Rocky Mountain National Park - With Friends
Introductions
Alex is a true introvert at heart, and at her default setting, doesn’t really like to spend too much time around people. At the same time, she values friendships and had frequently expressed a desire to go on a friends trip. It can be difficult to coordinate schedules, but we managed to rope four of our friends into going to Colorado with us. It wasn’t a hard sell because Colorado is amazing!
Dennis is someone I’ve known for over a decade, and he has become good friends with Alex over the last three years. We convinced him to run his first 15k with us last winter in Charlotte. He has such a positive outlook and “I’ll try anything,” attitude. He also has a natural talent for connecting people, and he was the common denominator/connector for all the friends on this trip.
We met Martin through Dennis; he skis, hikes, runs, bikes, climbs, and generally loves a lot of the same activities as Alex and I do (plus a few extra that we don’t plan on joining in on… ice climbing). Between being a frequent climbing partner, and hanging out with him and his wife for non-climbing activities, we see him often.
I met Tyler over ten years ago from flag football. In 2021, he moved to the Northeast with his partner, Andrea. We’ve kept in touch, but I don’t see him much anymore. Dennis and I last saw him in 2022, when we hiked Mount Mitchell, totaling 12 miles and over 3,700 feet of elevation gain. The next day, we were so sore that we spent the day playing mini golf and board games in the Airbnb! It was also nice to finally meet Andrea!
Day 1: Travel Day to Denver
On Sunday morning, we headed to the airport with Dennis. We were unsure if the government shutdown would affect the security lines, so we arrived earlier than usual. I don’t think Sunday is a big travel day, so we went through security pretty quickly. Martin, who had no concerns about security lines, arrived an hour later. Overall, we had an uneventful flight to Denver. The Denver Airport is huge. Once we landed, the flight attendant commented on the taxiing process - “You land in Kansas, then drive to Colorado.” It worked out really well because Tyler and Andrea’s flight landed around the same time as us.
After getting our rental cars (red Subaru Outback and red Jeep), we made a quick coffee and breakfast stop. Next, we went to Costco for a big grocery haul. Then, we made our way to Estes Park, about 1.5 hours away. As we got closer to the Park, we were met with beautiful views of snowy mountain peaks and pine trees with bright bursts of yellow leaves from the Aspen and Cottonwood trees.
Day 2: Visiting the Lakes
We woke up to a light dusting of snow outside. By the time we reached the trailhead at Bear Lake (elevation 9,400 feet), there were a couple inches of accumulation on the trail. This was not enough snow to impede our hike, but it added an incredible sprinkle of winter wonderland magic to our surroundings. The clouds hung low as we hiked to Dream, Emerald, and Haiyaha lakes. It was striking when the clouds would lighten up just enough so we could see the mountains towering above us through a sparkling haze. Eventually we would ascend above the clouds; it was so picturesque to see the fluffy blanket of clouds below, snow covering the mountains and trees, and the brightly shining sun illuminating it all.
Initially, we planned to go on an easy hike the first day to acclimate to the elevation. Alex, Dennis and Andrea hiked a total of six miles before returning home. Martin, Tyler and I got a bit carried away and continued hiking for an additional six miles to Black Lake. This is the first time Alex and I have ever hiked at elevation. It really kicked our butts! Our most significant symptom was early-onset fatigue. Alex also had headaches and lightheadedness. We returned to the AirBNB a few hours later; the burgers and tater tots we cooked for dinner tasted delicious after a long day!
As we ate dinner, the term “body battery,” made its debut (and then became the catchphrase for the remainder of the trip). Body battery is a term used by Garmin, that summarizes your energy levels for the day. For example, a body battery of 100 correlates to “I’m ready to take on the day!” while a battery of 5 means “I’m practically dead.” Martin and I often started the day with body batteries in the 80’s. Alex was battling a viral upper respiratory infection and had a hard time acclimating with the elevation, so she often started with a body battery in the 20’s. Dennis doesn’t wear his watch at night (he doesn’t know how to turn off alerts, and they often buzz him awake while he’s trying to sleep), so he doesn’t get body battery updates on his watch. Tyler doesn’t have a Garmin watch, but he still kept us updated on his body battery, enthusiastically making up random numbers from his self-created system.
Day 3: Chasm Lake
Chasm Lake is an iconic Rocky Mountains landmark. The trail is an ascent to an alpine tundra with views of Long’s Peak (the highest peak in the park at 14,259 feet). Martin had been talking about hiking up to Long’s Peak from the early planning stages of this trip; however, at this time of year, it would require technical climbing with crampons and ice picks. Instead, he decided to hike to the Keyhole, a rock formation about 1000 feet from the summit, and meet us at Chasm Lake on the way down.
Once we arrived at the trailhead, Martin handed us a walkie talkie and then sprinted off for the Keyhole. Tyler and Andrea are also fast hikers, so they powered on to Chasm Lake. Alex, Dennis and I continued at a nice steady pace, with frequent breaks, snacks, and encouraging cheers (“Go Team!”).
The hike is a continuous ascent; first, trekking through fairly dense pine forest. We had to navigate past some frozen puddles and snowy trails. Once we reached 11,000 feet of elevation, it becomes more exposed as the trees fade away. I really enjoyed hiking above the treeline throughout the week; looking out at the mountains, valleys, lakes, and streams below is one of my favorite things about being in the mountains!
The last bit of the trail was more of a vertical rock scramble. Fortunately, just as we were approaching this last section, Tyler and Andrea were making their way back. Dennis was able to borrow Tyler’s microspikes. The scramble up to Chasm Lake was very icy and snowy, and the microspikes helped a lot with our traction. The view of the lake was gorgeous and a great place to relax and eat more snacks while we waited for Martin to join us. On our way back down, we even saw two moose!
Throughout the trip, Dennis established the nickname for himself “Downhill Dennis.” He has a steady pace on the way up, but he is a speed demon going down those mountains! It’s hard to keep up!
Day 4: Estes Lake, Hidden Valley and Upper Beaver Meadows
Today was a rest day for us. Martin did talk Dennis into doing a 4 mile run around the lake in the morning though! Alex, Dennis, Martin and I were hoping to go up Trail Ridge Road, however it had closed a few days earlier due to snow. Unfortunately, despite the improved weather conditions, it remained closed, likely due to the government shutdown. We ended up doing short hikes in the Hidden Valley and Upper Beaver Meadows areas. Dennis requested my “famous” chicken thighs for dinner, and I was happy to oblige (as the self-proclaimed amateur chef of this trip).
Day 5: Cloud Ladder Via Ferrata
Today we split into two groups for our activities. Alex was really interested in doing the Cloud Ladder Via Ferrata and was trying to convince other people to join her. Martin was an immediate “Yes!” while my response was more like “Sigh… okay… since you’re my wife…” While we set out to do the Via Ferrata, the others would be hiking up the Twin Sisters (we later learned we could see the summit from where we were climbing).
Via Ferrata is Italian for “iron path” and is a series of fixed steel cables and rungs drilled into the side of the mountain. These are common in Europe, so Martin was well accustomed to them and had done a few already. They originated in the alps during the 1800s as a way to ascend difficult mountains and were used in World War I to quickly move troops over steep terrain.
Nowadays, the Via Ferrata allows for more accessible climbing. The Cloud Ladder Via Ferrata in Estes Park was developed by local climbers during the COVID-19 pandemic and completed in June 2021. It features 630 feet of vertical climbing, two 40-foot suspension bridges, and approximately 850 ladder rungs.
We met up with our climbing guide, and along the way, we saw a giant elk on the road! Elk are everywhere here, and locals don’t get very excited about seeing them. Seeing an elk here is like seeing deer where we live.
The climb was well within our scope of abilities. Martin graded this as a mid-level climb for a Via Ferrata. We thought it was well developed as the climb used a combination of ladder rungs and the natural rock face to navigate our way up. I’m still partial to regular rock climbing, but I could see us doing this again in the future.
At the end of day, it was nice to reunite with the rest of the group for a home cooked dinner and share our adventures. Somehow I became the cook for this trip, and tonight chicken parmesan was on the menu. Tyler and Andrea took care of the cleanup, so I’d say I got the better end of the deal!
Day 6: Flattop Mountain
Friday was the last full day of the trip for most of us! We were all pretty tired, so after some discussion/ convincing, we decided to try for Hallett Peak/Flattop Mountain. This would be the most ambitious full group hike of the trip (10+ miles, 3,250’ elevation gain up to 12,800’).
Dennis, having hiked Twin Sisters the day before, was concerned - probably because his trademark “Downhill Dennis” maneuver still requires him to hike up first. Alex had been dealing with a respiratory illness all trip, but very much wanted to reach the summit of Hallett Peak. However, a week of being sick and getting poor sleep had left her considerably depleted. By this point her training readiness score was a 1 (out of 100) and her body battery was starting the day in the low 20s. Andrea always expressed doubts, but I’m convinced she must take her dogs on long walks every day, because she was a machine, leading the pack, for someone who claims to do no exercise! We decided to give it a go, and turn back around if needed.
Alex, Martin, and I arrived at the trailhead first, and after about 2 miles, the rest of the group caught up and we split up into two groups. Alex and Dennis were both in pretty good spirits for most of the way up, but the last mile to Flattop Mountain (12,323’) was a slog. The views, the satisfaction of the journey, spending time with good friends - that’s what is captured in the photos. Most of the time it’s the reality of the experience, but other times, it’s a real struggle. The last mile across a treeless alpine tundra with wind, light rain and occasional slippery footing at 12,000’ of elevation had put both Alex and Dennis firmly into struggle territory. I radioed ahead to Martin to let them know we would be stopping at Flattop and they should head to Hallett Peak before more bad weather came in. Upon reaching Flattop, Alex and Dennis huddled together and ate a snack, while I went off to quickly look at the backside view of the mountain. I returned to find both of them looking cold and sad! I always carry extra clothing items, so Alex got a big pair of ski gloves, we rearranged her coats so the rain coat was on the outside, and I gave Dennis my rain coat to go over his jacket. We set off down the mountain with a notably weary “Gooo team.”
I stayed behind at Flattop for several minutes taking pictures and videos of them descending, and a few distant silhouetted shots of Tyler, Andrea, and Martin on the top of Hallett Peak. After literally running to catch back up (we’re dealing with “Downhill Dennis” and “Anything but Ascending Alex” here!) I found two people that were talking again and in much better spirits.
Later, we decided that going out for pizza sounded like the perfect meal to have together before we all departed the next day. We chose a place called Antonio’s that had been voted the “best NY pizza in Colorado.” We initially thought we were at the wrong place, because it’s located in an old Mexican restaurant. But you know what? After eating there, we completely understood why it had such good ratings. It’s some of the best pizza any of us had ever eaten. Being in an old Mexican restaurant wasn’t the only odd part. The restaurant was short staffed, and they had robots bringing out the food. At one point, there was a robot traffic jam for a few minutes, which ultimately resulted in one of them driving itself halfway onto our table, causing Martin to jump halfway out of his seat!
Day 7 (morning): Saying bye to friends
The next morning, we drove Dennis and Martin to the airport. Tyler and Andrea’s flight was not leaving until later in the day, so they had a little more time to relax at the AirBNB before heading out. Alex and I had a few more days to explore Colorado (our plans changed a little along the way due to weather). We feel so fortunate to have spent the week with amazing friends exploring Rocky Mountain National Park! Alex and I have always had a great time traveling together, even in the challenges (flooding and lightning storms in Pisgah National Forest, “bloody stumps for feet” on Catalina Island, having our tent fly away in Moab). Being able to spend time with good friends, experiencing the beauty of the Rockies together, really made it extra special!
