| Saturday, October 18
Keith picked Mary up at the Denver airport and went to meet Doug Van Cleef and Bob Jump at the Dam Store near Loveland. Then the four of us drove to Devil’s Gulch and hiked to Gem Lake. This was a very easy hike for those of us who had not just come from sea level. |
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Keith, Doug, and Bob pause to let Mary catch her breath and take a photo on the way to Gem Lake |
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Gem Lake |
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Sunday, October 19 We (Keith & Mary) were on our own again. Sunday morning we drove up the Old Fall River Road and down Trail Ridge Road, making a number of stops along the way. In the afternoon we hiked to several lakes, starting with Bear Lake. |
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Near the Alpine Visitor’s Center |
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Tundra |
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Top of the world |
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Bear Lake |
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Nymph Lake |
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Dream Lake |
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Dream Lake in the sun (Mary liked this view) |
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No photos of Emerald Lake were worth sharing. |
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A nice view along the trail |
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View of Long’s Peak |
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Lake Haiyaha |
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Old tree at Lake Haiyaha |
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Tuesday, October 20 Our big hike of this trip was the hike to Chasm Lake. The trail began in the forest at 9405 ft and ended in the tundra and rocks near 12,000 ft, with Long’s Peak another 2000+ ft overhead. We loved it. Keith still wants to climb Long’s Peak one day. |
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On the way to Chasm Lake |
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Signpost |
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View of Long’s Peak |
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Taking the difficult route to Chasm Lake. (There is an easier way.) Mary finally got to try rock-climbing. |
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Chasm Lake |
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Chasm Lake again |
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And a third time |
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Chasm Lake with Long’s Peak overhead |