ROCKY MOUNTAIN
In Rocky Mountain National Park, we were able to see two vastly different portions of a park defined by its mountain range. Our first day of adventure took us to Grand Lake, the windward side of the Rockies. Here we were faced with a good deal of remaining snow, which mean that hiking involved the use of snowshoes. Neither of us had hiked with snowshoes before so it gave us a lot of pause and a good deal of exhaustion at the end of the day.
On the second day, we drove to Estes Park, typically a quick journey when Trail Ridge Road is open. However, we were still too early in the season for this to be the case at such a high altitude. This meant a three hour drive around the parks boundaries to hike. When we arrived in Estes Park we consulted the rangers in the Visitors Center who recommended hiking Deer Mountain, a spectacular hike with great views, but one which we were unable to finish because of unclear trail markings near the summit. After hiking down and meeting some folks along the way, we were recommended to hike out to Cub Lake, a trek where wildlife can almost always be spotted. Here we were fortunate enough to see not only three elk, but also a gigantic moose. The hike itself was an incredible exploration into a park that has so much to offer to the visitor.
Rocky Mountain National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute people.
Listen while you look! These buttons will link you to the podcast episode(s) for this park and gallery.
