Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park
We couldn't seem to get the kids of bed, but after we told John that this park had a bus system, and we were going to ride it, he jumped right up. Unzipping the camper and pointing out the snow up in the mountains helped too. We had our traditional camping breakfast of instant grits, oatmeal, and hot chocolate. We chose the hike, we later learned, that is the most hiked trail in RMNP, the Emerald Lake Trail. We saw four lakes, Bear, Nymph (the one with lily pads), Dream (there were lots of fishermen here), and finally Emerald Lake. Total distance up & back was about 3.8 miles with an elevation climb of about 670 feet. Emerald Lake is at 10,080 feet. John hiked the whole way except for a little bit after he had fallen and hurt his knee. This was the most beautiful trail I had ever seen--I felt like I was in Narnia & kept looking for the lamp post!
After the hike and dinner, we were pretty tired and cranky. We had a bit of light rain after dinner, so we went ahead and put up everything that we could knowing that we will need to pack up in the morning. Afterward the rain slacked, and Eric decided to take John to the program at the amphitheatre that the rangers were giving on coyotes. John promptly fell asleep in Eric's lap. The rest of us stayed in the camper, played games, & got ready for bed.
