Everything, gear, food, water and sunblock was ready to go so all I had to do was place it into the trunk. The coffee maker had been prepared the night before with coffee grounds and water pre-dispensed, and the timer set. Clothes had been laid out. Mornings, especially early ones, are best left to rote activities because higher brain functions don't necessarily wake up with the lower ones.
Doug showed up on time at the mall at 6 a.m., we put everything into his SUV and headed to Rocky Mountain National Park. We discussed our excitement over the pending hike, and how this hike, with its 1500 foot vertical over nearly 10 miles would be a nice prep for a later hike we hope to take which has a 3200 foot vertical and is nearly as long. He was in charge of breakfast and the breakfast burrito made with egg-beaters was really good as I was quite hungry. We noted the bikers along the route, senselessly exerting themselves in their ridiculous spandex biker clothes. Some of them were in packs, like it was the tour de France. For crying out loud, get off the road! We gave them suitably Italian sounding names such Panini, and Spandexi. We thought we were funny, which is a sure indicator that we weren't quite awake.
We entered the park in the express line (an advantage of buying the annual pass) and made our way to the trail head. We opted to take our chances on not using the shuttle parking and drove further to the trail head parking. It was full, but just as we pulled in, someone was pulling out. Perfect. This was very lucky, and would be more so at the end of the hike.
Doug popped the gate and we applied sunscreen. I reached into the bag where I had stored the food (various peanut butter crackers) and water and gave Doug his share of the food. I put my food and water in my bag. Loaded down with camera gear, food and water we were off. At this time of year, the mountain wildflowers are out in full force and they are beautiful. As you go higher, there are different flowers to look at. As the summer matures, flowers in the lower elevations migrate up the slopes. The first stop is Alberta Falls, only we didn't stop. Being about a mile from the trail head and having seen it many times, we continued past it to an area we hadn't been to before. The next stop was Mills Lake. At about 2.8 miles or so in, it was a good stop to take photos. The lake itself is beautiful, but there were a few people laying around its banks, almost as if they were placed there strategically because I could not take a shot without getting some people in it, so, I opted not to shoot. However, just before you get to the lake itself, there is another spectacular view which I was able to get a shot of.
We continued ever upward to the next lake which is Jewel Lake. The shoreline of this lake has a marshy quality, which is reflected in the trail. The National Park Service has very considerately provided an elevated wooden "trail" made probably on site from split lodge pole pine. Good balance is key in some areas as the trunks get to a food or so in diameter; not a lot of margin for error, but no worries as the only penalty is a wet foot.
At Jewel Lake, one is only about half way to Black Lake. Plus there is still a lot of vertical to go. I was going to have some water at this point but since I only brought one bottle I thought it would be a good idea to save it for Black Lake, then I would not be thirsty on the hike back.
After Jewel Lake, the traffic of other hikers dies down a lot. This is a sure sign that the hike ahead is for the dedicated few. Of course the views range from trail bound where the trees surround on all sides, to the sweeping vistas for which the Rockies are so renowned. Just before Black Lake, there is Ribbon Falls. About here is where we saw a small herd of elk.
Just beyond Ribbon Falls is Black Lake. There were only a couple of people lounging around the lake like beached seals, but just enough to get a proper shot of the lake itself, which is surrounded on nearly every side by cliffs from which snow-melt water cascades. Here is a shot of Black Lake. When Doug and I sat down to have our food and water is when I found out Doug did not bring the water. "Why didn't you make sure I put it into my bag?" he asked. Am I my brother's keeper? Apparently so, because I split my already thin water rations with him. The lack for drinkable water made the hike back extremely long. Plus, you notice all the rushing, gushing water around you as well as the occasional leisure hiker with the ubiquitous plastic water bottle all the more. I'm sure the water in the stream is just fine to drink but those were elk we saw near the stream and they don't care where they pee, do they? But you should. Plus at Black Lake, there was a guy there with his wild child girlfriend and she was sort of washing her hair in it. There was a small glimmer of hope when I spotted a small child with a water bottle and no apparent adult supervision nearby. But civilization hasn't broken down that much has it? Not really, at least not in my own mind.
Late in the day, the trail between Alberta Falls and the parking lot is very busy. The slowest determines the speed of the rest. When we finally made it back to the SUV, we had some nice water waiting for us. It was truly a miracle that we had gotten the parking space after all!
Post Script: I hadn't realized that one reason I had become so dehydrated to begin with was that I was coming down with some sort of food poisoning. We'll never know if it was the breakfast burrito or some other food that caused it (such as the artificially flavored peanut butter and jelly snack crackers which I had brought). Within 24 hours of the hike's completion I would be in sorry shape indeed.
