I made attempt #4 at Emerald Lake yesterday and am pleased to report that I was successful! Woot!
It was a lovely day for a hike, though a bit cooler and windier than it was last weekend. I asked the ranger at the park entrance if it was busy and she said, “No it’s pretty quiet today.” YESSSSSSSSS!! I stopped a couple of times along the way to the Bear Lake parking lot to take shots of a bank of clouds lingering over the peaks. Very cool! My destination for the day was just below and to the right of the mountain with the sloped top (Hallett Peak) in the center of the photo below.
Cloud-covered peaks from the road to Bear Lake
Oh, and yes, I used the snowshoes this time. Wow, snowshoeing is definitely a workout above and beyond regular ol’ walking. I really had to make an effort to walk with my feet parallel so I didn’t step all over myself. I met some really nice folks along the trail, one couple from Tennessee and the other from Kentucky, who were vacationing together. I walked and talked with them a bit of the way to Dream Lake and very much enjoyed the company. I told them I was going to make them famous, so here they are:
My hiking companions
Past Dream Lake, I took a different route than the one I attempted last week. This one was much more well-trodden, but quite steep in spots. I discovered all on my own that the best way to go up steep inclines on snowshoes is to walk on your toes because that’s where the teeth are. Going down steep inclines is a whole ‘nother story. I haven’t figured out a good technique for that yet.
After about another ¾ mile, I reached my long-awaited destination. Emerald Lake fills a small bowl at the base of Hallett Peak and the south spires of Flattop Mountain – it’s an absolutely stunning setting. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time there because the wind had really kicked up and it was extremely cold. I did manage to get the lake to myself for a bit and that was really cool. One thing about winter hiking is that you can’t really sit down and rest without freezing your butt. I should probably invest in some snow pants one of these days. That might help.
Emerald Lake below Hallett Peak and the spires of Flattop Mountain
The trek back to the parking lot was mostly uneventful, although those steeper downhill parts were a challenge. To be just a little adventurous, I took a side trail shortcut that went off through the woods that was kind of fun because the snow was deep and fluffy and that’s much more interesting than crunch-crunch-crunching your way down a trail with hard-packed snow.
So now I can cross Emerald Lake off the list until the summer.
Oh, one other thing. On my way through Estes Park on my way home, I saw a very large herd of elk, mostly females, hanging out at the golf course, which I understand is their usual hangout in the winter months. I stopped to snap a few (166) photos and managed to catch a couple of young males trying out their sparring techniques.
Sparring practice
Additional photos from the day can be found by clicking HERE.
*FTW (Internet slang) – “for the win”: Of something which completes a process in a successful manner or is of the speaker’s personal preference. (Trivia tidbit: the phrase “for the win” originated with the TV game show Hollywood Squares).
I’ll have more photos posted to a gallery as soon as I get through them all.
