Carlsbad Summer Adventure: Rocky Mountain National Park

One of my favorite national Parks is Rocky Mountain National Park. If you've never been there, it has wonderful views, good hiking, photo ops galore and wildlife. The elk in the park are not nearly as shy as the herds in Glacier. There's also two great drives, Trail Ridge Road and Old River Road. Unfortunately, both are still closed for the winter, but may open for Memorial Day weekend. However, the snow the got yesterday has slowed down the plowing.

On Sunday morning, we hiked Deer Mountain with the hopes of reaching the summit (approx. 10,000 feet). It would be our first summit of the 2010 season. It's only a 1,000 foot gain on a 3.2 mile hike. Steady climb, challenging, but certainly doable. The biggest issue was the snow we hit about a mile into the hike. The north side of the trail was icy and deep at times. I really need to get trekking poles - anyone have suggestions as to what brand to get?????????

Thought of my Glacier chat buddies on this hike. You guys would have loved this hike. Sure wished you were there with us, but you were there with us in spirit! The views from the summit were awesome. To the east, you could see the town of Estes Park, the southwest, Storm Pass and the west, the continental divide. The weather was great, cool, but sunny with a beautiful blue Colorado sky.

All in all, it was an awesome day, and a super weekend. Here are a few pictures of the weekend...