Rocky Mountain National Park
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My first trip to Rocky Mountain National Park occurred in July 2006. I was still a somewhat novice hiker, carrying way too many pounds in a massive backpack. Additionally, I haven’t started my mountaineering path, so climbing and scrambling were not part of the activities I pursued.
Our trip to RMNP would start at Grand Lake and go north along and then east along the Tonahutu Creek Trail, paralleling the Continental Divide, and then heading south on the North Inlet Trail back to Grand Lake. The first day was a short hike from the Tonahutu Trailhead to Lodgepole. It was a warm summer day. We were wearing shorts, and it was one of those sunny, mountain days you get in RMNP. We reached the camp in the early afternoon and enjoyed the views further north into the valley. The second day, we moved north to Sunset. Again, not a long hiking day. Camp was pretty wooded. While we had two bear canisters, we were challenged trying to hang snacks. I did mention we took too much food and gear.
Day three was another very short day. We traveled from Sunset to Granite Falls. There was a nice meadow we camped on. Additionally, we were able to set our feet into the cool Tonahutu Creek to cool ourselves down. Day four was a massive day. We would travel from Granite Falls to Pine Marten, between 12-14 miles with much of it going upward. We started before sunrise with headlamps and ate our oatmeal a few hours into the hike during a stop. By midday we were on the treeless mountain plateau between Snowdrift Peak, Knobtop Mountain, and Ptarmigan Point. It was a long, long day for three guys coming from the lowland Midwest. Fortunately, by late afternoon we reached Pine Marten. To our delight, there was a small creek near the camp and took turns immersing our legs in the ice-cold water until they were numb. We were delirious with exhaustion.
The fifth day was another manageable one, where we headed down to Twinberry. It was a much lower elevation camp that lacked the beauty of the higher camps. Day six we hiked back to the Tonahutu Trailhead and our rental vehicle.