Ft. Collins may be in a funky location, but it’s nice to be at least close to the mountains. Apparently, the city (as an actual fort) used to be in the foothills (which is where I would recommend putting a city, as the mountains offer protection from severe weather), but it burned down and thus they moved it to a more tornado-prone area. Smart, huh? Regardless, as soon as we hit Loveland, we could see the snow on the mountains beyond, despite the warm temperatures at 4900 feet. The drive along 34 was excellent, and we found several properties we would just LOVE to buy if we could handle a 1-hr commute. Generally, things are cheap in the valley leading up to Estes Park because everybody is ditching their summer homes in these harsh financial times. Well, it’s something to think on.
The Trail Ridge Road, one of the main park arteries, was closed today due to heavy snowfall yesterday. Apparently, it was just wet and icy in parts, and as the Trail Ridge Road is the highest road in any US national park (and steep on both sides, to boot), I was okay with avoiding the risk. We decided to do a big loop around several lakes in the central part of the park. It turned out to be over 8 miles long, which I supposed was not the best reintroduction to high-altitude hiking, but I was eager to get some exercise and fun views in, so we went for it. We started at the Glacier Gorge trailhead and ended at Bear Lake, which is one of those stop-for-10-minutes-to-take-a-photo stops. The elevation gain was about 1000 feet, but I managed to stay hydrated and happy, and I’m not as out of shape as I thought I was. We stopped at the lakes, ate beef jerky and poptarts, and stared at Andrew’s Glacier, which would have added another 4.5 miles to the hike, and we started in the afternoon. We’ll do it soon, especially if we stay here.
We swung around and made a large loop around Nymph, Dream and Bear Lakes, making our way back down to 8000 feet. We stopped for a beef jerky break at Dream Lake, where we watched the idiot tourists try to feed ground squirrels. There are large signs everywhere telling people NOT TO FEED THE WILDLIFE, but I guess there is something about squirrels that scream “tame and friendly,” despite the fact that I watched a girl get bitten by one earlier in the day. I’m trying to decide if it was only a coincidence that her father, who was watching her blandly, was wearing a McCain t-shirt. Squirrels, just like coyotes and bears, can get awfully mean if people keep trying to feed them.
The reflections of an aspen tree in a puddle
Jonmikel's interpretation of shadows on grass :-)
A view from a little unnamed pond on the Glacier Gorge Trail
A panorama Jonmikel took on the Glacier Gorge TrailAs we headed out, we stopped to watch the elk rut near Beaver meadows. I have to admit, I was impressed that, while the elk created quite the stir (with the exception of the rare mountain lion, elk are the most interesting thing in the park), people were politely pulled off the to side of the road, making plenty of room for drivers uninterested in elk mating rituals to squeeze past without disturbing anybody. We found a spot and pulled over to watch only idly. The elk in Yellowstone rut right on the front steps of the Mammoth hotel, so there was something very tame about this small display. There were several small groups in this valley, accompanied by several small bachelor parties of youngins who had not managed to find any ladies this year. What caught my attention was the coyote who seemed very interested in the rut and was darting around playfully in the meadow, entertaining several visitors with its antics.
It didn’t take long for us to get bored (we saw elk everyday, all the time in Yellowstone, so seeing them in Rocky Mountain National Park was no rarity), and we managed to catch a great moonrise over Estes Park as we made our way back to Ft. Collins.
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