Boulder County Wandering
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    • A Shoe Odyssey
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Rocky Mountain National Park

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Map from NPS highlighting the different ecosystems (Alpile, Subalpine and Montane) within the park.

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Longs Peak Area


Odessa Gorge

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Tyndall Gorge

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Moraine Park

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Looking into Spruce Canyon from Moraine Park at sunset. Jan 21 2017
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Another View of Spruce Canyon at Sunset. Jan 21, 2017

Loch Vale

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Loch Vale (Early March 2017)
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Sky Pond, Early March 2017

Loch Vale Trip Reports

Winter Backpacking to Sky Pond
Snowshoeing to the Loch

Glacier Gorge

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Glacier Gorge in winter (Jan 21, 2017)
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Glacier Gorge viewed on the approach to Flattop Mt.
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Black Lake in winter (Jan 21 2017).
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Looking down on Black Lake. In the background are McHenry's Peak (center) and Arrowhead (right). Dec 09, 2017

Glacier Gorge Trip Reports

Snowshoeing to Black Lake
Black, Blue and Green Lakes

Wild Basin

Wild Basin is my favorite area of the whole park and represents National Parks at their best: jaw dropping scenery and few people if you're willing to work for it.  The Hunters Creek area directly behind Mt. Meeker, Longs Peak and Pagoda Peak is probably the most spectacular place I've been in my whole life. Its not accessed by any standard trail (and NPS doesn't discourage visits) and it feels truly rugged and wild.
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From left to right: Tanima Peak, Pilot Mt., Mt Alice, Chiefs Head Peak and Mt. Meeker. Pagoda Peak and Longs Peak are hidden (between Chiefs Head Peak and Mt. Meeker)
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From left to right: Chiefs Head Peak, Pagoda Mt., Longs Peak and Mt. Meeker
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Mt. Alice
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Looking south into Wild Basin from Chiefs Head Peak. July 02, 2018
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Looking NE (backwards) into Wild Basin on the approach to Tanima Peak. June 02, 2018
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North face of Mt. Copeland. Photo taken from valley above Bluebird Lake, Oct 29, 2017
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My campsite in Hunters Creek below Pagoda Peak, Longs Peak, and Mt. Meeker on my "Wild Basin High Route". July 01 2018.

Wild Basin Trip Reports

Eagle Lake (WINTER 2019, OVERNIGHT BACKPACK)
Wild Basin High Route (Summer 2018, 3 day Mountaineers backpacking route)
Wild Basin Snowshoeing (Winter 2018, Dayhike)
Isolation Lake (Late Fall 2017, Overnight Backpack)
Pear Lake (Winter 2017, Overnight Backpack)
Thunder Lake (Winter 2017, Overnight Backpack)
Ouzel Lake (Fall 2017, Dayhike)


Mummy Range and Northern Boundary

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Looking towards the southern region of the Mummy Range from near Kruger Rock near Estes Park. From left to right starting at the valley: Mt. Chapin, Mt. Chiquita Ypsilon Mt. and Fairchild Mt. The valley between Ypsilon Mt. and Fairchild Mt is one of my favorite parts of the park. Finds like this are one of the perks of getting scared by a cloud and bailing early.
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Looking west into RMNP from the Estes Park overlook
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Looking north towards Ypsilon Mt. from Mt. Chiquita
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Looking towards the Mummy Range in northern RMNP from Commanche Peak. Evening June 02, 2018
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Mt. Ikoko above Mirror Lake. Early morning, June 03 2018.

Mummy Range Trip Reports

Comanche Peaks, Mirror Lake and Northern RMNP (Early Summer 2018, Overnight Backpack)
Lost Lake/North Fork (Winter 2018, Overnight Backpack)
Mummy Kill (Summer 2017, Day hike)
Lawn Lake (Winter 2017, Overnight Backpack)

Western RMNP

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Looking towards Mt. Craig on the way to Lake Verna. June 10 2017
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Gorge Lakes near Mt. Ida. From Day 1 of the Pfiffner Traverse
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From Day 2 of the Pfiffner Traverse.
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Western RMNP Trip Reports

Lake VerNA (Early summer 2017, Overnight backpack)
PfiFfner Traverse Day 1: MT IDA, CHIEF CHELEY PEAK, CRACKTOP
PFIFFNER TRAVERSE DAY 2: KNOBTOP MT, PTARMIGAN PT, FLATTOP MT, HALLET PEAK, OTIS PEAK
PFIFFNER TRAVERSE DAY 3: NORTH INLET, EAST INLET, ISOLATION PEAK PASS, PARADISE PARK

Camping in RMNP

In years past I've avoided RMNP in the summer due to the crowds, and the hassle of securing a backcountry campsite many months in advance.  However, I recently realized that there are a number of backcountry zones in more remote areas of the park which are in general not accessed by trails.  In the map below, backcountry campsites are indicated with black triangles and the cross-country zones are indicated in light solid green.  A higher resolution pdf can be downloaded below.  
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campsite_map_small-2016.pdf
File Size: 622 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

backcountry_guide_2014.pdf
File Size: 1657 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Interactive Caltopo map of RMNP

I put the majority of my Google Earth (read: GPS) files for Rocky Mountain National Park onto this Caltopo map.  It includes all of the mapping information required for planning an overnight trip in the park, including car campgrounds, designated backcountry campsites and even the technical cross-country zones (which I crudely sketched myself based on the NPS document above) .  It also includes other placemarks like peaks, mountain passes, lakes, waterfalls, meadows, trailheads, trails etc.

Of particular interest is a collection of "Misc Mountaineering Routes" in the park.  These are taken from my own GPS tracks, GPS tracks of other people that I found online, and also simply sketching an approximate route onto the maps based off of guidebooks.  These are thick, dashed lines and are color coded according to difficulty.  I have tried to include an appropriate guidebook reference under "comments" for each route.  

Class 1: Green
Class 2: Light Blue
Class 3: Blue
Class 4: Purple
Class 5: Black

  • Interactive Caltopo Map of RMNP: https://caltopo.com/m/TNT4

Misc RMNP Links

Webcams:  www.nps.gov/romo/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm
Trail Conditions:  ​www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/trail_conditions.htm

References/Suggested Reading

Books
  • Best Hikes Rocky Mountain National Park by Kent Dannen
    • Honestly, I don't use this anymore since it only covers the standard classic hikes and I've basically done all of those.  It was useful when I started so I'm including it here.  
  • Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide by Lisa Foster
    • ​I've grown to like this book more and more the longer I've had it.  
  • Rocky Mountain National Park by Richard Rossiter
    • ​A new book focused more on technical climbing but also has some info on scrambles.  The photos are fantastic. 
  • Rocky Mountain National Park: Classic Hikes and Climbs by Gerry Roach
    • FYI: This one is out of print and actually has some significant errors.  Fortunately, I bought my copy from Gerry Roach's website several years ago and the version he sent me had handwritten notes marking all the errors.  
  • Colorado's Thirteeners: From Hikes to Climbs by Gerry Roach
    • ​All of the RMNP information in this book (routes on Mt. Meeker) is included in his RMNP book but I'm including it since the RMNP book is out of print and apparently the 13ers book is being reprinted and shipping Sept 2018.  
  • Colorado's Front Range Thirteeners by Derek Wolfe
    • This one is quickly becoming a favorite.  It also has great information on obscure scrambles in Indian Peaks Wilderness and other areas.  

Websites/Blog​
  • ​​www.hikingrmnp.org/:  I don't know this guy personally but I admire his dedication.  It looks like he's visited nearly every named destination in RMNP.  The only person I'm aware of that has done this is Lisa Foster.

My RMNP Google Earth Files

The .kmz file has standard placemarks like peaks, lakes, waterfalls, backcountry campsites, cross country zones etc.  The cross-country zones are crudely drawn by me using the polygon tool in Google Earth and are thus only roughly correct.  I've also included official RMNP trails in orange, and area roads in white.  

This is by far the most complete collection of GIS data I have for an area.  
rmnp_apr_06_2018.kmz
File Size: 3206 kb
File Type: kmz
Download File


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  • Home
  • Climate Change and Colorado Wildfires
  • Trip Reports
  • Skills/Gear
    • Intro, External Sources and Misc.
    • Food and Water
    • Shelters
    • Backpacks
    • Sleeping
    • Clothing
    • Winter Camping
    • A Shoe Odyssey
    • Foot Care
    • Maps, Navigation and Weather
    • Off-Trail Route Planning
    • The Perfect Headlight/Flashlights?
    • Misc Small Stuff
    • Photography/Camera
    • Gear Repair and MYOG
  • Places
    • Flatirons
    • Rocky Mountain National Park
    • Indian Peaks Wilderness
    • Lost Creek Wilderness
    • Gore Range
    • Glacier National Park
    • Wind River Range
    • Utah
  • Plants and Wildlife
  • To Do
  • About
  • Contact