Rocky Mountain National Park

This weekend, Amanda and I went to Rocky Mountain National Park. The place was amazing. It was elk rutting season and we witnessed one buck chase another off of his potential mates. A nearly 800 pound animal charging at a group of people was something you don't see every day. But, the major event was that Amanda, Monique (lisa's friend who moved to Boulder), and I took around a 3 mile hike. We hiked from around 8800 feet (bierstadt trailhead) to an alpine lake at 9400 (bierstadt lake) where friendly ducks and chipmunks came right up to us to beg for food. We then hiked up to another lake (bear lake) at around 9500 feet. The whole trip was stunning and Amanda should be posting some pictures. It was cool to get back up into some real mountains, but I had forgotten how much the altitude makes you gasp for breath. Too much fun, I need to get back out there.

Upcoming 2nd Shakedown

On October 10th and 11th, we'll be doing our second shakedown for Dead Man's canyon. It will be an overnight at Round Valley Recreation Area http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/round.html. This will be a 3-6 mile hike in (depending on where our camp is; the campground is 3 miles long) and the same out. This will be a very moderate difficulty backpack; more difficult than Wharton. Bring your fishing poles and fishing licenses as it is at a reservoir. I think the cost will be about $25 for the campsite or about $6 each.