Hinge season in Colorado Rockies! Honestly, I usually have a tough time with the end of winter, but between the great hiking conditions and steep skiing opportunities, there’s not much to complain about.
A couple weeks ago Kelly and I shot up to RMNP for a casual hike out to the Loch. You depart from the Glacier Gorge trailhead off of Bear Lake road and follow a moderately ascending trail past numerous stunning vistas. Herein lies the magic of hiking in these parts: in New England (what I’m used to, and my point of reference for much mountain-sport), grand and sweeping views are usually only had at the top of a mountain. Out here, with the relatively thin foliage and close proximity to treeline, you quickly find yourself in the realm of the breathtaking. Thus, a casual stroll uphill terminating nowhere near the summit of anything can easily result in scenes worthy of Ansel Adams’ attention. It’s almost too easy!
So what do you get for 1200′ of climbing over ~3.5 miles? Behold!
That’s the frozen Loch where we had lunch and took in the view for an indulgent length of time: it was like 60 degrees after all! For the more ambitious, it’s possible to proceed up the ravine toward Sky Pond which is supposed to be equally beautiful, but we were satisfied our first hike of the season and turned around here.
My usual M.O. for drafting these posts is to present media in chronological order, or occasionally to organize photos and videos for maximum thematic impact. For this one, I have no such compunctions! Cutting to the climax, spectacular as it may be, was hardly culpable when viewed next to splendor, of basically the entire rest of the hike. Check out some highlights from the approach, below…
