Boulder Day 1: Rocky Mountain NP

First Night

Jennifer got in last night without a hitch, even ahead of schedule. I decided to surprise her since I dropped dad off early and catch her coming out of the terminal. I had suspected she might start doing some intensive shopping in the concourse rather than come to the terminal, so I waited for 30 minutes intently watching every tram load of passengers trying to find her . . . argh! So easily distracted by shiny perfume bottles!

We are at the Hotel Boulderado as guests of one of the owners, Frank, who I am working with to do a restaurant in Virginia. I highly recommend staying at this place on a visit to Boulder because it is a historic hotel, but especially because it is the truest extant historic hotel I have ever been to and it is immaculately maintained and operated. It still has an old elevator car and is very much a bustling center of the community located a block from Pearl Street in the heat of Boulder. We ate dinner at SALT the Bistro last night, an interesting new place with local organic foods that are delicious. The portions were a bit more copious than we would have expected ex-Ohio and on top of that I had eaten at four different places throughout the day.

Day Ahead

We are off to Rocky Mountain NP, where, we are told, the Roosevelt's Elks are bugling and the Aspen . . .

Bugling Elk

Okay, so 9 hours later and 8.5 miles of hiking with a change in altitude from 9,370 feet (2,856m) to 11,795 feet (3595m). We can do 8 miles walking, running no problem, but 2,425 feet of elevation change was too much, that is almost a half a mile of vertical change. The problem is compounded by the fact that we had not yet acclimated to Boulder's 5,345 feet of altitude and had a bit of a celebration the night before that did not aid in reducing the likelihood of altitude sickness and dehydration, of which we both are suffering, but Jennifer the most. That aside, the Chasm Lake trail is definitely worth it, but I would recommend coming better prepared than we were. I have to say we beat a number of the local crunchy granolas to the lake, but a good many of them would come back down the mountain as spry as they had gone up.

We did not hear any bugling elk though now is the time to hear them, but we did see a LOT of elk, including a big bull (pictured) and a whole family crossing the road (not pictured). We also saw a rabbit (yes, just a rabbit Jen says, but a ROCKY MOUNTAIN Rabbit! Actually a Snowshoe Hare); a ton of chipmunks; a woodpecker; a Big Horn sheep; and a bunch of Pikas near Chasm Lake. Chasm Lake is beautiful especially because its backdrop is Longs Peak's Diamond which is a sheer wall of 900 feet in height. Longs Peak is also famous as it is in excess of 14,000 feet elevation.

On the way back to Boulder, we took Route 7 that follows the St. Vrain River, I highly recommend taking this route as too little attention is given to this river and the amazing canyon it has formed.

Time for rest now!

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