in the park as most of the trails are well traveled enough that the trails are well packed.
Looking across frozen Bear Lake (alt 9500ft)
Our first choice was to go to Chasm Falls, but the park road turned out to be closed so we shot across the park to Alberta Falls but the snow level (and wind) was too high for my non-water-proof boots. Since we were so close to Bear Lake, we drove up there just to snap a picture before heading into the Moraine Park area of RMNP.
The ‘Pool’
Being the lowest part of the park, the trails here were not as heavily snow-packed. Our choice was a fairly level trail that led to the “pool” (a large pool of water with a bridge over the stream). Although the trail is only 1.7 miles one way, we were forced to park 1 mile away and hike in to the trail head as once again, the road was closed.
The frozen stream leading into the forest away from the ‘pool’
The hike itself was fairly straight forward… in fact I’d say it was slightly easier than usual with the layer of hard packed snow on the trail making for a level surface to hike on as opposed to the rocks that your ankles normally have to deal with. It was so much warmer in this section of the park, we were quickly down to just a T-shirt to complete the hike.
An hour and a half out and one hour back is all it took. It felt good to be back in RMNP. I have, once again, promised myself to spend this season exploring the park that I have neglected for 3 years. It is only 40 minutes up the road but I rarely go up there. Not this time… I’m ready to spend less money on gas and more time in RMNP and the surrounding National Forests.
