359.5 miles: Sage Creek Campground to Pinnacles Overlook, Badlands National Park, Interior, SD

On August 31, 2020August 30, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Friday, August 28, 2020

Miles: 2.5 miles (varied)

Elevation Gain: 233 feet

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Time: 1 hr total

Trail Head:

https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/campgrounds-badl.htm

Notes:

The smoke in Denver has made the air quality pretty unbearable, so we decided to camp in the Badlands National Park. The South Dakota border is about a five hour drive from home, with the national park being about six hours away. We were surprised how much wildlife we saw in this national park, and how little visitors were there!

We stayed one night in the Badlands, at the Sage Creek Campground. This is a primitive first come first serve camping area, where you can set up a tent near a picnic table or take one of the many social trails for a backpacking adventure. No permits required, but there is a backcountry registry if you are planning on leaving your car overnight. From the campground, there are several well beaten in social trails up to the foothills. The Badlands is an open hike park, with several areas that have no defined trail. Part of this is because there are free roaming buffalo herds, requiring the hiker hikes off trail to avoid danger.

From the campground, we took the most defined trail, directly across from the bathroom and the back country registry (at the end of the loop). This trail was pretty easy to spot, even during golden hour. It crosses sage creek bed and goes left, then curves right up the bluff. Once on top of the bluff, the trail is significantly more defined and snakes around the bluffs with beautiful views of the pinnacles rock formations. On our hike back down, we took a slightly different path to avoid a literal stampede of buffalo. Make sure to stay a minimum of 100 feet from these animals at all times.

357 miles: North Inlet Trail to War Dance Falls (Ptarmigan Campsite), Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Lake, CO

On August 25, 2020August 25, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Saturday, August 15, 2020

Miles: 14.3 miles

Elevation Gain: 1319 feet

Difficulty: Moderate

Time: 6 hr 30 min total (backpacking)

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/war-dance-falls-and-bench-lake-via-north-inlet-trail

Notes:

This trip was our last backcountry camping in Rocky Mountain of 2020! The end of the summer season always feels bittersweet— I’m always ready for cooler temps, but sad for shorter days. Although we have a few other backpacking weekends planned, Rocky is such a special place to me.

This trip was to the Ptarmigan backcountry campsite, nestled in the forest off North Inlet Trail on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. Our back country permit served as our timed entry pass, although the North Inlet trailhead is outside the gated / ticketed entrance, north of Grand Lake. This trailhead has limited parking, but also does not have a lot of easy destinations off the trail. You have to hike quite awhile before you get to a destination, making it less popular unless you’re backpacking.

It was a fairly easy and shaded trail, great for kids who might like playing in the creek. This is a great slow rolling trail for beginner backpackers. The Ptarmigan campsite was located right next to War Dance Falls, near where the north inlet trail junctions with Ptarmigan creek. The trail has views of meadows and the creek, but other than that is fairly the same for the entire 7 miles we hiked. We were pleased to find lots of wild strawberries, raspberries and huckleberries lining the North Inlet trail. About half way to the site, we passed by Cascade Falls which was really pretty— just a short jaunt off the trail (marked). War Dance falls, near our site, was pretty primitive and overgrown for a waterfall. It only had a social trail leading to it. I would not recommend War Dance falls as a day hike or destination — if you are planning on day hiking this trail, I would go to Cascade Falls!

342.7 miles: Holzwarth Historic Site Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Lake, CO

On August 20, 2020August 20, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Friday, August 14, 2020

Miles: 1.2 miles

Elevation Gain: 56 feet

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 30 min total

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/holzwarth-historical-site-never-summer-ranch

Notes:

Holzwarth Historical Site at the ruins of Never Summer Ranch is a great easy, ADA friendly trail on the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park. The wide, flat trail wanders through the Kawuneeche Valley, featuring buildings and tools from the turn of the century. The trail crossing the Colorado River, and has signs about every quarter mile explaining the historical significance of the area. After about a half mile of walking through the valley, you get to a clump of shade trees that hosts the ranch buildings. Here families used to come and stay at the ranch for weeks in the summer to escape the Denver heat. The buildings remain intact, and when there isn’t corona virus you can walk through the buildings and talk with park rangers. This would be a great family hike or after lunch stroll.

341.5 miles: Green Mountain Trail to Big Meadows, Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Lake, CO

On August 20, 2020August 19, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Friday, August 14, 2020

Miles: 5.9 miles

Elevation Gain: 860 feet

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Time: 2 hr total

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/green-mountain-trail–2

Notes:

Green Mountain Trail is the first trail head after the gates to the park on the west side. This trail is forested and shaded, with limited parking due to overnight backpackers. Originally Travis and I had planned to do the Rocky Mountain National Park continental divide backpack loop, but I was not feeling up to doing 27 miles and almost 5K elevation gain. Instead, I hiked with Travis for the first almost three miles of the trail via Green Mountain Trail, then met him at the second campsite the following day. Currently, Rocky Mountain National Park requires a timed entry pass to hike within the park boundary. Our backcountry permit that we purchased back in March served as our times entry pass.

Green Mountain Trail immediately begins the uphill climb, following a creek through a damp forest. We found plenty of wild huckle berries and strawberries for the first mile. Close to mile two, the trail reaches Big Meadows, where it opens up into a big meadow. There are some old cabin ruins you pass on the trail on this section. This is a great place to stop for a quick snack. I hiked with Travis for about three miles, before turning around and hiking back to the car. It was a great family trail as well as a good trail to escape the heat.

335.6 miles: Lake Solitude via Cascade Canyon Trail, Grand Teton National Park, Moose, WY

On August 19, 2020August 19, 2020 By AnnieLeave a comment

Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Miles: 14.4 miles

Elevation Gain: 2346 feet

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult

Time: 5 hr 30 min total

Trail Head:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/lake-solitude-via-lake-solitude-and-cascade-canyon-trail

Notes:

While I was in Wyoming, I decided to travel a few more miles up the state and visit Grand Teton National Park. This National Park has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I thought it would be fun to try a long solo hike, something that I have not done in awhile. I woke up early and got the the Jenny Lake Trail Head to avoid the crowds. I decided to take the Jenny Lake boat shuttle (round trip ticket for adult = $18) to save myself from hiking 5 miles around the lake. The boat shuttle drops you off at the Inspiration Point Trail Head.

I followed this trail to the left uphill for one mile to Inspiration Point, which overlooks Jenny Lake. From there, the trail flattens out and becomes Cascade Canyon Trail, through the Teton peaks. The next three miles are mostly flat, through shaded trees near a river. Here there were moose in the willows I could see from a distance. After about 4 miles, I followed the trail right at the trail junction, following the arrows to Lake Solitude. From here, the elevation begins to increase steadily, and the trail opens up into the canyon. Here, I entered the back country camping zone, near several streams carrying runoff to the river. The views were beautiful! The last mile had the majority of elevation gain, with several steep rocky sections up to the Lake Solitude cirque. The alpine lake was pretty crowded, so I stopped briefly before heading back to the shuttle. The last mile of the hike out was super busy– I probably would not choose to go back during the summer crowds in the future.