Fern Lake - Where charred is gorgeous!

Off to RMNP for a day of nature and exercise!

My memory betrayed me.... It had been a while since my last visit to Fern Lake and in that while, not one but TWO wildfires had devastated the area. 

The Fern Lake fire of 2012 (the year after I visited) had taken a large area that included the path of the hiking trail below Fern Lake. The East Troublesome fire of 2020, which was a spin-off from the original fire near Grand Lake, had burned the ranger hut lakeside, plus camp area and well beyond.

Somewhere between feeling the devastation to my core and witnessing the slowly-but-surely new life that scorched earth makes space for, I found myself giddy with joy, hope and gratitude for what the fires presented me with, personally. 

Sue and I left the car at Fern Lake Trailhead (RMNP) around 9am. Within a quarter mile, we had our first moose sighting and congratulated ourselves on such good fortune.

Another quarter mile in and we were stopped in our tracks by a large female grazing literally feet from the trail. Moose etiquette (and common sense) required us to sit tight and give her space... I.E. not pass her. Behind us, two smaller moose were creeping up beside the trail, also munching happily on those bright green new shoots. 

We were kinda trapped in place for 20 mins, until they peeled off nonchalantly!

And then there was the big guy. Rumor had been spreading faster than any wildfire down the trail that up-and-coming was a moose, napping in the middle of the hiking trail. Like any good rumor, there was a bit of exaggeration and a bit of truth! He was definitely smack-bang in the middle of the trail, causing all of us to cut a path through the shrubbery, down to the river, back up over the fallen trees and pop back onto the trail in front of him. He was not napping though... he was doing his teeth grinding thing and watching hikers fall over themselves to take his lazy butt picture! It's more than likely he is working tiktok better than I ever will!

The path continued on - up and up, through burned forests, past Fern Lake Falls and marmot rock. I have never felt more like Snow White than when I followed a blue bird through the forest... even if the forest was a sea of charcoal and this Disney Princess hung a Kula Cloth from her backpack!  (Ooh... ask me about the young man hiker who touched my Kula Cloth with his finger while asking what it was!!! The irony was I laughed so hard I almost pee'd myself!)

We picnicked at Fern Lake with thunder rolling ominously in the distance. 

It was time to beat a hasty retreat. Layers were coming on and off at record rates as the weather struggled to decide if we'd be getting sunburned or snowed on. Hail won out! We scrambled under a low rock overhang just in time and watched the white collect on the ground all around us. Again - kinda magical!

A couple of moose before reaching the car... and one to lead us out on the dirt road... !

Final moose encounter... this guy!

He lead the motorcade away from the trailhead in rain and hail with an easy trot. 

Lesson Learned!

 I made a mistake...

On an amazing bluebird spring morning, I left the Brainard Lake parking lot with Sue, bound for Lake Isabelle - 4 miles away. My face was slathered in sunscreen, I wore long sleeves and pants. 

The road part dry, part black ice and in big part, heaping snow drifts. We fell down, then put on spikes!

The snow got progressivlely deeper but was slushy in places where the hot sun beat down and threatened it with full-on summer. It was also BRIGHT white and I realized too late, that I had left my sunglasses in the car. Onward, I thought. I hike without sunglasses a lot, so how bad could it be?!

BAD. 

But it was also amazingly beautiful and few people went further than Brainard itself so the trail was clean and wonderful - if at times, not even the real trail but simply footsteps in the snow through the evergreens.

At Long Lake, where the defrosting lake met the shoreline ambiguously and the snow drifts were deep - or not deep enough - over water, we stopped at the only boulder protruding and began the picnic stage of the day. It would have been irresponsible to try and navigate a trail around Long Lake and continue on to Lake Isabelle.

Back at the car my face felt a bit warm. Too much glare off the snow?

At the house, my hot shower stung my neck, just a little. Not enough to worry me.  But my eyes were hot and tired.

Fast forward to Sunday and my deeply bloodshot eyes, now continuously watering, were more than a little uncomfortable. Looking through the viewfinder of my camera, I felt handicapped - unable to focus.

Side note: My Canon 6D Mark II did a spectacular job of making up for my vision deficiencies! This was taken at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge. 

No computer work, reading or even driving was on the cards for me today. Eye drops and Ibuprofen to the rescue... a little "come to Jesus" talk with myself about taking better care of the eyes that I value so much and two days later, gratitude for the remarkable self-healing qualities of my body.

I learned something so valuable and made it so memorable too! At this point I don't believe I will go on any sunny or snowy hike EVER AGAIN without sunglasses. I hope too that this gratitude for working eyes, is long lived.

*I'm taking a spare pair of sunnies to Kili in October! 

They're Back!!!

 Before I get to WHO is back and where... let's frame the day.

Sue and I have officially made a deposit on a Tanzanian adventure in October. Our itinerary has us trekking Kilimanjaro for 8 days then switching gears to rest and recover while on a luxurious safari at 3 National Parks for the rest of the trip. 

2025 training has recommenced! This past weekend we killed two birds with one stone by re-upping National Park Annual Passes AND absorbing some Rocky Mountain energy.

Here is what I loved in the first minute of entering Rocky Mountain National Park:

The ranger who sold us the annual pass was gushing with enthusiasm and gratitude. She proclaimed that she has never seen a year where so many visitors were as eager to "throw money at us" as this year. That's right folks, the upside of uncertainty about our National Parks' welfare and that of the park rangers and their fellow workers is that the community (and by community, I mean park visitors, from near and far) is rallying to show support in whatever large or small way they can, and it is being FELT.

In the following minutes before we arrived at our trailhead, we glimpsed bighorn sheep, deer, mating hawks and a couple of wild turkeys. It was going to be a good day!

The trail of choice was Ypsilon Lake, high above the Alluvial Fan area. It was a 4.5-mile trek uphill, and the lake was the intended picnic destination. 

Near the bottom, 4 youngsters passed us. They had snowshoes tied on to their packs and munched on Cliff Bars. It is true that we laughed about how far they would have to climb to put to use the snowshoes - after all, the trail was dusty dry at this time. They were going to have the last laugh though!

The day was gorgeous, the birds sang, the squirrels and chipmunks scurried by. We crossed the cascade of water and kept climbing. At first the snow was patchy and not deep. With every 100' though, it got deeper, less firm and more like quicksand either side of an 8" wide packed trail. At just shy of 3.75 miles in and at an elevation of 10,200 feet (having climbed 2000') we called it. Better to live to fight another day!

It was meant to be. The universe was about to provide exciting times with wildlife!!

Check this out:

We (Sue!) named this superb find, a Rocky Mountain Forest Chicken. I believe it is also known as a sage grouse. Almost invisible in the woods if you don't catch the movement as it puffs up its neck. Without two super nice young men on the trail to point it out, we would have passed right by without seeing. (I wonder how many animals have quietly watched us go by?!)

As we moved to exit the park we found the bighorn sheep in plain sight high on the steep hill above us and for the first time, I got my elusive bighorn sheep pics!

Just 15' before we left RMNP, there were the first elk of the season. In velvet! Their beautiful nubby antlers catching the early evening light, their shaggy winter hair sloughing off. And they looked super relaxed. 

Further out of town, more elk.... A LOT more. They are migrating back into park right now. It's time for babies to be born and families to move into the high country for summer. 

If you are contemplating a visit to RMNP, go soon! Timed Entry reservations are required starting May 22nd. But right now, you can wing it, and I'll guarantee both stunning vistas and wildlife are the treat you didn't know you needed... until it's bestowed upon you.