Rollins Pass

For our last hike of the summer, we decided on taking the Rollins Pass trailhead,

which is another tundra hike, up to Devil's Thumb, a craggy peak on the Indian Peaks side of the Arapaho National Forest. To get there, we drove to Winter Park, and had to take a dirt road for 14 miles up to the trailhead. The 14 mile journey took over 2 hours, as the road was one continuous pot hole, sometimes to a depth of 24 inches.

We finally got there, and immediately started our ascent up a ragged cliff,

where we could look down on a beautiful, azure lake.

The trail continues through the tundra,

offering magnificent views. In this picture, you can see the ski runs of Winter Park Resort.

We hiked on for about 5 miles, in 40 degree temperature, with steady winds,

eventually getting to an overlook, where you can see Devil's Thumb,

as well as more pristine hidden lakes.

From water to tundra, our summer hiking in Grand Lake was spectacular, and I think if pressed, Mt.Ida and Nokhu Crags were our favorites.

Nokhu Crags

We have been researching different hikes, and Joe lucked upon the wisdom of the owner of our local mountaineering shop, Neversummer, and she led us to one of the most spectacular hikes of the summer. Our destination was the Nokhu Crags, a rough and beautiful mountain top on the back of the Never Summer mountain range. Under the Crags were a small series of lakes, known as the Michigan Lakes, and above those, a magical, azure lake, Snow Lake. We drove an hour and a half to get the American Lakes trailhead, which begins in The Colorado Sate Park. As the trail reaches the Crags, there is an alternate trail that takes you to Thunder Pass, and the beginning of RMNP. You can continue over the pass and down to the Great Ditch, and on to Lulu city, which eventually brings you out to the Colorado River trailhead in RMNP. As we now have travelled on most of the RMNP eastern hikes, we can see these connections, and the temptations that await. However..... As we drove to the trailhead, we passed a series of huge cattle ranches, and at one point, we stopped and gazed at the stunning expanse. of the West.

From the trailhead, we immediately ascend through a dense spruce forest, occasionally viewing beautiful meadows that were in the last of the summer wildflowers, but beginning to show fall leaf color change. We climb through and get to the tree line, finding our first amazing views of our destination, the Nokhu Crags. We are headed to the small bowl of snow in the left of the picture.

After a 4 and 1/2 mile climb, we come to a small set of lakes, known as the Michigan Lakes,

and straight above us, nestled into the cirque of the Crags, lies Lake Snow. At this point we have to climb about a quarter of a mile up a steep, rocky slope,

home to many sweet natured marmots,

eventually getting to this most pristine lake.

At the beginning of the Michigan lakes,

the trail splits, and to the left, continues up the mountain, taking us to Thunder Pass, at an altitude of 11,360 feet.

As you can see from the pictures, the view is spectacular, and if you look closely, you can see Grand Lake.

Indian Peaks Overnight

From the time Callae, Ed and the boys arrived, we began discussing an overnight hike. Emma and I had purchased our gear earlier in the summer (new overnight backpacks, sleeping bags and mats, a tent and cooking stove) and were ready to go; the Rounds had brought their equipment from California, and so we began to discuss the destination. We didn't want to hike in RMNP because campfires are forbidden everywhere. We didn't want to go too far as we had young children carryng packs, and we wanted to camp in a beautiful location near water. Dan, our local expert at the Never Summer Outfitters in Grand Lake solved our problem and advised us to head for Columbine Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, about 4 miles from the Junco Lake trailhead.

At the last minute, Paul surprised us all and decided he wanted to come along. Ed had an extra sleeping bag and Paul borrowed Michael's daypack; we had an extra sleeping mat, so we managed to accomodate him.

When Ed and I stopped at the ranger station in Granby to pick up our overnight permit, we received conflicting information from the ranger: (1) campfires were prohibited at Columbine Lake, but (2) we could make a fire if we located a fire ring used by former campers. Dan had told us we could definitely make a fire at the lake, and so we decided not to abort. We took a country road from the town of Tabernash and travelled 11 miles in to the trailhead. We set off up the trail, and after about half a mile encountered some abandoned cabins.


About two miles in, the terrain opens up and the Indian Peaks appear in the distance. Columbine Lake sits at the base of the mountains.


Alongside the trail, a very short distance away, we encountered a female moose who seemly completely unperturbed by our presence. She posed nicely for the cameras.


The last section of trail before we reached the lake was fairly steep, but George was undaunted by the effort, smiling, as usual, as he climbs the slope.



At last we reached the lake, it was as beautiful and pristine as promised, with clouds drifting over the Indian Peaks at the far edge.




After a brief circuit of the lake, we set about scouting a campsite. We did find an old fire ring, although the former campers (or perhaps the forest service) had done their best to disguise its remnants. With some misgivings, we made camp and set about collecting firewood -- after all, with five kids and darkness coming, we couldn't very well spend the night with no campfire. Here's a picture of the very cushiony meadow where Emma, Paul and I pitched our tent. That's Paul winding up to throw the frisbee to Peter.



That night, we made a roaring fire and I broke out my new Primus camp stove to boil water for pasta. Callae had brought along a pre-made sauce and lots of grated cheese, and after mixing in the cooked pasta, she placed the aluminum lasagna pan over the cooking grate Ed had brought along. A half hour or so later, with the garlic bread nicely roasted in the fire, we ate one of the finer meals I have ever eaten (or maybe it was just the mountain air). Wine and roasted marshmallows and camp stories around the fire. What a life!

Later that evening, the sky began to light up with brilliant white flashes, but there was no sign of lightning and no sound of thunder. We could only surmise that a storm system beyond the mountains was active, and that the Indian Peaks kept it at bay: the sky on our side of the mountain was completely clear and full of dazzling stars. Emma, Paul and I decided to leave the rain flap off of our tent so we could see the stars from our sleeping bags -- a lovely idea, except that in the morning, all the dew had settled onto our sleeping bags and the interior of the tent was damp. Poor Emma slept barely a wink and I didn't do much better. Paul slept the profound sleep of the innocent.

In the morning, after hot chocolate and coffee, sausage and pancakes, Henry was pushing for us to scale the mountain behind the lake, and so Callae, Ed, Emma and I began the hike up the slope while Paul watched over the camp site with Peter and George. The views from this trail were very fine. We had no idea what to expect as Dan hadn't told us about this part of the trail and it wasn't listed in our guidebooks. There were many switchbacks and some steep climbing to the saddle. Here's a typical view of the lake below, with another ridge of the Indian Peaks rising beyond our basin.


Emma was a total trooper and kept insisting that she "had to do" whatever I was going to do. Here she is climbing up from the saddle with the new expansive views toward Winter Park behind her. To our surprise, we found ourselves at another 360 degree view summit.

At this point, we were above 12,000 feet and there was still snow at this elevation. Henry and Emma took great pleasure in sliding along its surface -- playing in the snow in August. That week it was in the upper 90s back home in Chapel Hill.


We climbed to the top of that peak behind Emma and Henry, and from there, the view opened up even farther, allowing us glimpses of Junco Lake below and Lake Granby in the far distance. Truly spectacular.


A storm appeared to be moving in from the direction of Winter Park, so it was time to hightail it down the mountain. We broke camp and prepared to head home, tired but exhilarated from our first (and certainly not last) overnight camping trip in Colorado.

Mt. Ida. Our first thirteener

Mt Ida stands at 13,000 feet, and is approached from the Milner Pass trailhead, the same beginning as our hike to the Alpine Visitor's Center. The trail quickly ascends a steep grade, and winds around cliff edges, and into a spruce forest, as it rises to the tree line, and out on to the tundra, where the trail follows a four and a half mile climb to the peak of Mt. Ida. Behind us is this incredible view of the Never Summer range.

The trail winds through the tundra, where there is just low ground covering plants and mosses.

On the far right, you can see the trail in this picture, below. It more resembles a goat path, and provides no protection from the elements as we climb along. If you let your eye follow the trail in this picture, the snow covered peak at the top center is where we are heading.

The trail ends about a half mile before hitting the summit, and we have to scramble up a boulder field,

keeping our eyes out for small cairns that hikers have created, marking the direction. We came across a flock of ptarmagans that were so perfectly camouflaged, we thought they were rocks, until they ruffled their feathers.

From the edge of the cliff, we viewed spectacular lakes, hundreds of feet below, and then, one of the few glaciers still in RMNP, complete with frozen, turquoise pools.

We finally reached the summit, and the views took our breath away. And Dave, we missed you!

Hike and Shop

Will arrived last week, and we promised him an easy, but rewarding hike. We drove about 45 minutes into the park, to the Milner pass trailhead.At 10,758 feet, Milner Pass is a lowpoint on the Continental Divide. The divide separates river drainage to the Atlantic Ocean from drainage to the Pacific. From the trailhead, which begins at a sweet lake,

we are heading to the Rocky Mountain Visitor's center, halfway between Grand Lake and Estes Park, the two entrances to RMNP. The Visitor's center is at an altitude of 11,800 feet, so we have an initial gain of about 1,ooo feet, and a distance of about 4 miles. The trail is fairly steep at the beginning, but quickly reaches the tree line, where the path levels off, and winds through a forest of 5 to 6 foot high spruce and firs trees, feeling a bit like a Christmas tree farm.

The trail had a small turn off to a clearing with a spectacular view of the Never Summer mountains, and as we stopped, two gray jays flew right at us. We were not quite sure if they were being aggressive or friendly, so I dropped a raisin on the ground, and watched one of the jays quickly pick it up. I then put a raisin in my hand, and the jay, ever so lightly, landed, and took the raisin right from my palm.

We continued over the tundra, for about 3 more miles, and ended at the Visitor's center, where we had lunch.

The center has an extensive collection of books, and maps, as well as very high end pottery and crafts made by Colorado artisans. We then headed back down the tundra trail, oohing and aahing at the unbelievable views.