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One of the entrances to the Rocky Mountain National Park is about 3 miles west of the town of Estes Park. The drive there gives you a taste of what's to come. |
BEAR LAKE TO EMERALD LAKE TRAIL
- Rocky Mountain National Park -
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One of the entrances to the Rocky Mountain National Park is about 3 miles west of the town of Estes Park. The drive there gives you a taste of what's to come. |
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We opted to hike to three small sub-alpine lakes from the Bear Lake Visitor Center. Bear Lake itself is just a few hundred yards from the Visitor Center. From there, you can take any number of trails, including one to Flattop Mountain, elevation 12,324 feet. |
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Here we're looking back at Nymph Lake as the trail continues to climb. |
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Colorado boasts 53 peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation - referred to as the 14ers. Longs Peak, framing this shot, stands at 14,259 feet. |
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Onward and upward |
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Dream Lake sported a handful of fishermen. As we were hiking past, I happened to glance into the water close to the shore and spotted a good-sized trout.
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We hit snow fields about 2/3 of the way up, but were plenty warm from the sunshine and the exertion. |
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A creek tumbling down from higher elevations kept us company a good portion of the trek.
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Emerald Lake - our destination - stands at 10,080 feet in elevation, still encrusted with aqua-colored ice and snow. |
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We ate our lunch on a large boulder in the sunshine at lakeside. A pretty beggar, also enjoying the sunshine, was hoping for bread crumbs. |
