|
by Dave Rusk It's almost the Summer Solstice, also known as the First Day of Summer. If you haven’t been out hiking by this time it’s time to get started! The daylight hours are long, the high trails in Rocky Mountain National Park are free of snow with prolific alpine flowers blooming. Here are four hikes from short and easy to long and challenging to get you out on this spectacular day of prolonged daylight. Tundra Communities Trail - 0.6 miles
Want to watch the sunrise from the top of the world? Head up Trail Ridge Road to the Rock Cut parking area and get on the Tundra Communities Trail. You will need to get there early, sunrise is at 5:32am on June 20th, and you will need to be there even earlier if you want to join the picas and watch the first light hit the summit of Longs Peak. A great way to celebrate the start the summer. Be sure to bring warm clothes though, temperatures can often drop to near freezing overnight on the tundra. After watching the sunrise, head down to Grand Lake for the day. And then end your solstice day by coming back to the Tundra Communities Trail for sunset at 8:36pm. For more on this trail visit: tundra-communities-trail Mill Lake - 2.8 miles
While Mills Lake is one of the very popular hikes in the Bear Lake corridor you can make it a special summer solstice evening hike after 6 pm when most visitors have gone home. Bring a thermos of tea, find a spot to settle in, and enjoy a spectacular sunset on the surrounding peaks. Plan to stay after dark and watch the full moon rise over Longs Peak (the actual full moon is on June 21 at 7:07pm). Plan to wrap up in something warm after the sun goes down and be sure to bring your headlamp for the hike out! Reminder: A timed-entry reservation is required for the Bear Lake corridor if you hike between the hours of 5am and 6pm. For more information on this trail visit: mills-lake-trail Lion Lakes Basin - 7 miles
A hike to Lion Lake Basin requires a lot of day light, not just for the 14 miles out and back, but because you will want to have time to explore once you get there. The trail proper ends at Lion Lake No. 1. This is a spectacular destination on its own but after that there is Trio Falls, Lion Lake No. 2, and Snowbank Lake. Chiefs Head Peak and Mt. Alice serve as a spectacular scenic backdrop. There are no established trails to the upper lakes so travel carefully across these sensitive areas, and as always, watch the weather. All of these lakes are in the subalpine and alpine so plan and pack accordingly. For more information on this trail, visit: lion-lake-basin-trail Flattop Mtn-North Inlet Trail - 17.7 miles
For the ultimate all day hike follow a trail that leads to dinner in Grand Lake. This thru-hike starts at Bear Lake and follows the Flattop trail to its broad summit before connecting with the trail to North Inlet. Be sure you have your hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as you will be traversing across the Continental Divide for a while. The trail then drops into the North Inlet drainage and eventually takes you right into downtown Grand Lake! Don't forget to make transportation arrangements to get back to Estes Park! Reminder: A timed-entry reservation is required for the Bear Lake corridor if you hike between the hours of 5am and 6pm. For more information on this trail, visit: Flattop-N.Inlet-trail Celebrate summer solstice with a sunrise or sunset hike. Wander down a mid-summer trail and find your path to be rejuvenated and re-connected with the magic of the longest day of the year. Then, make a commitment to keep wandering all summer long!
"I do wander everywhere, Swifter than the moon's sphere"~ The Bard
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
"The wild requires that we learn the terrain, nod to all the plants and animals and birds, ford the streams and cross the ridges, and tell a good story when we get back home." ~ Gary Snyder
Categories
All
“Hiking -I don’t like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of the word ‘saunter?’ It’s a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, A la sainte terre,’ ‘To the Holy Land.’ And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not ‘hike’ through them.” ~ John Muir |
