This was our third consecutive weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park, and our first backpacking trip in Colorado. In fact, the last time we did any backpacking was before we left Seattle back in 2006. Recently, Abbey had been asking to do some backpacking, so this spring we marked out a couple of weekends on our summer calendar with that in mind. This was the first. We wanted to do something fun and easy for our first time out, so last weekend when we were in Rocky Mountain NP we stopped in to the Backcountry Office and inquired about possible sites that might make good options for us. We didn't necessarily expect any sites to be available, as permits are required for backcountry camping in RMNP and can be reserved in advance, but the ranger pulled up a couple sites that could work for us and were available, so we made a reservation for a site called Moore Park.
We started making some preparations for backpacking during the spring; mostly that meant thinking about what gear we had and what we might need. The only significant item we had to buy was a new pack for me, as our oldest packs had begun to degrade and we'd gotten rid of them a while back. So we had picked up a new one for me a few weeks ago during a sale at REI. We had a couple of smaller, not quite so old packs that fit Cindy and Abbey, and a large daypack that squeezed down just small enough for Quinn. We also had to put a new cartridge in our water filter and replaced the o-rings in one of our old MSR stoves. The National Park Service requires that backcountry campers store food in bearproof canisters, so on Friday, after taking Abbey to her volunteer job at the Denver Zoo, Cindy stopped by REI and rented a canister for the weekend. With that, were ready to hit the trail.
We packed up Friday night, and left the house before 7 a.m. on Saturday. That got us to the Longs Peak Ranger Station at about 9 a.m. On summer weekends, the Longs Peak Trailhead parking apparently fills up by 3 or 4 a.m. with the vehicles of climbers getting an early start for the ascent of Longs Peak. So we were lucky that someone was leaving as we arrived and we got a spot in the lot. In the photo below, Quinn and Abbey have their donned their loaded packs while Estes Cone, our eventual destination, stands tall in the background.
Our campsite at Moore Park was an easy 1.7 miles from the trailhead. This made for a short hike, but we thought that was perfect, given that, due to our recent inexperience in backpacking, this was largely a trial run. Cindy and I new from much not-so-recent experience that tackling an overly ambitious trip could make for a lot of misery. Why do that?
We began on the trail that leads to Longs Peak, but soon our path diverged, turning north. Our trail was quite rugged, rutted, eroded, and loose. I wondered for how many years it has been a trail. It has probably suffered not only from age and heavy use, boots and hooves (but no tires), but from the heavy rains that had flooded the region the previous fall; the same rains that washed away so many homes downstream.
On the way to our campsite we passed an old gold mine beside a creek and decided to return for further exploration once we had set up camp further down the trail. We found Moore Park and posed for a group photo, still wearing our packs, in front of the large rock that formed the focal point of the campsite.
We set up camp, filtered some water to fill our bottles, and then returned to explore the mine.
There were no open shafts at he mine (so we still have Quinn), only the decayed and well-trodden remains of a cabin and an old steel boiler tank. There was a large pile of dirt that probably covered the entrance to whatever mine might have existed, and of course lots of coarse refuse or tailings that had been allowed to fall into the creek. It was almost felt like I was doing a pre-investigation site visit for work.
Quinn is awesome and indestructible. Here he's pointing out that he's really not endangering himself by climbing out on this log over the creek because he can easily leap from the log to that little clear spot on the ground beside the creek. No Mom, it's fine...
After checking out the mine, we walked the 1/2 mile or so back to our campsite and sat around for a while bored and wondering what to do, noticing that word of fresh blood had gone out to the local mosquito battalions. So we decided that the best thing to do would be to walk part of the way up the trail towards Estes Cone, say half way, just to Storm Pass to see what we could see. On the way, this time with Longs Peak in the background, Quinn explains that it's just fine for him to climb on this rock. No Mom, I'm not gonna fall, so it doesn't even matter whether there's a steep cliff there or not.
Storm Pass was didn't exactly live up to it's dramatic name. It was was well below timber line, and while we could see some of the surrounding mountains through the trees, the pass was wide and flat, not the least bit dramatic, although there were zillions of mosquitoes. It was hardly worthy of a name at all, except that several trails intersected there. "Mosquito Intersection" might be a better name. That said, storms started rolling across Longs Peak to our south when we reached the pass, so perhaps that justifies the name. We made a quick retreat back down the mile or so of trail to our campsite. In the photo below, Quinn and Abbey, in a rare moment of peaceful coexistence, await the passage of light rain. What's for dinner?
A package of Spanish rice, two sleeves of Ritz crackers, a block of cheese, and four cups of hot chocoloate comprised our backcountry dinner. No campfires are permitted in RMNP. After cleaning up from dinner we stashed our bearproof canister of food and trash under a tree at the required distance of 70 adult paces from our tent. Long before dark (it was the summer solstice), we crawled into the tent to escape the onslaught of bloodsuckers. Our tent is supposed to a four-person tent, but that must assume some amount of layering. There's not actually enough room to lay our four sleeping pads side-by side - but that makes for some nice, cozy family time. We all brought books, but Abbey fell right to sleep while Quinn tossed, turned, and talked until well after dark.
Along with the sun, we were up by 5 a.m. Sunday morning. Excepting Quinn, that is, who never enjoys an early start. Abbey felt a little rough in the morning, so our breakfast of oatmeal and hot cocoa was staggered and more leisurely than planned. That was fine; we'd gotten up earlier than planned and were not climbing Longs Peak. We were climbing Estes Cone. We packed up all of our gear, took down the tent and rain fly, loaded our backpacks, and stashed the bear canister in the woods. With the campsite looking just like it did when we arrived, we left three of our packs leaning against the big rock when we set out for Estes Cone. We'd put jackets snacks and rain gear in the fourth pack, which we would carry with us on our trek up Estses Cone, but we planned to come back and pick up the other backpacks on the way out.
We followed the trail back up to Storm Pass, but this time took the rough trail up Estes Cone. It's only about a 1/2 mile from the pass to the peak, but it's a steep scramble. We sat on pile of giant boulders at the top, and soaked up the views of Longs Peak, Estes Park, and everything around and in between. The views from the trail and from the peak were awesome.
Q & A on the Estes Cone:
After scrambling around the cone for a while, taking in the view and testing our climbing skills, we walked down, stopped by the Moore Park campsite to pick up the rest of our gear, which had not been destroyed by bears or any other animals while we were away, and finished the short hike back to the trailhead. It was a fun and successful trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment