Almost to Flattop Mountain
We didn't get to hike last weekend because of our first snowstorm in the mountains of the year. So this weekend we knew we wanted to get out and hike something. Since Rocky Mountain National Park isn't requiring timed entry permits anymore, that's where we headed. They haven't required timed entry permits for several weeks now, but we also wanted to wait until November to make the most out of buying a new annual pass into the park since ours expired at the end of September. The pass we bought is good through the end of November of 2024, so by buying at the beginning of the month we essentially get 13 months of use out of it.
When deciding what time to get to the trailhead we were trying to balance out making sure Katie got enough sleep and the parking lot not being packed. So I set my alarm for 6:45 but we did not realize that with daylight savings we would end up sleeping in an hour later than we needed to in order to get a good night's rest before our hike. But that was fine since the parking lot was barely half-full by the time we arrived around 9:30. I was surprised the parking lot wasn't full, but the weather was forecasted to be very windy, so maybe that deterred a few people from coming into the park today.
Despite the forecast for wind, we chose a hike that would put us above the treeline by summiting Flattop Mountain. I'm not sure why we thought it would be a good idea to be above the treeline on a windy day, but we have been wanting to do this hike now for quite a while, and we're now only strong enough to be able to do this hike and this seemed like a good opportunity. Once we got above the treeline after about 2 miles of hiking, it was pure wind on our faces as we struggled to get to a small overlook of Tyndall Glacier and Hallet Peak. The wind was so forceful as we hiked into it that it took extra energy to power up the mountain. After eating lunch in a small naturally created rock shelter, we decided we didn't care to summit Flattop Mountain. Given its name, we knew we wouldn't get better views and the true summit is up for debate since the whole area was flat (ish). We were about 1/4-mile from the true summit, but that's good enough for us.
The wind posed a dangerous threat to us, but we were mostly prepared. We didn't have any hand warmers because it's been too early in the season to consider those. But otherwise, we were adequately prepared with several layers, hats, and gloves. Before starting the hike we were thinking of possibly continuing on to Hallet Peak, which would be a really cool peak to summit. It is the tallest mountain in the local area and would provide excellent views of more lakes. Even without summiting to the top of Hallet Peak (or even Flattop Mountain truly), we saw 8 different lakes on the hike: Bear Lake, Bierstadt Lake, Spraug Lake, Mills Lake, Jewel Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, and Estes Lake. Another lake in the distance to the East might have been either Lake Loveland or Boyd Lake. But either way, it was an astonishingly great hike for seeing all the lakes in the area. Getting to Hallet Peak would have gotten us at least 1 more view of Lake Haiyaha, and possibly a view of Nymph Lake. We'll save summiting Hallet Peak for a different day with nicer weather.





Bear Lake
The hike started at Bear Lake, which is right off the parking lot. Of all the lakes we saw today, Bear lake was the only one not frozen over.

My Snowwoman Wife
I didn't know Katie was a snowwoman...

Bierstadt Lake
The first lake we got a view of in the distance was Bierstadt Lake. We've hiked to this lake a few times which has somewhat disappointing views, and from this viewpoint you can see why - there's nothing around it and it's on a relatively flat hilltop.

Wild Ptarmigan
We've only encountered a Ptarmigan once before. Out Rocky Mountain guide book said we might encounter these on the hike, and it was spot on.

Short Trees
We always know when we're close to the tree line because the trees are shorter and can't grow nearly as tall.

Three Lakes
Bierstadt Lake is the lake in the center, Sprague Lake is the one off to the right. The lake in the lower right-hand corner is Dream Lake.

The Mummy's
As soon as we got above the tree line we got fantastic views of the Mummy Range to the North.

Wavy Snow
Without the trees, the wind blows strong creating unique waves in the snow on the ground.

Longs Peak
Longs looks quite different from the backside. This mountain is typically viewed looking West from the East, but we were on the backside of it which has a blocky look to it.

Emerald Lake
I always viewed Emerald Lake as being right up against Hallett Peak, but it's not. Hallett Peak is off to the right in this photo. Just shows how drastically different the perception is based on where you are.

Mills Lake and Jewel Lake
On the hike I couldn't remember what the name of these lakes were, but they are indistinguishably Mills and Jewel lake because of their proximity to one another. Longs Peak is the mountain towering above them centered in the photo.