Day: June 8, 2017

Pic: That’s racist. Wild Basin Trail, Rocky Mountain NP, CO

Pic: Copeland Mountain and Ouzel Lake, Rocky Mountain NP, CO

My first ten miler of the season! The official mileage was 10.2, but my various side quests pushed the total over 11.

Intel from rangers and my experience at Tanglewood Creek suggested the snow line lay at around 9500′. Sure enough, as soon as I forked off of the sunny ridge that continued up toward Bluebird Lake, the trail disappeared into a snowfield. Fortunately, there was good bootpack all the way down to the lake. Even better, the place was deserted except for a lone angler, trying his luck from a hundred yards down the shore.

Off the beaten path, the snowpack was… inconsistent which curbed my exploratory tendencies. I found a secluded spot in the trees to take my lunch and enjoy the tranquil view.

I packed up while eyeing the increasingly dark clouds over the ridge. Drizzle started as I said goodbye to the lake and picked my way over dirty bootpack back to the main trail. I had just reached the fork when I heard and then saw my first marmot!

Pic: Who gives a shit about the yellow-bellied marmot?! Bluebird Lake Trail, Rocky Mountain NP, CO

As I headed back down the ridge, the sun came out! …and simultaneously the drizzle became full-on rain. Hi, Colorado!

Pic: Not the rivers and the lakes that I’m used to. Ouzel Falls, Rocky Mountain NP, CO

Dave has lived almost his entire life in the forests of Colorado, so I was surprised when he struggled to recommend good hikes for me in Rocky Mountain NP. The problem, he explained while perusing maps, was that I was here too early. The Rockies don’t really get going until about 8000′, and the really cool stuff is above 12,000 feet — especially the state’s famous collection of “fourteeners” — still buried under tons of snow.

Julie poked her head in. “What about Ouzel Lake?”

“That could work,” Dave said, handing me a book from his stack of trail guides. Let’s see: a 10.2 mile, 1700′ round trip past several waterfalls to an alpine lake at the foot of 13,176′ Copeland Mountain, all at or below ten thousand feet? I’m in.

I was a little nervous about crowds as I crept through the sizable but rapidly-filling trailhead parking lot, especially when two vans full of 8-10 year old girls from a nearby camp pulled in behind me. But after the first minor waterfall a mile or so in and especially after spectacular Ouzel Falls, I saw only a few other hikers.

The base of Ouzel Falls was a gorgeous, if obvious, spot to break for lunch. Even if it hadn’t been too busy for my tastes, I would have explored and found the social trail and minor scramble leading to the top of the 40-foot drop.

Pic: Having it my way or nothing at all. Top of Ouzel Falls, Rocky Mountain NP, CO

My efforts also earned me a preview of Copeland Mountain and a few of its neighbors.

Pic: Moving too fast. Copeland Mountain, Rocky Mountain NP, CO