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.