Rocky Mountain National Park, February 2026

My hike in Florissant last week was nice, but I needed more.  More wildlife, more scenery, and most importantly more snow!  So with a reluctant sigh I jumped into the car before 6 a.m. last Saturday for the drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park.  The plan: Hike to Emerald Lake.

It was nice to see a trio of big bull elk grazing on the side of Bear Lake Road on my drive in.  They were trying to graze, but I'm not sure how much success they were having.

The wind was already blowing pretty fiercely at Bear Lake.  The rangers confirmed it was even stronger up the trail -- 30 to 40 miles per hour -- and that making it to Emerald was unlikely.

This poor beer didn't make it.  Looked like the pressure got to it.

It did have a nice view for its final moments, though.

I love the views on the trail between Nymph Lake and Dream Lake -- scenic and sweeping.

As I'd been warned, conditions at Dream Lake were miserable.  The winds weren't just strong and constant, they were blowing directly in my face.  The effect felt like being sandblasted on my exposed skin.  Just like my attempt a little more than four years earlier, this is where I unfortunately turned around.  I didn't feel comfortable setting up my tripod and DSLR, but I at last had enough charge to get a shot with my phone.

The trail leading back to Nymph Lake again offered a spectacular view.

Icicles along the trail provided a striking scene.

And in a tree next to the icicles, a very chill Steller's Jay.  Probably hoping for a handout, but whatever the case he posed nicely.

Since I was well ahead of my planned schedule I stopped at Glacier Gorge and trekked out to Alberta Falls, which was too snow-covered to offer a particularly memorable shot.

Saw another grazing Wapiti near Sheep Lakes, who graced me with a mildly curious look.

Stopped at the Fall River Visitor Center to get my passport stamped, and took one last snap of this Black-Billed Magpie.

I got my wildlife and snow, so I'm calling the visit a success!

Related Links:

• Rocky Mountain National Park, January 2024
• Rocky Mountain National Park, December 2021
• Ouzel Falls Trail, December 2019
• Grand Lake and More, January 2019
• RMNP: Colorado River Trail
• RMNP Sunrise: December 2017
• RMNP: December 2015
• RMNP: December 2014, Part I
• RMNP: December 2014, Part II
• Timberline Falls
• Mills Lake
• Alberta Falls Plus
• Emerald Lake (Part I)
• Emerald Lake (Part II)

Sky Pond

Had a good night's rest in Glacier Basin Campground, then got up before sunrise and headed to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead to hike to Sky Pond.  The parking lot was already half full when I arrived, but at least I was able to get a spot.

Getting to Alberta Falls before the sunlight hit them was awesome.  The falls were gorgeous, as always.

There was virtually no wind at The Loch when I arrived, so I got a great mirror-like reflection in my shot.

Looking back down the trail from the base of Timberline Falls definitely provides a feeling of accomplishment.

The falls themselves were somewhat tricky to shoot.  I don't really love this landscape view...

...but I'm not thrilled with the portrait perspective, either.  Climbing up alongside the falls was even worse than shooting them, though.  Slippery and steep.

Lake of Glass is pretty standard alpine fare, which is to say beautiful.

Then Sky Pond itself is ringed by steep cliffs that indicate you have reached the end of the trail.

AllTrails claims this hike is 8.6 miles and 1,774 feet of elevation gain.  I say it's longer and steeper than that.  Timberline Falls is pretty treacherous to descend, but otherwise it's a terrific hike.  Hard to beat three lakes and two waterfalls along one route!

Trail Ridge Road Sunset

I had plans to shoot sunset on my overnight camping trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.  But storm clouds rolled in, and I wasn't sure there would even be a sunset to sea.  I started driving from Glacier Basin to Trail Ridge Road late afternoon with my fingers crossed. 

Things looked promising as I headed past one of my favorite overlooks, with the sun bursting through the clouds and casting deep shadows across the landscape.

The Gore Range Overlook was where I set up shop, first using my telephoto to capture lenticular clouds over Longs Peak.

The shadows up here were even longer as sunset approached.

The sun was slowly headed towards a great notch between two peaks, putting on an early show as it emerged briefly from behind a low cloud.

"God rays" are always neat to see.

The view to the south was also stunning, with the developing contrast to the east and west.

I can't decide if I like the fence in the foreground or not.

The sun eventually hit that notch it was headed for, giving a bit of an Eye of Sauron vibe before slipping below the horizon and out of sight.

Needless to say, I'm glad I took the chance to see what the sunset had to offer!

Rocky Mountain National Park, January 2024

During the time we lived in Texas, we regularly visited Colorado over winter break.  And on those visits, I typically squeezed in a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.  Now that we live in Colorado again, I saw no reason why I couldn't still make a wintry excursion to the park.  So I did. :)

I decided to get up early enough to catch sunrise, and Sprague Lake has always served me well at that time of day.  This particular morning there were virtually no clouds in the sky, and as a result not much color to speak of.  I set up on the east end of the lake a tad too late to catch alpenglow.  I did get the first rays of dawn striking the peaks to the west.

Returning to the parking lot on the west end of the lake I stopped by a footbridge for a shot of some of the only water that hadn't yet frozen over.  Still no sun visible 20 minutes after the scheduled sunrise in Estes Park.  Mountains will do that.

I had planned a short hike to The Pool, mainly because I never had.  Big Thompson River was still in shadow.  Mountains.

The Pool is as advertised -- a little section where the river backs up.  Too small to even be called a pond, but interesting in its own understated way.

The sun was finally starting to light up the landscape when I took a final shot and headed back.

I hiked through some burnt-out areas from 2020's East Troublesome Fire.

I could have spent hours studying the patterns still remaining in the charred bark.

After my hike I drove around other areas, mainly looking for wildlife.  I didn't find any, but I did take in a gorgeous view up Fall River.

This was my first time at RMNP since we moved back in May, and it was great to just get reacquainted with the park.  I look forward to many more visits to come!

Related Links:

• Rocky Mountain National Park, December 2021
• Ouzel Falls Trail, December 2019
• RMNP: December 2015
• RMNP: December 2014, Part I
• RMNP: December 2014, Part II

Poudre Canyon

We made a drive last weekend to visit Taryn at Colorado State University. While she worked Saturday afternoon, I took the opportunity to go on a foliage drive up Poudre Canyon.

Ah, but it was nice to breathe in the cool mountain air again!  The drive provided bountiful opportunities to stop and soak in the beautiful fall scenery.

It might have been nice to soak in the river a bit, but I expect the water was a little chilly.

The bluebird skies provided a gorgeous contrast to the green and gold leaves.

A footbridge offered a peaceful perspective.

This setting was hidden off the road a bit.  A copse of thick trees gave the impression that there might be something scenic, and that impression proved true.

My drive ended at Red Feather Lakes, where I'd hoped for more foliage but settled instead for rocks on the shore.

Colorado Chipmunks were abundant, seeming to stay in range for scraps and handouts without overtly begging for any.

One last shot of an aspen grove, and it was back to Fort Collins with a renewed love for autumn in Colorado in my heart!

Rocky Mountain National Park, December 2021

The pandemic dissuaded me from making my normal winter visit to Colorado last year.  Even with the Omicron surge this year, being vaccinated and boosted I felt much more comfortable traveling.  I did continue to mask up when indoors, maintain social distance, and limited the number of friends I saw.  One thing I didn't sacrifice was a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.

I planned to hike to Emerald Lake, something I hadn't done in nearly 12 years.  Temperatures were in the upper teens, and skies were mostly cloudy with light snow.  The sun was still doing its best to burn through when I stopped to shoot Nymph Lake.

The temperatures and clouds weren't much of an inconvenience.  And as I climbed patches of blue sky were clearly visibly to the east.

The wind was a much bigger factor, with gusts up to 30 miles an hour proving to be a real hassle.  In fact, the wind was blowing so strong and steady and directly in my face when I got to Dream Lake that after waiting for a few minutes I decided to just turn around.  My goggles had frozen, so I couldn't see anything with them on (admittedly a rookie mistake -- I should have kept them on my face the whole hike).  But I couldn't walk directly into the wind without goggles, either.  I hoped to get at least one photo of the conditions, but I was reluctant to set up my tripod.  And I hadn't kept my cell phone close enough to my body to keep it warm, so its battery had died.

On my hike out I passed a guy who saw my camera and suggested I shoot this wood.  On my hike back I took him up on his suggestion.

Disappointed with how little of winter I'd actually shot, and well ahead of my planned schedule, I decided to stop at Sprague Lake for some pictures.  I really liked this composition with the fallen tree in the foreground, but after a just a few minutes my fingers went numb and I hustled back to my car to warm them up.  It seems an upgrade to my cold weather photography gloves is also in order.

My rust from not dealing with cold weather regularly really hurt me; if I'd made a couple of different decisions before starting I probably would have gotten the experience -- and images -- I was hoping for.  Still, it was good to breathe the crisp mountain air.  And the wind didn't stop me from my traditional stop at Oskar Blues in Lyons for a late lunch on my drive back.

This will probably be my only winter photography outing on this trip, but I will be better prepared whenever I do take my next one!

Sandbeach Lake Trail, Part II

Click here for Part I.

My hike to Sandbeach Lake was just the right amount of exertion for my summer trip to Colorado.  For a nine-mile roundtrip hike to an alpine lake, the elevation change is fairly gentle -- only about 2,000 feet.  Couple that with overcast skies, and I felt like I could have easily gone even further.

This little Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel was working even harder than I was.  Preparing for winter already in late July, perhaps?

Even tiny cascades can possess a lovely charm.  And this inflow to the lake was tiny.

I kept a closer eye out for blooming wildflowers on my return trek, and there were plenty to see.  Mountain Bluebells...

...Whipple's Penstemon...

...and Giant Red Paintbrush.

The trail itself was beautiful to behold.  The appeal of a wide, clear path through lush, green woods is immense.

Even the "rocky stretches" weren't especially troublesome.

I didn't know if this was a plant or a fungus.  Apparently it's a plant -- Woodland Pinedrops.

The clouds broke on my way back to give me a nice view of the North Saint Vrain Creek Valley.

The wildflowers weren't done yet -- first a patch of Gunnison's Mariposa Lily...

...then some Pinewoods Geranium.

Even some Ponderosa Pine cones looked like they'd been placed purposefully into a pleasing arrangement.

To see so much moisture-dependent flowers and fungi -- like these Sunshine Amanita -- and yet still get to walk on a perfectly dry trail was an unexpectedly delightful combination.  Map My Walk says I covered 9.15 miles in 5:35:21, which is a pace I can live with.

Maybe next year I'll get to Lion Lakes like I'd planned.  But for this year, Sandbeach Lake proved to be a more than adequate backup!