A DAY TRIP THROUGH THE LAKES OF GLACIER GORGE

Trailhead: Glacier Gorge Trailhead, Rocky Mountain National Park Starting elevation: 9,240 feet; Highest elevation on the hike: 11,600 feet Route: Glacier Gorge Trailhead to Alberta Falls, then to Mills, Jewel and Black Lakes. From Black, along unimproved trails to Frozen Lake, then returning toward Black Lake via Blue Lake. Out to trailhead from Black. Total trip distance: About 12 miles. Weather/trail conditions: Mid-July; trail mostly dry with occasional muddy sections. Mostly cloudy skies and cool weather throughout the morning, with increasing sunshine and temperatures by midday. Rain and hail from an hour-long afternoon thunderstorm. Lakes completely free of snow and ice with the exception of Frozen Lake, still mostly snow-covered.

The day hike deep in to Glacier Gorge in Rocky Mountain National Park has always been one of my favorites for its variety of scenery. This visit began with an early morning trip on the shuttle bus due to construction on Bear Lake Road, early enough that only ten people were on the bus. As the bus pulled up to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, two of us stepped out in to the cool air to begin our hikes here. The other hiker was a gentleman headed for Pagoda Mountain, a more bold destination than my own goal of Frozen Lake. I began my journey by hiking to Alberta Falls, just ten minutes from the trailhead.

Alberta Falls

Sun rays and cloud cover along trail

As I continued toward Mills Lake, cloudy skies lingered but did not threaten to bring storm activity. The cloudy, cool weather was typical of the summer of 2004 in Colorado. Above Alberta Falls, the trail passes along an exposed ridge well above the creek valley below, with views of Taylor Peak to the west. After a brief hike along the ridge, the trail descends through a set of switchbacks to a trail junction. At the junction, hikers can head north toward Lake Haiyaha, west to Loch Vale, or in my case, south toward Mills Lake. Now just 0.5 miles from Mills Lake, I hiked south from the junction and soon reached the Mills Lake area and its inherent grandeur, with Longs Peak, Pagoda Mountain and Chiefs Head Peak all towering well above the surrounding valley of Glacier Gorge.

Meadow between Jewel and Black Lakes

Mills Lake

After pausing for a morning snack along the picturesque rocky shores of Mills Lake, I continued south toward Black Lake. The trail narrows considerably at this point, and traverses many brief elevation changes and its winds along Mills Lake's eastern shore, reaching Jewel Lake after about 0.4 miles. Jewel, much smaller than Mills, still offers the panorama of Longs, Pagoda and Chiefs Head from its grassy shores. The trail becomes increasingly marshy at Jewel Lake, and passes numerous damp meadows for the next mile. Through this section, the path is almost level, before climbing again near Black Lake. Just north of Black Lake, the trail passes a set of wonderfully scenic cascades on Glacier Creek as the trail climbs to the lake's outlet. The lake lies just above the cascades at 10,620 feet.

McHenrys Peak and Black Lake

13,327' McHenrys Peak

At Black Lake, I sat along the eastern shore and enjoyed the jaw-dropping view of McHenrys Peak rising out of the water. After my break, I headed east on the steep path that leads out of the basin and to the lakes on the shelf above Black Lake. The steep grade through this section requires frequent rest breaks, which are welcomed with views of Glacier Creek dancing along the rocky terrain in a set of cascades that extend for nearly one-half mile. The creek tumbles over 400 feet through this area, with the backdrop of an increasingly impressive view of the east face of McHenry's Peak. As a bonus, the skies began to clear for the first time all day, and seemingly within minutes blue sky dominated the air above me. After I had climbed out of Black Lake's basin, I needed to find a route across the rocky terrain to Frozen Lake. Although I still had about 0.5 mile of distance and 500 feet of elevation to gain, the greater challenge was negotiating across this terrain without being faced with a long rock climb or getting trapped in thick krummholz. I decided to head west past an unnamed pond and then ascend the ridge extending north from the Spearhead. This route enabled me to hop from rock to rock or ascend rock slabs along most of the route, so I was able to minimize the number of steps I took on the fragile tundra. The sunshine was suddenly oppressive in the high elevation and combined with unseasonably warm July temperatures to cause me to reach repeatedly for my water bottles. After a moderate ascent toward Frozen Lake, I had reached a point above the lake on rock slabs, managing to avoid any tricky spots. I then descended to the north end of Frozen Lake, still living up to its name on this warm July day, as over half of the lake was snow and ice covered.

Frozen Lake and Chiefs Head Peak

Longs Peak from Frozen Lake

The Spearhead from Frozen Lake

Frozen Lake from above

I enjoyed lunch at this spot, in between capturing several photos of the great scene that surrounded me at the outlet of Frozen Lake. Longs Peak, The Spearhead, and Chiefs Head Peak all rise from Glacier Gorge in dramatic fashion to magnificent heights. Several climbers also strived to reach those heights, as I watched a pair of hikers ascending the popular climbing wall of The Spearhead's northeast face. Gerry Roach rates this route as a class 5.6 climb in his comprehensive book, "Rocky Mountain National Park: Classic Hikes and Climbs" and also describes the face as "one of the most beautiful rock walls in Colorado". Regardless of the difficulty, the climbers certainly were enjoying a fantastic view from their vantage point on The Spearhead.

Longs Peak and The Spearhead, with arrow pointing to climbers on the Spearhead

Closeup of the climbers on The Spearhead as seen in the previous photo

I had debated all day what to do from this point, and was running out of time to make my way to Green Lake. I opted to descend along my ascent route, but then to make the short side trip to Blue Lake. The descent route was basic and I would have made quick progress back down had I not needed to pause every thirty seconds to take more pictures of the gorgeous surroundings. The sun was bathing everything in afternoon sunshine, highlighting the vibrant colors of the alpine tundra and towering peaks that surrounded me. It was the kind of moment that both the hiker and photographer in me could admit was perfection.

View to Mummy Range from Glacier Gorge, just east of Frozen Lake

McHenrys Peak and glacial erratics near Frozen Lake

McHenrys Peak from above Frozen Lake

Longs Peak and Pagoda Mountain

I quickly returned to the creek between Green Lake and Black Lake, crossing it just above the top of Black Lake's basin. From here, I picked my way among krummholz and up a moderately steep ridge toward Blue Lake. The lake is well above treeline, and is bordered by a rocky shoreline with occasional krummholz, leaving Blue Lake rather bleak. The scenery at the lake makes up for its lack of shore detail, as views of McHenrys Peak, Thatchtop, and the Mummy Range highlight the setting. The lake itself sits in a shallow bowl tucked in between an otherwise steep ridge that extends from between Storm Peak and Longs Peak down to the valley below Black Lake. After a brief visit, I headed back for Black Lake.

Blue Lake and McHenrys Peak

Blue Lake from the south

Sunshine continued to showcase the colors of the tundra as I descended toward Black Lake. I was now encountering the first hikers I had met on the trail all day, as several people made their way up the steep trail toward me. The view to the west with McHenrys Peak dwarfing Black Lake was truly magnificent. After reaching the lake, I again stopped to take in the grand setting.

Creek running west toward Black Lake

McHenrys Peak, Black Lake

Black Lake

Outlet stream from Black Lake

The afternoon was growing later, and thunderstorms began to threaten all around me, as typically happens on a summer afternoon in Rocky Mountain National Park. I quickened my pace as I descended from Black Lake, again encountering several groups of hikers still heading up to the lake or just starting back. Between Mills and Black, the trail is a combination of rocky, sandy, and marshy and rarely maintains a straight heading for more than a hundred feet. Care is also required by hikers to avoid twisting an ankle on any of the thousands of exposed tree roots that are constantly under foot between Mills and Black Lakes. Despite all this, I was able to descend quickly toward Mills Lake, reaching the north end of the lake after forty minutes, only to be greeted by very dark skies and a loud rumble of thunder.