So, two weekends ago we got started with a two day trip in Wild Basin, on the south side of Rocky Mountain National Park. Saturday's forecast called for a rain/snow mix so we slept in and didn't actually hit the trail until about 1:00. The trail technically started at the Wild Basin ranger station, but we had to hike about a mile on the road since it was still closed (unnecessarily) for winter.
We hiked along the North St Vrain Trail, which was a not too difficult grade to start with and passed a handful of waterfalls. Some were completely ice-free, while others were covered with snow still. Ouzel Falls seemed the most impressive, it was mostly just ice clinging to a cliff, but some water was also cascading between the ice and rocks. Very cool, and I got the impression that at any minute all the ice could break free in a tremendous crash. Early on, there were wild turkey tracks all over the place and we finally saw one of the awckward creatures bobbing around the woods.
Ouzel Falls
I say the trail was not too difficult but we actually did not hike very fast. Partially because of the sightseeing, partially because of the snow (we finally had to put on the snowshoes after about 2 miles). Overall, it took us about 3.5 hours to hike the 4.5 miles to our campsite at 9650 feet. Once at camp we set up the tent and sat down for "lunch" (at 4:30). Also I had insisted on getting cheesy bean and rice burritos at Taco Bell in Estes Park, so Chris' stomach wasn't feeling too well. Oops.
Anyway, after sitting for about 10 minutes, I realized it was very cold, and was only going to get colder, and we had all night to sit around and freeze. Oh yeah, when we got to the campsite, there was a pair of coyote-like tracks through the site. It was pretty cool, and I actually wasn't too nervous about camping there (last year on our one camping trip I hardly slept at all because I was paranoid about a moose we had seen earlier charging our tent). We thought there was a small chance the tracks were from a wolf, because they seemed kind of large, but that is not very likely since there are not very many documented wolf sitings in Colorado.
The tracks that went through our campsite. The black MSR label is 4 inches across, for scale.
Chris and I hiked a little farther up the trail toward Thunder Lake to stay warm. We didn't go to far because I left my watch at the campsite and we didn't want to get caught in the dark. So by 6:30 we were back at the site. The next two hours dragged by. We quickly got into the tent to conserve heat, played cards, talked, and finally made some delicious ramen. By 8:30 it was time to sleep! I wore a ton of clothes to bed, including two pairs of socks with toe warmers. But, it paid off b/c I actually didn't get that cold, even though I am pretty sure it couldn't have been above 10 degrees.
Sunday morning we avoided getting out of our warm sleeping bags until 9:30. I was kind of cold when we got up, but we broke camp quickly and once we had been hiking for about 15 minutes I felt better. When we were planning our meals, I had thought I would want a warm breakfast, but I really just wanted to get going to warm up. I have learned that moving around is the best thing when you are camping in the snow!
Our campsite Sunday morning.
We returned to the car via the Finch Lake trail, which we headed on after passing Calypso Cascades. The trail gradually went up and eventually got into a burned area. Sad for the trees, but the views were amazing! Chris likened them to what you see from Trail Ridge Road, except we were the only ones there to enjoy them. We could see the mountains along the continental divide up the valley, and straight across from us were Longs and Mt Meeker. This was definitely the highlight of the trip.
The downside was we lost the trail and it was very very steep. We were hiking across the steep part, not up it, but we still had to face uphill to get a good grip in the snow. At one point, we had to slide on our butts down to get back on the trail. I provided an excellent example of how not to slide down a mountain, with my arms flailing, until Chris yelled at me to use my poles to self-arrest. It was pretty exciting!
The pictures do not do it justice.
The weather Sunday was perfect, too, so overall it was a great day of hiking. We were pretty tired by the time we got back to the car, but were also pleased with our first backpacking experience of the year. Can't wait for the May trip!
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