We had mapped out to hike about 2-2.5 miles each day. We didn't want to push ourselves or the kids too hard on our first real trip out. We started by parking at the trailhead where we were going to finish and took a shuttle to the Bear Lake Trailhead. The shuttle had a huge line but we were able to cram into a bus pretty quick.
We were overwhelmed by the amount of people at Bear Lake. It is so beautiful, but I felt like we didn't get to soak in the beauty at all because there were SO many people. We quickly jumped on our trail to get away from all the people. We were hoping it wouldn't be that busy once we got in the backcountry. Thankfully, once we got about a quarter of a mile in, the crowds dwindled.
Our first day was basically straight up. I think we climbed about 1,500 feet. I mean, dang, it was exhausting. What I'm trying to say here is that when we planned out our mileage, we didn't think to plan out the elevation. Rooky mistake.
It was gorgeous though.
In addition to the steep climb, I think we also might have overpacked. Another rooky mistake, but when you're doing this with kids, you want to make sure all your bases are covered. There were many stops just to unload our packs for a bit and rest our backs.
We even found some remnants of snow!
By the time we reached camp at Sourdough, we were so relieved! We took off our packs, set up camp, and then backtracked down the trail to cool our feet in a stream. We all had fun splashing around in the refreshingly cold water.
After we played in the water for a bit, I made some dinner while the kids colored and worked on their Junior Ranger Packets.
The mosquitos were so so SO bad out there, so we ended up turning in early to read some books, continue working on Junior Ranger Packets, and read a book together.
We did not sleep well that night. Our lightweight air mattresses were so crinkly that anytime someone moved around, it would make horribly loud sounds. It also got quite chilly, but with more layers we were fine. By the time the sun came up, the kids had gotten some sleep while Aaron and I had finally given up.
We got dressed, brushed our teeth, ate some bars for breakfast, and enjoyed some hot chocolate and coffee.
While Aaron packed up camp, the kids and I headed back down to the stream to get some water to wash dishes.... and enjoy some more beautiful views.
We hit the trail with somewhat renewed energy. I think we hiked about three miles the second day. We went up, down, and around some of the mountains. I think by the end of the day, we were actually lower in elevation than the first night. The Girl got really whiny on the second day and Aaron ended up carrying her pack, attached to his own. Her bag wasn't all that heavy, and we had been training through the spring to get the kids used to the weight. However, they overpacked too. I think they were both probably carrying too much water. They also had their ultra light sleeping bag, ultra light air mattress and pillow, coloring book and crayons each, and The Girl had her "pink blankey" and The Boy had one of his stuffed bears.
We hiked past Odessa Lake and got to Fern Lake around lunchtime. We took a nice long break and made lunch while sitting next to the lake watching the fish swim around.
We were happy to be close to camp so early in the day and we were looking forward to relaxing and playing the rest of the afternoon. Unfortunately, we weren't as close as we thought. We might have been too much in our heads, but the trail to camp was really long and with no real indicator as to when we'd get there, we thought it might never happen.
Once we found camp and got set up, we went exploring and found an incredibly beautiful creek where we filled up our water jugs to purify. I didn't happen to have my camera on me, but it was breathtaking. We all enjoyed climbing the logs across the creek as we cooled our feet and relaxed. Later, we went down toward Fern Lake to look for bears which we'd heard where in the area earlier. No luck though.
That night we couldn't get The Girl to eat any dinner. Aaron brought up the discussion of leaving the backcountry early if we didn't sleep again, so that the experience wasn't totally ruined. After all, we want the kids to WANT to do this again. I really wanted to carry on and push through, but I totally understood where he was coming from.... I just really didn't want to leave yet. The girl solidified that decision overnight though. She threw up all over her sleeping bag. I gave her my bag, and she threw up again, thankfully missing the bag that time. She finally fell asleep about an hour or so before sunrise. I tried to curl up in her vomit covered bag to get warm, and finally got up with Aaron about 15-20 minutes before sunrise to start packing up. We didn't know what was wrong with her, but we knew we couldn't help her in our current situation.
We found the nearest trailhead on the map, packed up the last of our things, woke The Girl, she threw up a third time, and we hit the trail. Aaron strapped her bag to his again and we took turns carrying her out. Thankfully, The Boy was doing good. He was tired and sore, but he knew we had more important issues to deal with, so he stayed strong. I knew rangers came to Fern Lake on horseback and I was really hoping we'd run into one of them to help us get The Girl out. We had her sipping water and applesauce as we made stops along the trail. We noticed about an hour and a half or so into the hike that she must be feeling a little better because she hadn't thrown up again, wasn't moaning anymore, and was actually starting to talk to us again.
After many stops and many turns of passing the extra 40lbs between Aaron and I, we made it to Fern Falls. We had heard from some day hikers that there were bears there that morning, so we were hoping for our glimpse... Those elusive bears.
We reached Fern Lake Trailhead and were so SO happy. We stood there for a good five minutes before we realized we had to keep hiking to get to where the shuttle would pick us up and take us to our car. That was the longest mile hike we've ever done. We were spent, physically and emotionally.
We made it though! We were stinky, we were tired, we had a sick child, but we were out of the backcountry alive and in one piece. By the time we got to the car, The Girl was acting almost normal. She was even hungry! I was hesitant to give her too much, but the first thing we found was A&W (pre vegan transformation), and I really wasn't sure about giving her greasy food, but we tried it anyway. She ate her entire meal, and was laughing and joking and being silly! Whaaaat!?! By then we realized, she had altitude sickness. (Insert face palm here)
We found a hotel, we all showered, and took a nap. We went out that night and got dinner downtown Estes Park and just took it easy.
The next morning we woke up early and worked our way up Trail Ridge Road. I tell you what, there are real advatages to waking up early. There were no people there!! We had the place to ourselves!
We got close up views of chipmunks and marmots. Of course we kept some distance and didn't feed them. One of my pet pieves is people who feed wildlife, and I actually ended up yelling at someone for doing that in Custer State Park later in the year.
We made our way to the Alpine Visitors Center and our Junior Rangers turned in their booklets and earned their badges!
The next day we went to Estes Park Arial Tramway which took us in a lift up to the top of a small mountain.
There was a cafe of sorts at the top so we all grabbed some drinks and found our perch. (This cafe sells peanuts to feed the chipmunks, which we did NOT participate in.)
We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring downtown Estes Park. All those shops became tiring, but I'm glad we saw it. It reminded me of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
The next morning we went on horseback rides. The Boy got to ride his own horse for the very first time! He was a champ! I don't remember the name of the stables we went through, but they were in Rocky Mtn National Park and they were so good with the kids. They worked with The Boy through his anxiety, and then had us at the front of the group, with The Girl and I right behind our trail guide, then The Boy, then Aaron, just like The Boy asked for.
On our last day, we made our way to Denver. Aaron had spent some time there as a teen, and I'd been there, but didn't really remember it. Writing this blog six months later, I still don't remember much about Denver, other than we had lunch in some downtown shopping area, so I guess it hasn't made a big impression on me.
Our trip to the Rockies was hard work. But it was also incredibly beautiful. The time spent, unplugged, with my favorite people was priceless. As I'm sitting here on a freezing Midwest January day, I'm ready for another round of mountainous serenity.
"The Mountains are calling and I must go."
-John Muir
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."
-John Muir
