GTV First Loop: Rocky Mountain National Park

Mel here. The ride to Milner Pass beckoned, so Jeff killed it (despite warnings from the ranger that the winds were gusting to 50 mph) while Flynn and I poked along in van-style comfort, snapping photos along the way.

Hey look—a longhorn sheep! Like, right there next to you!

And he appears to have brought some friends…

Flynn wishes to herd them.

On to Bear Lake, at which point I had the bright idea to trail run from Bear Lake to Bierstadt Lake. It was an ankle-twistastic trail, for sure, but well worth it!

We pushed onward through Estes Park as the day waned, Jeff driving while I scoured the map for ideas of where to camp that night.  And, of course, snapped dashboard photos.

This area (Rts 7/72) was hit particularly hard by the recent tragic flooding, and we were a bit dubious after passing several closed FS campgrounds. However, when I saw “Peaceful Valley” on the map with the familiar tent symbol, I knew it would come through for us, and I was right. Not only was the Peaceful Valley campground open (with quite a few folks staying there), a few miles up the valley, we noticed with some obligatory giggling, was Camp Dick. How could we not check it out?
Score one for Camp Dick!

Day's Lesson: National Parks are a unique national treasure, and help to support countless local economies.

GTV First Loop: Steamboat Springs to Rocky Mountain NP

No snow this morning, but cool overnight temperatures fostered a sparkly sheen of morning frost.

With blue skies overhead and not a rain cloud in sight, we decided to give Steamboat a second look. Jeff took on the Emerald Mountain bike trails, while Flynn and I ran the Yampa River Core trail right in town. After hooking back up for lunch and stocking up on provisions, we headed on down the road for a surprisingly un-crowded Rocky Mountain National Park.

Day's Lesson: We love our dog.

GTV First Loop: Zirkel Wilderness

Aaaaaaaaaand cue the snow.

Seriously though, some accumulation we expected, and perhaps snow on the trail at the pass. Um…not quite. Jeff described the drifts at the pass as “knee high in places,” which means, of course, upper thigh high for me. Flynn was thrilled.

Undaunted (okay, fine, we almost turned around at the first lake when we saw how deep the snow was heading up to the pass, but then we put our big girl pants on and went for it), we hiked the full Gold Creek Loop—11+ miles, 2400 feet in elevation gain…and snow. Lots of snow. Superlatives fail me! I mean come on:

We made our home for the night a few miles back down scenic Seedhouse Road, at a nearly-deserted campground of the same name as its host road.

Day's Lesson: Snow makes things pretty, climb higher.

GTV First Loop: Wyoming to Colorado

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand cue the snow.

It was moose weather for sure.

So back down the hill we went, toward Colorado and (hopefully?) a bit more warm weather…

The sign intrigued us. Colorful Colorado? What do you suppose that means? Well, apparently, in fall, that means Aspen. Stands and stands of take your breath away, shimmering Aspen…of which you’ll see many pictures in upcoming posts (because I didn’t get any good ones this particular day).
To Steamboat Springs we fled, checking into a motel in town to avoid the deluge. Wandered the town a bit, got soaked to the bone, then enjoyed a delightful dinner at the bar at Laundry (which, after rising to the top in an extensive internet search, turned out to be located right next door to our hotel—kismet). Over tasty morsels and libations, we hatched plans for the following day—which was forecast to be clear, weatherwise—a big-assed hike in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness.

Days Lesson: Colorado.

GTV First Loop: Medicine Bow

On a whim and buoyed by a break in the weather, we decided to drive the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway (hooray for scenic byways!) to Medicine Bow National Forest—about which we knew absolutely nothing except it was white on the map, indicating high elevation and most likely above tree line.

The early parts of the road were pastoral, which quickly gave way to a high alpine feel as we climbed.

Just east of Snowy Range Pass, we found Sugarloaf camp ground, full of charm and empty of humans. Home for the night, with time for a short walk (Flynn and I) and ride (Jeff) around the lakes and plans for a longer hike the next morning.

After being confined to quarters to some extent in the National Park, Flynn seemed thrilled to have free reign once again, romping himself into a happy, ball-induced coma

Days Lesson: If it's raining, keep driving.