We had to say goodbye to Rocky Mountain National Park today but I was determined to squeeze in the Sprague Lake hike regardless of the fact that heavy fog had rolled in and there was no way we'd be seeing the sun anytime soon. I had read that the Sprague Lake hike should be done at sunrise to capture the sunlight bouncing off the mountain peaks and reflecting into the lake. Not to be deterred by the lack of sunshine, we got out of bed at 5:30 and were at the trailhead by 6:30.
When we arrived, we realized this would be another low effort level hike, but frankly, we're so out of shape right now, a real hike would probably kill us anyway. :) The fog and early daylight made for a very eery scene. It also challenged my limited photography skills.
The hike is short and simply meanders around the lake's edge. We walked along enjoying the quiet and solitude of the experience. As we neared the halfway mark around the lake, I glanced over and spotted a bull elk feeding in the water. Much to my glee, he bugled that ridiculous high pitched squeal that always makes me giggle.
Hoping to make our way to the other side before we wandered off, we picked up the pace a bit and took a few photos as the opportunities arose.
He was quite large and wasn't in any particular hurry. In fact, he stood on the trail for quite some time before crossing into the wooded area surrounding the lake. We cautiously kept our distance and watched him for quite some time. There was a blue heron fishing in the shallows...
....and we watched in wonder as a very interesting interaction between him and the elk unfolded before our eyes. Setting aside his fishing for the moment, the heron walked out of the water and up the bank towards the elk. The elk stood there intently watching this very large bird. They stood on opposite sides of the trail (about 10-12 feet apart) and just stared at each other. It was really quite comical. I was so fascinated by this interaction that I didn't want to spoil the moment and miss something by trying to get pictures of it. Eventually, the heron returned to his rock and his morning fishing routine.
We continued to watch as the elk slowly moved his way around us. Given his proximity to the trail, we kept an escape route available at all times. :) He wasn't disturbed by our presence at all...
...and was quite relaxed as he ate his breakfast.
I was taking a video of the elk when the heron lifted out of the water and flew into the camera frame and settled on a nearby tree branch. The noise is him squawking. :)
Okay, so THAT was pretty awesome. :)
We watched as the elk wandered off and then we finished the hike.
We headed back to the truck and arrived at the trailer by 8am. We chatted with the Sitts awhile and set a departure time for 10:00 am. At 9:54, we were rolling out of the campground. We headed south down 36 and then picked up 93 outside of Boulder. From there, we took 70 west until we reached our exit in Rifle, Colorado and headed to Rifle Gap State Park.
We arrived at the park at 3:40 and since I had previously made reservations, we got in and set up rather quickly (okay, fine, it took forever to fill our water tanks at the dump station) and then unloaded the bikes. I had a "road load of laundry" to take care of so Bill went to the visitor center while I took care of the domestic crap. I mean, my responsibilities. <puke> At the visitor center chatting with the clerk, Bill learned that there is BLM land (i.e. off road trails!) all around us and one trailhead is located in one of the campground loops. Wooohooo!
When we arrived, we realized this would be another low effort level hike, but frankly, we're so out of shape right now, a real hike would probably kill us anyway. :) The fog and early daylight made for a very eery scene. It also challenged my limited photography skills.
The hike is short and simply meanders around the lake's edge. We walked along enjoying the quiet and solitude of the experience. As we neared the halfway mark around the lake, I glanced over and spotted a bull elk feeding in the water. Much to my glee, he bugled that ridiculous high pitched squeal that always makes me giggle.
....and we watched in wonder as a very interesting interaction between him and the elk unfolded before our eyes. Setting aside his fishing for the moment, the heron walked out of the water and up the bank towards the elk. The elk stood there intently watching this very large bird. They stood on opposite sides of the trail (about 10-12 feet apart) and just stared at each other. It was really quite comical. I was so fascinated by this interaction that I didn't want to spoil the moment and miss something by trying to get pictures of it. Eventually, the heron returned to his rock and his morning fishing routine.
We continued to watch as the elk slowly moved his way around us. Given his proximity to the trail, we kept an escape route available at all times. :) He wasn't disturbed by our presence at all...
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| Nom, Nom, Nom |
We watched as the elk wandered off and then we finished the hike.
We headed back to the truck and arrived at the trailer by 8am. We chatted with the Sitts awhile and set a departure time for 10:00 am. At 9:54, we were rolling out of the campground. We headed south down 36 and then picked up 93 outside of Boulder. From there, we took 70 west until we reached our exit in Rifle, Colorado and headed to Rifle Gap State Park.
We arrived at the park at 3:40 and since I had previously made reservations, we got in and set up rather quickly (okay, fine, it took forever to fill our water tanks at the dump station) and then unloaded the bikes. I had a "road load of laundry" to take care of so Bill went to the visitor center while I took care of the domestic crap. I mean, my responsibilities. <puke> At the visitor center chatting with the clerk, Bill learned that there is BLM land (i.e. off road trails!) all around us and one trailhead is located in one of the campground loops. Wooohooo!
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| "Road Load Laundry" Instructions: Take dirty clothes and place in dishpan with detergent and hot water, let "agitate" as you drive down the road, remove clothes from dishpan, rinse, squeeze, and hang to dry. |
While Bill was gone, I mapped out remaining destinations for the rest of the week based on the weather forecast. Unfortunately, it looks like we're probably going to have to skip Ridgway since there are torrential downpours scheduled to hit from Hurricane Norbert and some Pacific monsoon. This totally sucks because I REALLY was looking forward to Ridgway State Park. I did A LOT of research on this area and it looks like a kickin' place to be. Anyway, we'll re-up for a few days here and keep an eye on the weather.
Bill wanted to go check out the off road trail so we just jumped on one bike and headed through the gate to the BLM trail. We weren't wearing gear so we putzed along and didn't get very far, but it gave us insight as to the condition of the trail. We came back as the sun was starting to set and I made dinner while "the Bills" tossed a football.
We ate dinner and shared some dessert with the Sitts (actually, I pretty much just ate it by myself). While at RMNP, they stopped at Safeway and grabbed me a coconut cream pie since I was deprived of my slice of pie at that wretched restaurant in Wall. Thanks, guys!! :)
Mmmmm....
(Bill's Perspective)
We weren't planning on this area being a great riding destination. We unloaded the bikes because driving without them in the truck is just nicer. Imagine my delight when I asked the campground host about off road riding and he told me about the BLM lands full of trails that backs up to one of the loops in the campground!! Oh happy day. I tried very hard to contain my excitement but I was like a kid on Christmas morning. Since I was but one of four people on this trip, I continued to bide my time until opportunity presented itself. Kim agreed to scout the area so she jumped on my bike and we headed up to see what there was to see. What we found was rocky doubletrack that wound its way up the hill. In places it was steep with sharp turns and some good size rocks and other places were gentle slopes with a smoother surface. There were tons of water bars (aka jumps) all along the trail and quite a few areas where water had created some pretty deep ruts. This was going to be fun. I've really been chomping at the bit to put these XTs to work doing what they're designed to do and this would prove a good test of bike and rider.
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