One would think we’d learned from our trip to Acadia.
One would think.
We thought.
I mean, we planned a good day, or so we thought. TT Dad had run the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon that morning. The RMHM offered a discount to next years run for runners who complete certain challenges. There is a 50% discount for anyone who ran the half marathon, and then completes the Hallett Peak hike (a very challenging hike, the peak of which sits on the Continental Divide). Simply by submitting a picture of yourself with your bib and finisher medal within 72 hours of the race, and you join the Continental Divide Club, and receive 50% off next year’s registration. **Note: The discount is no longer going to be offered. Club members will instead receive memorabilia as a prize.**
If the very challenging part of that description makes you hesitate, then it’s not for you.
It wasn’t for us.
We opted, instead, to attempt the Trifecta. To complete the Rocky Mountain Trifecta, which consists of three different iconic park activities- Bear Lake, Alberta Falls, and Trailridge Rd. Again, submitting a picture of yourself with your bib and finisher medal will earn you 20% off your registration next year **Note: The discount is no longer going to be offered. Completing the Trifecta will instead earn you memorabilita. **
Our work was cut out for us. We decided to give Bear Lake a shot first. We loaded up our carriers with snacks, water, diapers and wipes, and we were off.
That’s probably not exactly a realistic description. I’m fairly certain there were a few other activities involved, based solely on the fact that it took us quite a while to get out of the room and on the road. Long enough that there were signs everywhere stating that there was no parking available at Bear Lake. We found a visitors center that had a parking lot- and a shuttle which seemed to be bringing people to Bear Lake. Perfect.
Or not.
After a few (or more) circles through the parking lot, it became clear that there would be no available parking for a long while.
Time to come up with a new plan. We decided to just keep driving, and do the Trail Ridge Rd activity- at least until we found a parking lot/hiking trailhead to try.
Typing all of this out sure reminds me of Acadia. Best laid plans.
In the end, I’m glad we did the Trail Ridge Rd drive. We found a couple of places to park, leading to short walks with some beautiful scenery. I was driving the car, so I wasn’t able to soak it all in on the ride, but each of our stops were simply breathtaking.
TT Dad saw some amazing things, and the kids loved the wildlife. We let them walk mostly. Each stop was quick and not strenuous enough to require the carrier. They loved that, too. What they didn’t love was the tempature change from our hotel room to the top of the Trail Ridge rd. We thought we had prepared for everything- but as usual, there was something that slipped through the cracks.
We finished up our day in Estes Park, walking around the downtown area, and letting the kids play on the playground. We decided on an early night, since we realized we needed to get a much earlier start in the morning. But first, time to figure out where we wanted to go.
Unfortunately, we ended up scraping the idea of the Trifecta. TT Dad realized that with our plans to travel as much as possible, the probability of us returning to the RMHM in 2017 was fairly nonexistent. So this opened up our schedule quite a bit. We took a look at the website to try to find a hike that wouldn’t be too difficult, but would bring us to a waterfall, since the kids seemed interested in waterfalls.
In fact, there is a list of waterfall hikes that can be found on the Rocky Mountain National Park website. There is also a list of summit hikes and lake hikes.
We picked out a waterfall hike, and decided we would head to Ouzel Falls, leaving from Wild Basin. The hike was 2.7 miles, with an elevation gain under 1000f. With that decided, we headed straight to bed, hoping the next morning would be more successful!