All four of us were supposed to be at Camp Highland this past week. When camp was cancelled (thanks to the Corona Virus), we planned a camping trip with friends in the Smoky Mountains. But the campground we booked didn't open in time so our reservations were cancelled. So .... in less than a week, James planned a backcountry camping trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, complete with a stopover in Hillsboro, Kansas (both ways), to visit some of our besties.
The trip from Memphis to Hillsboro was nine hours. We got an early start and didn't have any issues. Got there in time for dinner, a nice long visit and snow cones.
We even got to see where Sneed works
The next day we hit the road for the remaining seven hours to Estes Park.
First glimpse at the Rocky's
We stayed our first night in CO at a riverside hotel in Estes Park.
Checking out how cold the water is ... it was cold.
The next morning, we headed into the park for our BIG adventure!
Hitting the trail, all loaded up, at Hollowell Park
Hitting the trail to our backcountry site at Mill Creek Basin. It was about a 1.8 mile hike and was pretty steep in places, making it no easy hike with those heavy packs on. We maxed our backpacks out! The kids were real troopers!
Saw our first moose right away, on the first .25 mile of the hike in.
Crossing Mill Creek ... WE MADE IT! WooHoo!
Setting up camp. James and I didn't even have an argument putting the tent up. #winning
Our site looked out on a beautiful meadow
Having our first camp meal.
That afternoon we hiked from our campsite. A very strenuous 6 mile roundtrip hike that nearly killed us to start things off. We originally set out to hike to Cub Lake and then decided to press on to a place called "The Pool." The Pool was beautiful and we were able to get into the freezing cold water to refresh our legs for the BRUTAL hike back to camp.
Now to get back to camp .... we can do it!
Dinner back at camp was delish! Chili, taco soup and mac & cheese.
At dusk an elk wandered into the meadow
Day two in the park, we hiked out from Mill Creek Basin to catch the shuttle to Bear Lake where hiked to some beautiful lakes.
Nymph Lake
Our first snow encounter (we didn't know how much more was to come)
The most beautiful views on the way up
Dream Lake
Emerald Lake
That afternoon we hiked to Alberta Falls.
After grabbing dinner in Estes Park, we were ready to hike back into camp. We hiked a total of 13.5 miles on day two ... more than a half marathon. We nearly killed the kids but revived them with cream soda at dinner. They really were troopers. Emery never complained and Case struggled a bit with altitude headaches, but that was the only hiccup we had and treated it easily with a bit of ibuprofen.
A group of elk passed us by on our hike back to camp.
Day three in the park, we hiked back out again to take the car to the Alpine region. Up, up, up and away we went.
It was so windy that we couldn't do much hiking. We climbed up to about 12,000 feet.
Views from the Ute trail
Marmot sighting
Back down around 9,000 feet where we could thaw out a bit.
Alluvial Fan
BIG Bull moose sighting!
Day four ... time to rise and shine, pack up camp and hit the road back to Memphis, with another stopover in Kansas.
One last look at Hollowell Park
Emery keeping herself entertained with my phone on the way home.
I have to admit ... the trip really blew my expectations out of the water. The road trip wasn't unpleasant (we hardly knew the kids were in the car), we didn't have any issues with traffic, it was super fun stopping to see the Sneed's (gave us something to look forward to going and coming), the weather was fantastic, we slept pretty well, the crowds weren't bad and the scenery was breathtaking. My only goal was not to stress out and avoid having a meltdown. Ha! My attempt to be more laid back paid off. Definitely something I'd do again, given the right circumstances. :)
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