September 2-4, 2011
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
HIKING THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
Having never backpacked in Colorado, we decided to pack up our bags and head for
Rocky Mountain National Park in the western part of Colorado.
Our original goal-- Pike's Peak. One of the tallest 50 peaks in the Rockies, Pike's Peak reaches 14,110 ft above sea level, which would be the highest altitude either of us had reached by foot.
Then... reality check set in. Brian was only 3 weeks post-op from his appendectomy and both of us hadn't done that much climbing during the season due to the surgery and my separated rib earlier in the summer. Long story short, our new goal was to hike to the top of the
continental divide.
The hike to the lake just beneath the summit to the continental divide was only supposed to be about 5 miles. We planned on camping here and estimated the hike would take us somewhere between 2-3 hours.
After 2-3 hours passed... it got dark... and then 1-2 MORE hours passed. We were hungry, tired, cold and I was getting altitude sickness as we were reaching near 11,000 ft. We decided to stop for the night and camp in a glacier field... not the best decision I had ever made. Lesson learned: Never ever (ever, ever, ever, ever) camp near moving water or in a wet glacier field when it is dropping below freezing.
After a long, cold night we woke up in the morning and had a short hike to the lake where we celebrated out victory of finally reaching the "d*** lake!" (which it endearingly became known as). We set our eyes on the continental divide and started climbing up. We gained about 1,000 ft of elevation in a little less than a half mile--talk about steep! Many times I had to use my hands and feet to keep moving upwards.
We reached the top of the
Continental Divide at 12,110 ft and saw a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains!
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| Brian found wild raspberries! Mmmm |
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| We thought we were so close.... |
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| Ice covering everything! |
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| Brrr! |
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| Our Campsite...in the glacier field... |
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| The view as we were hiking |
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| WE REACHED THE LAKE!!! |
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| Pretty Steep eh? |
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Made it to the top. Worth it.
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Having never backpacked in Colorado, we decided to pack up our bags and head for Rocky Mountain National Park in the western part of Colorado.
After 2-3 hours passed... it got dark... and then 1-2 MORE hours passed. We were hungry, tired, cold and I was getting altitude sickness as we were reaching near 11,000 ft. We decided to stop for the night and camp in a glacier field... not the best decision I had ever made. Lesson learned: Never ever (ever, ever, ever, ever) camp near moving water or in a wet glacier field when it is dropping below freezing.
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