Bierstadt Lake

The previous day I met a hiker named Rod who told me I should definitely check out Bierstadt Lake.  He told me that it's named after a painter and his brother would photograph the area when photography was in its infancy.  Further research led me to discover Albert Bierstadt was a German immigrant and was a part of the Hudson River School.  I never heard of him before.  I'm sure there are local museums with his work.

Initially I thought this would be an easy hike.  Mileage-wise it was.  Elevation-wise, not so much.  I'm guessing there was close to 1,000 feet of elevation gained in a little over a mile.  By far, this was the most scenic hike thus far in Rocky Mountains National Park.  I'm a big fan of autumn's colors.  This hike produced the most and brightest colors thus far.  As Rod said, Colorado's fall does not rival New England's (or the Hudson Valley's) but it doesn't suck either.  And it's different.

The Aspen

The Aspen leaf

Despite the threat of rain, I still chose to wear jeans and a cotton long sleeved shirt.  Before getting on the shuttle bus to the trailhead, I grabbed my umbrella.  I figured if it got too wet, I'd turn around.  My good hiking clothes were still a bit damp from yesterday's adventure.

After walking through a forest of pines, there was a grove of Aspen.  Soon the trees were quite short and found in small patches.  This provided wonderful views of the valley below.  A bit further up the valley towards Bear Lake were a large grove of Aspen with some excellent colors.  Looking down the valley towards Moraine Park, were mountains and Sprague Lake.

The pines

Aspen

Great valley views

Sprague Lake

Once near the lake, a pine forest suddenly appeared.  The temperature cooled a few degrees.  The lake reminded me of some of the lakes I've been to in the Adirondacks.  It's more of a pond, but it did have a couple ducks.

It started to pour and I donned my umbrella.  It kept me dry which is all that counts.  If my memory serves me right, it's the first time I've used an umbrella while hiking.

 

Alberta Falls, The Loch and Timberline Falls

The forecast was for thunder showers and it's been overcast all day.  I really wanted to get out early but I got off to a much later start than I had hoped.  After setting up the tent, I was met by a herd of elk just outside the campground.  I had to stop.  Like the bison in Teddy Roosevelt National Park and the prairie dogs at Devil's Tower, the elk is the star at Rocky Mountain National Park.

The shuttle bus dropped me off at the trailhead at 3pm.  Wherever I am at come 5pm, I will turn around.  It already began to drizzle.  Like yesterday, I am surprised at the number of people on the trails.  I reached Isabella Falls in just under a half hour.  Lots of people stopped here.  It's mostly a cascade but does plunge a good 20 feet.

I expected the crowds to thin out, but there would be quite a few people out on this rainy day.  They were a bit smarter, since most of the people I met were going the other way (back to the road).  After an hour and a half I reached the Loch where I met a guy wearing jeans, sneakers and a regular shirt.  At this point, the steady rain has turned to a downpour and my hands are freezing.  It never ceases to amaze me what people wear out here.  He continued on towards Timberline Falls but must have turned around, since I never saw him again.

The walk to Timberline Falls was in a complete downpour.  I chose to not put on my rain pants, which at this point I regretted.  The trail became a bit muddy, so my feet finally became soaked.  The trail left the woods and came out into an opening.  I could see Timberline Falls.  Not the most visually pleasing waterfall I've seen, but still, it had some height.  It's setting was also quite good, located in a gorge.  I walked up some wet rock steps and chose not to walk up the very steep rock steps to Sky Pond.  It was a complete downpour and it was 5 o'clock.  Time to head back.

By the time I reached the Loch, the sky had cleared.  The sun was out, but I noticed it still raining.  I thought, "Perfect conditions for a rainbow."  As I looked up, sure enough, there was a rainbow stretching across the sky above the Loch.  And I had my camera:

    

Rocky Mountain National Park (Lulu City)

I asked the ranger at the visitor center what hike would she recommend for Fall foliage.  She hiked to Lulu City a few days ago and she thought it was pretty good.  After looking at the map, I noticed it followed along the Colorado River.  That sounded good to me.

While walking along the river (here it's barely a creek), I watched in amazement as that water will end up in the Gulf of California.  Of course, the water has a lot of obstacles to go through before reaching Mexico.  It can end up in somebody's drinking water in Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Arizona or California.  It may be irrigated for agriculture.  It also may end up in the numerous fountains in Las Vegas.

About all the fall foliage on this hike

The mighty Colorado

Also one of the few spots where fall is noticeable

There were quite a few people out on this day.  Admission to the park was free.  Still, I was surprised to see so many.  Only about 10% of the people who enter our National Parks leave the road.  Today it seemed like more than that.  I would change my mind when I saw the traffic jam leaving the park later on.

Unfortunately, this did not make for much of a foliage hike.  I think being from the east coast, I have greater expectations of what autumn is supposed to bring.  Still, I enjoyed the walk.  There was not much in elevation and there were some nice views along the way.

I made it to Lulu City in a little over an hour.  Lulu City at one time had 200 residents.  The climate did not cooperate much, so the settlers got out.  Although beautiful, the area they picked looked very remote along with the harsh environment.

Colorado River and site of Lulu City

More foliage

On the way back I came upon an elk.  At first I wasn't sure what it was.  "Maybe it's a mule deer."  But a couple hikers who had stopped watching another elk in the woods told me they were definitely elk.  I could here the elk's bugling calls.  We proceeded up the trail to see a bull walking in front of a group of hikers.

This bull is apparently a stud because he has a herd of cows he plans to mate with.  They expend quite a bit of energy keeping them in line.  There are many bulls who roam solo.  Not this one.

      

Herman Gulch

From the top of Herman Gulch

Too lazy to get going earlier, I decided to do a short hike just off I-70.  The trailhead is right off the interstate.  It's pretty crazy.

I hoped this hike would provide some great fall colors.  The trail would ascend about 1,000 feet to Herman Lake in almost 3 miles.  Unfortunately, the trees were mostly pine with a few patches of Aspen.

The trail went up quite relentlessly with many views of the surrounding mountains.  It then reached timberline and the trail became quite a bit less steep.  I reached Herman Lake and it's surrounded by mountains with some snow on them.  I imagine these patches remain all year round.

Mt Bierstadt

Mt Bierstadt and the Sawtooth Ridge

Like last week's ascents of Grays and Torreys, Mt Bierstadt is one of the easier 14,000 foot peaks to ascend.  It's all relative: the 6 mile round trip includes almost 3,000 feet elevation gain.  That's almost 1,000 feet per mile.

Unlike last week, where I had problems sleeping at 10,000 feet, I slept very well.  Yesterday I drove to Steamboat Springs and the fall colors were quite impressive.  The Aspens change into a bright gold.  There are some oranges as well, but red is rarely seen.  Still, fall is quite beautiful here.

Fall colors near Rabbit Ears Pass

The view from Guanella Pass

Near the summit of Guanella Pass

Lots of gold

Today would be a later start than last week with the good night's sleep.  Rain was not in the forecast. I stopped in Georgetown to change and fill up on some water.  Georgetown is an old mining town.  Lots of buildings are from the Victorian era.  I would love to live here, but what does one do to get by?

Georgetown

From Georgetown, it's a 12 mile drive up to Guanella Pass.  Along the way, I was accompanied by a moose.  Since there was a power station, the moose had nowhere to go but the road.  He must have been on the road for half a mile before he dipped into the woods near a campground.

Nowhere to go but the road

Finally by 9:30, I left the trailhead to ascend Mt Bierstadt.  From the trailhead and almost the entire route, Bierstadt was visible.  The sawtooth ridge which connects Bierstadt to Mt Evans is also visible.  It looks quite gnarly.  Supposedly it only takes a class 3 scramble, but it looks worse than that.  Someday, maybe, I'll give that route a go.

For the most part, the route up was quite easy.  A few runners made there way down the mountain, while I went up.  It does look like it would make for some nice trail running, except for the last few hundred feet which were quite rocky.

The views west in the early morning sun were quite nice.  Eventually both Grays and Torreys were visible.  Once near the summit, Mt Evans became visible.  Mt Evans is one of only two 14ers with a road to its summit (the other being Pikes Peak).  Mt Evans road is slightly higher and happens to be the highest road in the U.S.

Deadman's Lake

The view west

Approaching the summit

Mt Evans and Abyss Lake

Frozen Lake

Again just like last week the altitude became a bit of a problem.  Though I never did have to stop and rest for long periods, I imagine it will take time to get used to it. There were quite a few people on the summit.  There were also quite a few dogs.  Almost all of them were small.  I was quite impressed with the small pug-like dog that made it to the summit.  I watched him struggle up some of the boulders, but somehow he persevered.

On the summit with Grays and Torreys in background

The walk down went quick.  I had to keep an eye out on the clouds.  At one point some hale dropped from the sky.  I made it to Deadman's Lake in about an hour and a half.  When I reached it there were quite a few people looking into the lake.  I noticed something moving so I asked, "Is that the Lochness Monster?"  Instead it was a moose.  The moose apparently goes in for food.  We watched as it would constantly dip its head fully into the water.  At times a few ducks would congregate around the moose.  Maybe they're out for leftovers.

Clouds forming

Tough environment to thrive in

Moose in Deadman's Lake

Moose

Moose has company

After watching this for a half hour, I went to my car to get my DSLR Camera, but unfortunately I made it back too late.  It left the lake and headed into the thick brush.  Still, it was a wonderful encounter.

Some stats: 6 miles, 2,500+ feet elevation gained, Ascent 2:20, Summit Break 30 min, Descent 1:30.

Three moose sightings in one day.  Here's a moose on the way down from Guanella Pass: