Day 16 - RMNP Day 3

Lakes, waterfalls and mountains were on the agenda today.

We got out of the door at 8:30am and had a quick drive back to the Beaver Meadows entrance of the park. The line was just a few cars ahead of us, and when we turned for Bear Lake Road, just four cars were ahead of us. We planned to hike to Emerald Lake at the same Bear Lake Trailhead we visited on Sunday. Arriving there about 9am, there was already one biker on a BMW GS in the dedicated motorcycle parking area (which fits about 3 bikes). He asked about the trailer hitch and said he might want to get a trailer someday. The lady with him didn't seem too excited about that until we learned she has a little dog and told her that there are trailers made for dogs. 

We got all geared up in our hiking garb. Today's weather is the best we've seen yet, mid to upper 60s in the morning. We started up the hike and Rob realized his camera's battery was dead. We went back to the bike, swapped batteries, then shed a few layers since it was warm with in the sunshine. 

Emerald Lake is a 1.8 mile one way trek, mostly uphill. Along the way it passes two other lakes: Nymph Lake and Dream Lake. Since we weren't in a rush, we took our time and walked at a slow, steady pace uphill. It also forces us to notice the plants and animals along the way, as well as geology. The granite on this hike was gorgeous. Rob was catching an action shot of the waterfall below.

There were also a lot of families on the trail and people of all ages, from tiny babies to late 70s. Many parents had kiddos in backpack carriers, and it was very understandable that they were huffing it up the trail. 

We arrived at Nymph Lake and discovered it has lily pads! 

We took in the views and headed on. There were a few switchbacks and we crossed a small bridge. We had a wonderful surprise to see a mama elk and her baby up on a bluff!

The poor mama had the worst itchy fur, she was reaching around trying to bite it. The baby just patiently rested and nibbled on the plants nearby. Michele thought if that mama was so inclined she could take four strides and knock over all the people taking photos of her. She was huge! 

At about 1 mile in, we crossed a log bridge over a stream and then reached Dream Lake. 

Dream Lake has views of Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain. The ecosystem here is subalpine. There are cutthroat trout here, they are a bit small and have black spots. 

 

Continuing to Emerald Lake was another 200 feet in elevation uphill, using terraced steps and rock steps. Emerald Lake which is at the base of dramatic mountain peaks. 

 

Closeup of the waterfall coming down the side of Hallett Peak.

 

Rob took pictures and Michele had a snack. It's a popular area and as one guy said "There are about 1,000 people up here." It wasn't that crowded! These ducks preened and enjoyed the sun, very close to the shore next to people.

 

We turned to make our way back down, pausing to take a few shots in areas that were clear of people that were busy on our way up.  We saw this handsome woodpecker. 

Michele was hoping it was the American three-toed woodpecker, but looked online later and confirmed it was a Downy woodpecker. A good sized one. Allaboutbirds.org is a great website for researching.

We got back to the bike at around 12:30pm. By now it was in the low to mid 70s. The sun is so intense here so we were happy to do the uphill portion in the morning which is our preference. 

As we were getting our gear sorted out, a man and his daughter had just arrived on their bike. He said he just returned from a 6,000 mile trip up the Pacific Coast Highway with his wife, into Oregon and Washington, then over to Glacier. We agreed it was a great itinerary. Then a couple pulled up on a Harley. The motorcycle parking was full so Rob told him to give us 10 minutes and we'd be ready to head out so he could have our spot. 

Rob had noticed that our trailer lights were not coming on with the bike, no brake lights, no running lights or turn signals. Not good! We decided to ride straight back to our hotel to have lunch there instead of a picnic, so we could get the trailer lights sorted out or go buy parts if we had to. We got back to the hotel just fine, there was minimal traffic around 1:15pm. 

At the hotel, the lights seemed to be working again, then one wouldn't work, then they would work again. Rob says the trailer has resettable circuit breakers, so he's not sure what was the issue. We'll just keep an eye on it and check them every time we get on the bike. 

We ate our picnic lunch in our room and spent a few hours planning which hikes we'll take the rest of the week. At 3pm we FaceTimed with Michele's parents to say hello. They got a live tour of our hotel room and the view outside of Fall River that curves around our building. After saying goodbye, Rob looked at the weather radar and a small rainstorm was coming our way. We had hoped to go to Safeway in town to pick up more food items for picnic lunches, but we did not want to ride in the rain. At 5pm we decided to order delivery for dinner. We found Poppy's Pizza and Grill offering delivery in town, and ordered pizza, salad, dessert and also a sandwich for tomorrow's lunch. 

As we were waiting for the food order, Rob noticed a hummingbird right outside our hotel window above the river. We are not sure if it was a Rufus or Ruby-Throat. Then it started fighting with another one. We enjoyed watching the show. After that, Rob noticed a bird we've never seen before in the tree right above our little balcony. He looked it up and we believe it was a female yellow-rumped warbler. Rob used Michele's binoculars to distinguish it, and discovered the distinguishing yellow spot on the head, wings and rump. It was scampering around on the boulders above the water and Michele was able to see the yellow spot on its head using the binoculars. We read about its habitat and food preferences (all manner of insects).

We ate dinner (delicious) and started watching the Edge of Tomorrow movie we borrowed from the hotel's movie library. 

Today was a great day. Seems like everywhere is spectacular in this park. Although the trails were busy, they weren't overly so. Each of the three lakes had their own special charm and we loved the mountain views surrounding us. This twisted tree was really cool.

As were these mushrooms in a crevice and wildflowers.

Michele's bum toes did okay today, no new blisters thanks to Rob's careful toe wrapping service this morning. Can you believe this guy did the trail barefoot?! It was so rocky, although it was smooth in this section. 

 Tomorrow we may hike on the other side of the park in a new area we haven't yet visited.