The day of 6 lakes in Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park~
Hi there, and welcome to Day 4 of our Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park trip.
This was a planned “big day,” but ended up being a huge day!
Because of the big day, an alarm at 5 a.m started this day’s adventure.
We were going to hike to The Loch, a lake that we’d never been to. The hike is 5.7 miles round trip and has an elevation gain of 1040 feet. It’s just one of many trailheads located at the popular Bear Lake area.
A clear, beautiful morning escorted us on the drive to the trailhead via Bear Lake Road.
When we arrived, the parking lot was full so we had to drive back to Park n’ Ride.
Consequently, we finally got to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead at 8:45!
Heading to the trailhead on Bear Lake Road
Beautiful view from Bear Lake parking lot
Rick and Luke near the start of our hike
First, we came to Alberta Falls, a place we’d been many times.
Since it’s a relatively short hike, there are usually a lot of people at the falls.
First stop: Alberta Falls
Colorful walls of Alberta Falls
I love this waterfall!
We continued on, seeing new sights, going on a trail that we hadn’t been on before. 🙂
So many awesome trees!
What a view!
Roots are the king of character!
Onward and upward!
This trail was varied; we hiked through forested areas and climbed in bare rocky sections.
Many forms of water accompanied us: streams, waterfalls, and just trickles.
Huckleberries
For the first time, we ate wild huckleberries that we picked on the trail. Delicious!
They’re similar to blueberries, but more tangy and vibrant in your mouth! 🙂
I love hiking on the side of the mountain; such good views. You feel like you are at the top of the world!
Colorful scenery!
Fun trail
A stark contrast in trees!
Such a cute little waterfall
More of my favorite: dead twisted trees
Going higher…
Ta-da!
The “inviting” Loch Lake
We made it to The Loch.
Look at this place! What scenery: clear green water, dead trees with so
much character you’d think they were alive! People out on the lake paddling around in a raft
that they had backpacked up the trail, and even some young adventurers who braved the
water for awhile! There was a man fly-fishing who kept us entertained and, of course, yes,
there were lots of trees that weren’t dead! It was so peaceful and beautiful. Ahhhhh….
Spectacular!
Beautiful, serene Loch Lake in the Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park
Just around the bend to see the full lake!
First view of The Loch
The water was chilly!
Green-hued beauty all around 🙂
Lunch time!
Loch Lake, or Loch Vale as it is sometimes called, is truly picturesque!
We munched on a healthy lunch and then proceeded back down the trail.
Me and the hub 🙂
A peaceful place
After a strenuous hike and relaxing for a while at lunch, we were tired and glad to be heading “down.”
However, we came to a sign that gave trail choices. One choice was back toward Alberta Falls and a ride to our vehicle. 🙂
But, the other choice was to Lake Haiyaha. We’d been there before, but only once.
Down…or up?
Decisions, decisions! I had broken my toe twice since April and didn’t know if I should push it. Luke wasn’t feeling top-notch, but he said being out in the mountains hiking made him feel better.
We just couldn’t pass it up since we were already that far. So, crazily, we took the trail toward Lake Haiyaha!
We wouldn’t be heading “down” after all, at least not for awhile.
Here we go!
It’s the coolest thing, trees grow out of rock!
Cozy trail 🙂
Fun!
Rocky path to Lake Haiyaha
Lake Haiyaha, filled with boulders
Lake Haiyaha has lots of large boulders in it. It’s an interesting lake, but kind of hard to get to for the last little bit.
Specifically, you have to climb over rocks and boulders with water showing between them.
I guess you’re basically on/in the lake before you get to it! :wow:
Lake Haiyaha
Incredibly fun tree
Storms
It’s always a good idea to hike early and get down off the mountain before very late in the afternoon because quite often storms roll in.
Most photographed
After Haiyaha, we journeyed toward Dream Lake, the most photographed lake in the Park. It wasn’t far, but the skies were getting cloudy. It’s exciting, but scary, to be up there when a storm starts.
We saw something so cool that we had never seen before, though. From this vista, we were able to look down on Bear and Nymph Lakes.
We’ve hiked to/seen all these lakes (Bear, Nymph, Dream, and Emerald) many times so it was awesome to see them from above! 🙂
Scary awesome!
Looking down on Bear and Nymph Lakes. See the lily pads on Nymph?
Hope it doesn’t pour on us!
⇓ Emerald Lake, a very popular spot. ⇓
Again, it would have been much prettier on a different day or just getting there in the morning.
Emerald Lake, see the waterfall?
Emerald Lake on a gray day 🙁
But, the water’s clear!
An Indian Paintbrush to brighten things up
Here we are coming down from Emerald Lake and heading toward Nymph and Bear Lakes.
I like this picture a lot, even though Rick also managed to photograph his fingers, because it shows the path up to Emerald, and the color is bright.
(The little waterfall is nice, too.)
Looks can be deceiving
He caught me doing what I do A LOT of: trying to capture an interesting image!!
P.S. Don’t get the idea that all trails are like this. They are NOT, and the Emerald trail is certainly not like this the whole way.
Great trail to Emerald Lake
Nymph Lake~Love the lily pads!
Bear Lake. Finally down, finally done!
The day of the 6 lakes at Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park
Well, we certainly did not set out to hike to 6 lakes in one day or to hike for 10 miles in 6.5 hours! But, it was great!!
We saw everything on the sign above plus The Loch and Bear Lake.
Recap: The Loch, Lake Haiyaha, Emerald Lake, Dream Lake, Nymph Lake, and Bear Lake. Pretty good for a day’s work, huh?
I hope you’re enjoying the stories and scenes from our Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park trip.
More features
The last few days are coming up and then I will take a break from documenting travel for awhile.
I will be introducing other “Feature” topics as well as some varied stuff.
Check back frequently and, if you like what you are seeing, share me!
Would love to hear which of the 6 lakes you thought was best. Leave me a comment. Thanks.
Blessings and blooms… and mountain lakes,
Pam
Author: Pam
Glad you’re here!
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