The wait to get into the park today at 1000 was 37 minutes but the wait to get to the Bear Lake area was minimal and with my camping reservation was quite quick. When I turned towards the campground I looked to my left and I saw a small herd (not sure of the work for a group) of Elk. It was good to see them and the young babies as it was not that long ago I was here for the rut hearing the males bugle to get the girls to like him. Well someone must have liked the guy as there was about 6 babies that I could make out on the side of the road. A shout out to Ranger Nicolle who helped me get a few hikes and was super nice! The hikes that I got from Nicolle were wonderful and I did enjoy the hikes, see below.
Moraine Campground – Well I got a spot and that is a miracle in itself within Rocky Mountain. The campground loop A is the one which was available for me this year and last year was loop B. Loop A as about 139 spots and has two locations for showers but these are BYOSS showers. BYOSS is bring your own solar shower and that is one thing that I did not bring this trip due to not being able to use it in parks, but now I will bring it all the time. Loop A, D loops have flush toilets in the summer months while B and C only vault toilets year round. One of the great things about camping is that you can take the shuttle bus system from the campground. It maybe a bit of a hike from your site but well worth not having to fight for parking at the various trail heads. While writing this post two things have happened one good and one bad. First is that a deer walked to within 5 feet of my van door and just looked at me. I was able to get a photo but only after he left and was about 30 feet away. Second, a woman decided to walk behind my van and then walk towards the side door. When she looked into the van and I said hello she seemed a bit surprised. Public service announcement, don’t walk through others campsites it is not nice.
Hollowell Park Trail – The first part is there is a bus stop from the campground to Hollowell Park and from there you can go to the trail head that is just left of the vault toilets. The trail is a starting point for many destinations including Club Lake, Bierstadt Lake and Bear Lake. The trail starts out is a meadow that is flat and then you come to an intersection for the trail to the “lakes” and the horse trail to the campground. Stay to the left and the trail starts to go up a bit. The trail will quickly go higher and steeper but you will have a nice sound of running water to help you along the journey. The trail also has a few places were you can go near the water and/or go in if you are so willing. Going to the water or watching the water is a good way to catch your breath and move on. The hike is in a grove of Aspen trees so in the fall when the leaves change colors this would be wonderful to view. I continued up the trail until the “Y” in the trail to Bierstadt and Bear Lakes vs Cub Lake. I chose the Cub Lake which is to the right. Up I continued to go and it was not until I could not find the path in the burned section that I decided to turn around. The trail is mainly dirt and there are a bunch of steps that help with the climb. The trail from the “Y” with Cub Lake you will start to notice the damage from a fire but where I lost the trail is all fire damaged. A couple of creek crossings but they were only one step so no big deal. If you go over a bridge you went towards Bierstadt and Bear Lakes. I was not planning on going to Cub Lake but just wanted to hike without many people around me. I got that once I left the “Y” for Cub Lake. Side note is when I lost the trail it was time for a snack. While hanging on a rock a male elk came to say hello to me and I hope the shots and video of him are good. Back down the trail to the bus stop I went. Down is easier then up for some reason but about 200 yards from the trail head I came across 3 deer eating so I stoped and took a couple of photos. Little did I know that another one was on the other side of the trail and I got a few shots of this guy crossing. Bad news is when I was waiting for the bus, I looked at the photos on my camera and they did not come out. Back I went and all were on the opposite side from where I encounter them first. I was able to get a few photos and back to the bus stop just as the bus was coming to take me back to the campground. All in all a great day of hiking and enjoying the park.
Emerald Lake Trail – The trail head is at the Big Bear Lake parking area and I would suggest that you park at the park and ride area if not camping. The parking is not plentiful and the bus service is good. When you walk towards Bear Lake after crossing the bridge head to the left and then stay to the right towards Emerald and Dream Lakes. The first part of the path is paved or at least was paved but now it is not so much paved. Unlike the Hollowell Hike this one had tons of people on the trail hiking in all shapes, sized and ages. The hike to Emerald Lake is 1.8 miles and says that the elevation gain is 605 feet and I sure felt everyone of these feet in elevation gain/loss. After a short hike you will come to a small lake called Nymph Lake and think you made it but this lake is not Dream or Emerald so keep going. The Nymph lake has a few viewing areas with benches for you to enjoy the lake or hear kids and people screaming. I choose to continue onward and upward. A bit up the path you will see a large rock and it overlooks the first lake. It is a good place to rest. On the way to Dream Lake the sounds of rushing water is off to your left giving you hope that the lake is near. It was short lived as the water was a stream and it was not the lake. There is some nice rapids to view but upwards you must continue. After crossing some snow, in late June, I came to a sign saying Dream Lake 0.1 miles and Emerald Lake 0.8 miles. Off to the right I went and was able to see Dream Lake, quickly. The lake was nice and there were places to stop and view or even fish as some people were doing. But Emerald Lake was the destination and onward I continued. When I was heading up some more snow was around that required you to walk over or around. In one instant it was a large uphill/downhill grade and the snow was packed and very slippery. I stopped as a woman was trying to come down the slope and was having a hard time. It is best to allow her to take only herself out and not me but the man behind me pushed on through. Well the good news is she did not take him out but when she tried to stop to allow the hiker going up through she hit the deck. Note: Don’t be an inconsiderate hiker. At the top of the snow pile there was just a bit more upward hiking to reach Emerald Lake. The viewing area of the lake is small unless you want to walk over some rocks and do a scramble. The lake is a glacial lake as you can see some of the glaciers feeding the lake along with a waterfall from snow melt, I would think. The way down again was easier than up for some reason. It did allow me to take some photos however so that was good. The best news about the hike is that the closer you get to Emerald Lake the fewer people who are on the tail. I would say however make the trek to Emerald and Dream Lakes as it is a nice hike and the views/lakes are beautiful.
Bear Lake Trail – The trail is a nature trail around Bear Lake and the trail head is at the Bear Lake parking area/bus stop. Ride the bus! The hike is a nature trail with over 25 stops along the way, I did not follow the nature trail guide. The distance is 0.5 miles and the elevation gain/loss is 20 feet. The trail is to the right after the bridge crossing and then you come to a “Y” and being a loop trail neither way is wrong. I choose to go counterclockwise and after a few hundred yards you are able to come to a trail head for Bierstadt Lake going to the right but stay to the left. The trail is dirt and the dirt is packed. Walking on the trail is easy due to the relative flatness on the trail and the packed dirt. I saw a young man in a wheel chair on the trail enjoying the beautiful views. The trail did have a few spots of dampness/water/mud and even a bit of snow off of the trail. I would say that the trail at the end of a longer hike if you are doing a longer hike from this area. Reason for that choice is the trail is nice way to “cool down” after the longer / harder hike. It is a definite hike to do since you are in the area.
Mills Lake Trail – The Glacier Gorge bus stop is the location for the trail head for this hike to Mills Lake but also hikes to The Loch and Alberta Falls. You could also go to Bear Lake from this station if you wish to walk as it is only 0.7 miles. I was headed to Mills Lake so at the “Y” I went to the left towards Alberta Falls. The falls is about 0.5 miles from the “Y” but it is 160 feet in elevation gain. After viewing the falls and getting the needed photo, I went upwards towards Mills Lake. Mills Lake trail is 2.8 miles one way and has an elevation gain of 750 feet. The trail from the bus stop is dirt and rocks with getting towards to top it had some snow on the trail but not much. The hike up you come to another “Y” and stay to the right. The trail sign says that the lake is 1.1 miles so you are over halfway to the lake. Then after about 0.5 miles you come to another intersection. The intersection has trails for Mills Lake to the left, the right is Lake Haiyaha and kinda straight is The Loch. I went left towards Mills lake. The path crosses a stream in a few places and then the snow part and you are at the top of the hike and you see a beautiful lake. The lake is glacial and snow run off fed but is tucked between a few mountain tops. Mills Lake was something worth hiking to today as the beauty was great. While at the top of the lake I met a couple of interesting women and I also had a hiking partner for most of the hike, see people along the way. Downward we went. The hike down was easy except for the snow part but that was manageable compared to the Emerald Lake snow. Along the way down many stops were made to take photos and it was enjoyable all around. Well worth the hike.
