Fern Lake
Not having hiked in several weeks due to emergency home renovation, we decided to do a pretty easy hike this weekend, Fern Lake. The hike seemed pretty easy on paper. There were several places we could hike to and turn around if we weren't up for going all the way to Fern Lake, and it was only supposed to be 1400 feet of elevation gain. The total hike ended up being 7.6 miles, 2,100 vertical feet, and took 3 hours and 40 minutes to complete. Since it was nearly a month since our last hike, this one was a little tough, but not too bad.
We had hiked on this trail before, just not this side of it. A few months ago when we made it to Odessa Lake, we were on the side of the trail that started at Bear Lake. We didn't realize it until a hiker asked us a question about the trail we came from and said he was on his way back from Odessa Lake. I guess the park isn't as big as we thought it was!
7.64 mi
3.7 hrs
9,648 ft
2,131 ft
Flat Trail
The trail was pretty flay for the first mile. It was a good start since we hadn't hiked in over a month.
Chilly Morning
When we started the hike, it was in the mid 50's. I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Katherine decided to wear her jacket, but it warmed up pretty quickly.
Yellow Field
The colors were beginning to change in the mountains.
Green Aspen
The light was hitting this aspen tree just right for a perfect photo.
Arch Rock
These are the Arch Rocks in Rocky Mountain National Park. They are pretty cool and impressive boulders that you walk between. You can see how large they are with Katherine as a reference.
Patch of Death
There were a lot of dead trees from the pine beetles, as well as areas that were still recovering from the 2013 fire.
The Pool
This area of the Big Thompson River is called The Pool, because it's one of many areas where the river widens up and pools up with water.
Down the Thompson
The hike followed the Big Thompson River for the first couple of miles.
Fern Lake
We got to Fern lake in an hour and 40 minutes. It was a one-way distance of 3.75 miles.
Notchtop Mountain
A few month's ago we were looking at the other side of this mountain, Notchtop Mountain. when we went to Lake Helene and Odessa Lake.
Beach
Fern Lake had a small beach
Clear Water
I took this photo right after dumping my GPS into the lake. It was sitting on my lap and I decided to get up off the rock we were on to take a photo of Katherine. Luckily for me, the water is clear, shallow, and the GPS is waterproof.
Colorful Pine
I just love the colors in this pine tree.
Fern Falls
We passed Fern Falls on the way to Fern Lake, but the lighting was really bad. The lighting was significantly better on the way back, so we stopped and took a few more photos.
Debris
There was a lot of fallen trees at the base of the waterfall.
Clouds Rolling In
The forecast for today wasn't great the day before. Rain starting at noon. Before we left, I checked again and the rain wasn't going to start until 7 or 8pm. Well, it's about 11am and I think the updated forecast was wrong.
