August 29th
A zero day means one where no miles are hiked. I extended my stay at the hostel for a day, got my resupply, said goodbye to Qtip, and then looked at th loop hike around Rocky Mountain National Park.
The trail starts about 500 feet from the hostel. It is about 25 miles. It was 10:00. With no backpack, I thought I could go about 3 mph and be back before dark. So, on my day off from backpacking, I went on a long hike.
I just brought my down puffy and rain jacket. I drank a bunch of water before leaving; it’s better in you than on you is my motto.
Initially the trail was mostly level. Without trying, I cruised past the day hikers. It was nice to see families out enjoying the scenery. I did see a few backpackers coming down.
After 5 miles the trail started to climb. I enjoyed not having weight on my back, but I was not that much faster.
As I encountered backpackers going the way I had come from, I asked them if they were looking forward to finishing. It surprised me how many were planning to stop before the end. Soon, it became clear that most were doing the loop in 3 days. At first I was a little stunned by the short daily distances, but when I thought about the altitude, the desire for sightseeing, and earlier trips I’d taken, it made sense. Not all backpacking trips needed to be about big miles.
Disappointed is the best description of how I felt about myself once I got to around 11,000 feet. Instead of cruising easily and lightly uphill, I had to stop often to catch my breath. The benefit, however, was the scenery. The trail fairly quickly gets above treeline for some impressive views back down the valley. Plus, once you get to the highest elevations, around 12,000 feet above sea level, it is roughly a plateau which presents several different views.
One of the views, unfortunately, was dark clouds developing. I had my puffy on already due to the temperature. I now hoped to be able to descend before the storm hit.
I came across a tall young guy with a fancy camera and tripod. We walked downhill together for a brief period. He was from Long Island and had spent a year visiting national parks and taking photos. He slept in his car and thought he was about through with his project.
Somehow I pulled ahead. I had about four miles to go until the end. It was 6:00, so I figured I would be finishing in the dark. The rain came. So, too, did a strong wind. I was in an area where the pine bark beetle had destroyed a lot of trees. These trees were either standing up dead or tipped over, caught on a nearby tree. As the wind gusted, the trees groaned and popped. Then, some started toppling with loud crashes.
My strong preference was to not be crushed by a falling tree. Unfortunately, there was very little I could control; if a tree was going to fall there was nothing I could do. So, I increased my pace, vowed that this was not the way I was going to die, and hiked as fast as I could to the hostel.
Cold, wet, hungry and alive, I made it to the hostel. I put on warm, dry clothes and headed into town for a hot meal. Later, I packed up knowing I would leave early.
All in all, the Rocky Mountain National Park loop was a great day hike. Although not as dramatic as Glacier, it still affords great views and I am glad I walked 25 miles on my day off.
(Did not bring camera so no pictures)
backpacking over the hill 