Colorado - June 2021

Thirty and Thriving.

Birthdays were never a big deal for me. I enjoy celebrating other people’s birthdays more than my own. But, turning thirty felt like a big deal. Plus, celebrating with Chris made it extra fun.

After being stuck in NJ for a year and a half, I needed to escape to the mountains. The world was starting to open up again - at least domestically, and it was safe to spend time outdoors.

Colorado is rich with adventure. It’s home to four National Parks, not to mention Boulder, Aspen, Vail, Telluride, Breckenridge. The entire state looks beautiful, so I didn’t know where to start. I reached out to someone I knew in high school who lives in Colorado, and she recommended Crested Butte. It was a little out of the way, but it’s gorgeous - and besides, I’m really starting to like these places that are not so easy to get to - most people don’t put in the effort so it’s less crowded and has a truer feel.

Aside from Crested Butte, I wanted to visit Rocky Mountain NP. From those two alone, our week was starting to fill in nicely.

Crested Butte is known for skiing and mountain biking. We didn’t do this, but in the summer, you could ride the chair lift up the mountain and bike down. We did rent bikes and attempt a mountain biking experience (see Day 4).

Itinerary:

Day 1: Off We Go!

We took a late night flight Friday night into Denver and stayed overnight at the Hyatt Place Denver.

Day 2: Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods

After free breakfast in the hotel, we hopped in the car and drove to Colorado Springs, about an hour south of Denver. Pikes Peak is one of the tallest summits of the Rocky Mountain range, and you can drive up it. It’s got sharp hairpin turns, but better driving it than biking it! We saw a number of people biking up the side of the road, and to each and every one, Chris commented “brutal!” He’s not wrong!

There is an annual race called the Hill Climb and it just so happened we were there that weekend. We were still able to drive some of the way up, but not all the way up. As we were driving, we tried to imagine how professional drivers would soon be flying up and down that road - it seemed incredibly dangerous.

In the afternoon, we went to the Garden of the Gods. We had booked a climbing excursion but it was cancelled due to weather. Instead, we just walked around on our own.

We hit the grocery store then started the three and a half hour drive west to Crested Butte. It was dark as we were driving, and every now and then we would drive over cattle guards. All of a sudden, it was snowing and then there was a cow walking in the middle of the road! He led us for quite some time before he finally moo-ved over to the side of the road.

It was late by the time we got to Crested Butte. I remember we had a little difficulty finding our condo in the dark, but eventually we got in!

Day 3: Crested Butte

We went into town for breakfast at McGill’s to fuel up before our first Crested Butte adventure. The downtown area of Crested Butte is so cute - what you would imagine a little Colorado town looking like, studded with flowers giving it that charming vibe.

Crested Butte is at an elevation of 8,885 feet, so we wanted to take it easy our first day. My friend had recommended Three Lakes Trail (4.7mi). I don’t remember this trail being all that difficult. The trail starts at Lost Lake Slough Campground, and brings you along Lost Lake and Dollar Lake and then back to Lost Lake Slough to close the loop. The most memorable part of this trail for me, aside from the lakes, is the aspen grove - my first time seeing aspens in real life and it felt like a fairytale.

The hike only took us a couple hours and wasn’t that strenuous. We went back to our condo to relax, and watched the Hill Climb. For dinner, we went to Secret Stash Pizza, which was pretty good.

Day 4: Crested Butte

There was a bike rental place within walking distance of our condo. Since Crested Butte is known for mountain biking, I figured we had to give it a try (and besides, during covid, Kevin and I started biking more - locally on streets and on trails like in Allaire or Old Bridge or Millstone). We had never been true mountain biking before, but I found a beginner mountain biking trail called the Lupine Trail. We rented bikes from Butte & Co in the Elevation Hotel. It was a little confusing to find, but you can access it either from inside the hotel, or along a walkway in the back of the building.

We rode our bikes down the hill toward Crested Butte, turning off before we reached town to head to the trailhead. Using Google Maps, there were a couple access points for the Lupine Trail. We passed one that definitely seemed like someone’s private driveway, so we kept going. Eventually, the road wrapped around a lake (or pond?) and ended at a parking lot. Here, there was a trail map at the trailhead that said Lupine Trail, so we knew we were in the right place!

The trail was surrounded by wildflowers. It was a narrow dirt path, occasionally sprinkled with rocks that weaved through the flora. We were excite to begin our first mountain biking adventure! Off we went - for a little while anyway. The trail was difficult because it was so narrow and uphill. We made it through a little grove of aspen trees to a bench. We’d probably gone about a quarter of a mile? Maybe slightly more?

As we had gotten to the trailhead and were looking at the map, a woman was beginning her trail run. We struggled our way up to the bench and were hanging out there, and she was on her way back down. I’m not sure how long her run was, but at this point, we were pretty sure we (I) had chosen the wrong way to get onto the trail. The direction the woman was running now, as she passed us on the bench, was downhill. We decided to switch gears and follow her down hill and take another trail that was listed on the trail map back into town.

Biking down that short section of the Lupine Trail was a lot of fun - if only we’d done the trail in the right direction, I think we would have had a great time! Anyway, we rode on relatively flat or slightly downhill trails to Gunsight Bridge on Lower Loop Trail. They were still mountain biking trails, just more realistic for us. The trail went through some woods and led us to the river. We continued onward to Crested Butte. Luckily, there is a shuttle between Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte, so we were able to hop the shuttle to return our bikes instead of climbing with the bikes back to the rental shop.

We relaxed the rest of the day after a strenuous start to our biking adventure. Our building had a hot tub so we might have taken a dip (we did one day, I don’t remember which day). Perhaps we took a nap. This was the first trip that I had a rough idea of an itinerary but left it open for revisions, and the boys often chose to just hang out. This was a big step for me. At the time, it gave me a little anxiety - to know I could be out exploring or doing something - but I’ve gotten better at going with the flow, and the flow with them often means slowing down - and that’s not a bad thing.

Day 5: Trail #403

Another recommendation my friend had given me was to hike Gothic Mountain. The road to the trailhead is very bumpy. I highly recommend 4-/all-wheel drive. We were basically off-roading and at least once, debated whether we should continue going. We did, and it was worth it. This was one of the most beautiful, peaceful trails I’ve ever hiked.

The trail starts off uphill from the get go, maybe at a fifteen degree angle. But soon it opens up and flattens out. The trail’s switchbacks wind through wildflowers. We saw so many types of wildflowers. We ran into an older lady and her dog - she’s from Santa Fe but stays at a friend’s place in CB. She was telling us about the working crisis in CB - how people come to work, wait tables, etc but cannot afford to live in town, so they camp and ride bikes into town. I’m not sure how accurate the informatio is, but I believe it - I’ve heard of similar stories in other tourist towns too. When we were in Stanley, our waiter said he did something similar.

Anyway, back to the trail. The trail opened up to gorgeous views of the valley and further ahead, spectacular view of the mountains. We decided to take a break at Gothic Mountain Overlook for photos and ended up spending a lot of time because the whole area was so picture perfect. We were fulfilled and decided to turn around.

We went to happy hour at Bonez. I don’t remember the food, but I remember the margaritas were strong, and I remember we were texting with our SIL/BIL about how our niece, who had been born one week prior, might have tyrosinemia - an uncurable disorder in which the body cannot metabolize the amino acid tyrosine, meaning she would have to be on an extremely restrictive diet or medication for life. Luckily, the test result was a false positive.

Day 6: Boulder

We left Crested Butte and headed for Estes Park, stopping at Boulder along the way. It was a four hour drive from CB to Boulder, but a beautiful drive through Cottonwood Pass. We explored the city of Boulder, walked around Pearl Street, stumbled upon a farmers market, had tea and snacks at the Dushanbe tea house. Before leaving the city we hiked around the Flatirons but not to them totally.

We continued our journey to Estes Park, about 50 minutes from Boulder. We stayed at the Discovery Lodge Estes Park. It’s your typical motel-like rustic cabin room you find outside many NPs - it’s cute and cozy but no frills. We checked into our room and researched what we should do for dinner. There isn’t much in terms of variety of restaurants in Estes Park. We chose to go to Smokin’ Daves, which was on the other side of town - a BBQ joint. Man, it did not disappoint! I feel like we are spoiled when it comes to BBQ because growing up, my parents made killer ribs (baby back) that fall off the bone, my dad smokes a mean brisket, Kevin and I make fantastic burgers (we grind our own meat), Kevin makes an amazing ribeye - so our meat expectations are high. I ordered ribs (which normally is a mistake, but I really wanted ribs), which came with sweet potato fries, cole slaw and corn bread. They weren’t my parents’ ribs, but they were a close second - certainly the best ribs I’ve gotten at a restaurant, including BBQ places in Texas. I don’t remember what Kevin and Chris got that night, but they were also happy with their decisions.

Upon returning to our accommodations, we thought it’d be nice to sit by the fire pit with a beer, and just enjoy the night. There was one older guy at the fire pit when we got there. He told us he worked there. He told us to help him get more wood for the fire, so Chris and I went to gather more wood that was stacked outside the reception office. The three of us really just wanted to hang out, didn’t really want to talk to strangers (we’re millennials - stranger danger!) but this man kept talking to us. At first, it was just a little annoying, but then he started asking weird questions. It got uncomfortable so we left. When we got back to our room, Chris and Kevin booby trapped our room from all possible entryways - the main door and the window in the back by the bathroom - using lamps, drawers, chairs - just in case he tried to follow us to our room.

Day 7: Dream, Emerald and Nymph Lakes, RMNP

Thankfully, we did not experience any type of break in, murder, rape or attack in the middle of the night by that weirdo dude we met at the fire pit, but we did entertain ourselves by booby trapping the place!

This day was our first of two days in Rocky Mountain National Park! RMNP is the fourth most visited NP in the US, with 4.3 million visitors in 2022. To help manage the crowds (for safety, resource management, protecting the park, etc), the NPS initiated a Timed Entry system, a variation of which exists today in 2023. I had reserved our Timed Entry Permits for both days we had in the park.

Our first RMNP adventure was to hike Nymph, Dream, Emerald Lakes, a 3.5 mile out and back trail from Bear Lake Trailhead that rewarded us with three lakes. I don’t believe the trail was all that difficult, but we did have some beautiful scenery. The parking lot at the trailhead is big, but fills up early, despite the Timed Entry system. There are restrooms at the trailhead.

We took a drive up Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous paved road in the US, reaching an elevation of 12,183 feet. We didn’t drive the whole length of the road, but we did go far enough to reach the tundra and the Alpine Visitor Center, the highest elevation visitor center in the US National Park System at 11,796' feet. We did encounter some snow, and we didn’t anticipate the weather at the visitor center - it’s very windy which shouldn’t have surprised us. The tundra here is supposedly home to all sorts of colorful alpine plants, and cool animals like pikas, marmots and bighorn sheep, but we didn’t see any of it - well, maybe a marmot. It was very foggy while we were up there, and perhaps maybe too early for the blooms.

Smokin’ Daves was calling our names. I was tempted to get the ribs again but I’m pretty sure I decided to switch it up and got the brisket instead. One of the guys, either Kevin or Chris, got their sausage, which they make in house and it was really good. After dinner, we hung out in our room and watched an AKC agility dog show.

Day 8: Sky Pond

Sky Pond is the iconic RMNP hike because of its dramatic jagged peaks and alpine lakes. Along the trail, you’ll be treated to waterfalls, other lakes, views of the mountains. You climb up a waterfall! Basically, it’s a must-do.

The trail starts at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead - if you can get a parking spot. The parking lot at this trailhead is much smaller than that of Bear Lake Trailhead. We were not one of the lucky ones, so we parked at Bear Lake Trailhead, which made our hike a little bit longer.

The main highlights of the trail include Alberta Falls, the Loch, Timberline Falls, the Lake of Glass and finally Sky Pong and the Sharkstooth.

Maybe around the time we were at the Loch, we heard what we thought was thunder. I do not endorse this - this could have ended badly - but we continued up the trail. It did storm for a little while, but it was luckily a quick passing storm.

Toward the end of the trail, especially since it was June, we encountered snow! Several times actually. Around this area was when we scrambled up Timberline Falls! It’s not a rushing waterfall, but it’s a waterfall all the same! I do want to note that we hiked in our hiking boots, no need for microspikes, and I never felt unsafe. From here, we were almost at the top. It was pretty windy once we reached Sky Pond, but the views were unbeatable. Sky Pond itself, the mountain peaks to the right, if you turned around you’d see the valley and other mountains. Coming down there was another waterfall off to the side we rock hopped and played in for a short while before heading down. On our way down, the rain returned, soaking us as we approached the trailhead and the car. Our mileage round trip was 10.5 miles, including the additional mileage for having to park at Bear Lake Trailhead.

Sky Pond is a long one, but totally worth it! If you could do only one hike in RMNP and have the time, I would recommend this one!

For our last night in Estes Park and our last night in Colorado, we hit up Smokin’ Daves one more time.

Day 9: Denver and travel home

Estes Park is less than an hour and a half from Denver. We were looking for things to do in the Denver area for just a couple hours and went to a wildlife refuge. We figured we’d pick up lunch and eat outside so that’s exactly what we did. Wouldn’t you know it, there’s a Smokin’ Daves in Denver too! We picked up some sausages for the three of us to share - one final treat before coming back to the east coast.

Concluding Thoughts

If it wasn’t already abundantly clear, the place to eat in Estes Park is Smokin’ Daves.

I’ve never experienced this anywhere else. After showering and toweling off, you know how normally your skin still feels a little damp for a couple minutes? That didn’t happen here. I’d be completely dry (except my hair, of course) and I wonder if it was because the air was just that dry. I also remember that Chris and I had nose issues, like the insides of our noses hurt because the air was so dry.

We didn’t know this until we were already there, but there is Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte. Crested Butte is the town itself with the restaurants and shops. Mt. Crested Butte is the downhill skiing area with resorts and vacation rentals. We stayed in Mt. Crested Butte. From Crested Butte, it’s a short drive uphill to get to Mt. Crested Butte. They are close to each other - you can see one from the other - but you probably don’t want to walk it.

RMNP has changed its Timed Entry system several times since it was originally implemented as they find what works best for them. If you plan on visiting RMNP, I recommend visiting the official website.

Remember to always follow the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace.

Colorado is one of the most beautiful states and I feel like this trip was just a teaser for all it has to offer.