Another great day of hiking in the Rockies. We did it a little different today. Although, yesterdays hike was beautiful, there were just too many people sharing the same trail. Todd and I like to find the trails less traveled. Needless to say, that is hard to do in a National Park. We did. We went to our little breakfast spot, The Other Side, and chatted it up with a local. He pointed our hiking boots in the right direction.
For those not familiar with RMNP, it is a massive park. In addition to the East and West entrance, there are many, “off the beaten path” entrances. These entrances do not connect you into the main park, but lead to some of the most beautiful trails in the park. They are not crowded because they are the parks best kept secrets. Today we took a locals suggestion and drove out to “Wild Basin” trail.
The trail has many options and is an in and out. The waterfalls, all three, are breathtaking. It was .25 of a mile to the trail head. The first fall you meet is the Copeland Fall and is about .30 mile in. The entire hike is up, and the only break you get is at the switchbacks leading to the top falls. I did great today with my breathing, although Todd (who always steams), had a little trouble on the first leg of the hike. We checked out these lower falls and then trekked up to Calypso Falls and ended at Ouzel (pronounced weasel) falls (2.7 miles) with an elevation gain of about 1000 feet. Our hike totaled 6.5 miles. The only people we shared the trail with were hardcore hikers. Then this happened.
On our way up, there was a young couple. You could see they were hikers, but the altitude was getting to the girl. They continued to climb and trailed behind us. Todd and I reached the summit and main falls. It was a rock scramble at the top, but well worth it. We took some pics and caught our breath. By this time the couple shared the space with us, he set up his tripod and camera. I started chatting with him about photography and then Todd and I moved to head back. Then it happened, he proposed to the girl in front of the camera (he set up) and the beautiful waterfall. I got so choked up, Todd and I felt so blessed to have witness this. I hope they have a beautiful life together.
It did my heart good. We have encountered so many young couples with babies strapped to their back, making the hikes and sharing the experience with their young ones. I sometimes resent that I grew up in the city, and my parents were not the outdoorsy type. I regret not hiking when I was younger, I feel like I missed out on a lot. Nevertheless, I cast those regrets to the wind and keep on making new hiking memories and pushing myself to make up for lost time.
We met quite a few young solo hikers, making their way cross country. It was very impressive. One boy just graduated HS in Cali, and wanted to hike the entire summer, before college would begin for him.
We visited Saint Malo Church (Chapel on a Rock), I went in and said a prayer. It is a beautiful church.
Our day ended with dinner and plans to hit the hay by 8:00. We have a busy day on the rapids tomorrow.
Note: If you are making this trip, make sure you purchase your “America the Beautiful” pass. Not only did it save us money, but it gets you past the lines quicker, it is like an EZpass. Our fees go toward the maintenance of our National Parks and the many restrooms throughout the park.
Somewhere in America 