Solo Camping

After Caty and I had our Moosecapade ... 

One of many

... it was just too nice to go home. But, Caty had to work. So, I decided that I would find a camping spot on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park (for a different experience), park the Little Guy, take Caty home (Fort Collins is less than two hours from RMNP) and come back.

After recrossing Trail Ridge (which was OK with the Little Guy, even on the "scary edge"), we checked on campgrounds. Aspenglen was full. Moraine Park had a few spots, but I didn't know if I could maneuver the Little Guy into them and the campground seemed very crowded and close. So, even though I had remembered not being impressed with Glacier Basin, we checked it out. What a good call.

My spot

I got a site that had a pull up (not exactly a pull-through). It was a bit confusing where I was supposed to park, but we figured it out. Then, after I had unhooked and pulled away, I discovered that the block that the trailer rests on was on a rock, making it unstable. So, I had to re-hook and reset everything. A pain, but I finally got it done.

My view

Even though Glacier Basin has limited shade, I had a tree at my site. And. A. Fantastic. View. I will go back to this campground. It is gorgeous. And, at 8,800 ft., it's a bit cooler if the days get hot.

Nice!

The air was exceptionally clear, making the view all the more spectacular.

Can't beat it

Once we had lunch, I drove Caty home, took a shower (ahhhhhhh), unloaded her stuff and headed back. The traffic going to RMNP was very light, so it was a relatively quick trip. I even made it back in time to build a fire ...

A blissful evening

... and contemplate the stars ...

A blissful night

Then a great night's sleep, a yummy pancake breakfast and a hike.

Through the woods

I decided that I had done enough animal searching and I needed to be out of the car. It was sunny and the prospects for hiking looked good.

I started out going from the campground to Sprague Lake. 

The trail is lovely -- only a slight rise, through trees and occasionally through a shallow stream, which is probably not there most of the time. 

Although the Ranger said that I would see Elk and Deer, I didn't. Sprague Lake is very pretty ...

Sprague Lake

... from both directions ...

The other side

As I headed to my next trailhead, I encountered a Canada Goose family -- I had to make a wide detour off the paved trail (Sprague Lake is highly accessible, even having an accessible backcountry campsite) to avoid the Geese.

Mr. Goose hissed at me

As I started up the trail to Glacier Gorge, a woman from Kansas pointed out a Moose! Yes, the famous Sprague Lake Moose. She was munching the willows and a bit tricky to photograph. I saw no evidence of a calf (but, she may have been the Moose that had a calf last year at Sprague Lake).

Deep in the willows

After watching the Moose and chatting with a couple of folks (including a father and daughter who had seen a Bear and two cubs at Old Fall River Road that morning), I started up the trail.

The trail

The hike was very nice -- steady, but not a severe rise, tree, views of Glacier Gorge, a pond ...

Nice reflection

... streams and a pretty impressive cascade.

Rushing water

But, no animals!

After Glacier Gorge, I decided to continue up to Bear Lake. That was probably the toughest segment of the hike (actually second toughest -- more alter) because I was getting hungry, the trail was steep and the altitude was getting up there. Bear Lake is at 9,500 ft.

When I was almost to Bear Lake, I saw a sign to Alberta Falls, just 0.6 miles up. I remembered hiking there years ago with Donna Wilson, so I decided it would be a good place for a snack. 

Alberta Falls

Another good call. 

The falls were amazingly full

It was a nice stop.

Panorama

Then, on to Bear Lake where I planned to hook up with the Bierstadt Lake trail so that I could return to Glacier Basin without backtracking. I checked with the Rangers to make sure the trail was passable (many are still deep in snow). It was OK. Bear Lake was also pretty clear of snow, but very, very full.

Sunny and snowy

My trail map listed elevation gains for trails and I misread the Bierstadt info, thinking that I would be climbing another 566 ft. Turns out that that was the rise from a different trailhead. 

Gotta love the blazes

So, after a fairly steep ascent in full sun (so glad I put on sunblock; the sun is brutal at 9,500 ft.), most of the trail meandered downhill. I did encounter some snow and lots of mud, sometimes enough to obscure the trail. 

But, I was glad to see that RMNP marks trails with little orange reflectors. Years ago, I had momentarily lost a trail in that area of RMNP and was very concerned it would happen again. I love those orange things! I think I smiled every time I saw one (probably a good thing very few people were on the trail -- I was getting a little punchy.)

When I got to Bierstadt, I was tired, hot and hungry (I had eaten just cheese/peanut butter crackers at Alberta Falls). I was a bit dismayed that I had to walk another 1/4-1/2 mile to actually see the lake since the trail side is obscured by trees and marsh. 

The lake was so-so

But, I did find a nice rock on the edge where I could enjoy the view, eat my apple and re-apply sunblock.

But, with a pretty view

And, as I walked to the lake, I had seen the sign for the trail to the Park & Ride lot that is directly across from Glacier Basin. So, I decided to take that trail instead of the Bierstadt Trail.

Rocky!

That was the toughest part of the trip. 

It was almost all downhill, steep in many places and very rocky. 

Footing was somewhat treacherous and it was quite a workout for tired ankles.

But, I made it -- with a nice view of the campground ...

Home!

.. and stables on the way ...

Nice view

After walking across the Park & Ride lot, I saw a deer. Funny, the only animals I saw were not on the trails. Then, I walked to the campsite and took off my shoes, drank a Diet Coke, sponged off the sweat and sunblock and had some gazpacho.

Then, I took a short nap -- the hike had, after all covered 10-11 miles, lasted about seven hours and had an elevation gain/loss of about 1,200 ft. at altitude. After that, I did a quick drive around (no animals except some deer and elk) and then took a walk around the campground looking for the resident weasel (no luck). I did see a pretty Mountain Bluebird couple.

Mountain Bluebirds

I built another fire, had Caty's delicious stew for dinner, cleaned and packed and crashed.

Cozy

I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to the sound of rain. So, I hooked up -- the easiest one so far -- partially because I am getting better and partially because I had the brilliant idea of using my small snow shovel's handle as a guide to the trailer hitch.

I took the scenic (and much loner) route home because i would rather spend an extra hour in the mountains than drive through Denver traffic. 

I was rewarded with a gorgeous bull Elk

I loved the solo camping. Now when I take off on my National Park/National Monument adventures, I'll take the camper. It will give me better access to wilderness and save some money. As a "senior" with an NPS senior access card it now costs me $10 a night to camp in RMNP. What a deal!

Trip date: June 8-10, 2015