After spending much of the day driving around Rocky Mountain National Park, we ended up in the Bear Lake area. We only went there to look around because we had plans to be there the following day to do some hiking. We did that, but also made a last minute decision to do a hike. We chose the Bierstadt Lake hike. From the Bear Lake trailhead it was two miles there and two miles back. There was another entrance for this trail that was shorter, but we didn't know about it at the time. Everyone else was hiking from there because they were told the Bear Lake trail was too snowy and icy without gear. Lucky us, we got the adventure hike! It was icy and slippery at times (yes, a few of us fell) but oh so fun! It turned out to be one of our favorite hikes of the trip.
It was not snowing when we started the hike. By the time we had reached the lake the snow was falling. On the hike back we had heavy snowfall. It was beautiful, peaceful, and just simply perfect.
Bear Lake Trailhead
off to Bierstadt Lake
my three guys
our family at Bear Lake
Bear Lake
Bear Lake
(before the snowfall)
We never got tired of seeing these cute little chipmunks,
hiking to Bierstadt Lake
loving the snow covered ground!
It felt like Christmas with all those trees.
arriving at the Lake
Birestadt Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park
At this point the winds starting howling, and the trees began swiftly swaying. We thought a rain storm was quickly approaching. We did get a little nervous considering we were two miles from the car. Two of us actually got very nervous (scared), but I won't call names. Thankfully, instead of rain, it was snow.
our family at Bierstadt Lake
We met a sweet couple from Ohio there who took our photo. They are the ones who told us about the other trail entrance. Much to our surprise we saw them again six days later at Great Sand Dunes National Park. Come to find out they had taken the same trip journey as we did, visiting the same parks on the same days. We only ran into them at the last park. I thought it was quite neat to see them again and hear about their week.
The snowfall on the hike back was indescribable! Definitely a memory I'll never forget. I didn't take many photos on the return hike but mostly videos. You can see those below.
Our last stop of the day was at the YMCA of the Rockies. We arrived just in time for supper and spent three nights there. I'll share about our fantastic stay there in an upcoming post.
It's fun to stay at the YMCA!
A YouTube video of the hike that includes footage of us hiking through the snow.
No comments:
Post a Comment