Hiking Four Lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park

Today was our first day of hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, and we wanted to pick a hike that would give us a chance to get used to the high altitudes.  The hikes to Emerald Lake and Bear Lake, with stops at Nymph Lake and Dream Lake, sounded about right:  five miles of moderate uphill hiking at from 9,500 to 10,200 feet.  This would tell us if we were ready for more strenuous outings.

We were told that these hikes present some of the most beautiful views in the park, and we were not disappointed.

Our first stop was Nymph Lake, where thousands of water lilies floated amiably in the clear green water, as the bright morning light filtered through the trees:

Hallett Peak "peeks" over the lake between two closer rocky outcrops, the first of many views we got of Hallett Peak:



Thatchtop Mountain, The Sharkstooth and Otis Peak loomed over us as we climbed from Nymph Lake:

Tyndall Creek, which originates at the Tyndall Glacier far up behind Hallett Peak, burbled merrily by the side of our trail as we climbed:

Soon we arrived at Dream Lake, which is the largest of the first three lakes on this trail.  Here, Hallett Peak again rises in the background, along with a first view of Flattop Mountain on the right (don't ask us why it's called Flattop when it's so jagged, but so it is):

Hallett Peak is just so photogenic, it stole the show from David, who was trying to show that he walked to balance-beam logs to get out to a huge rock surrounded by the waters of Dream Lake:

Looking back down Dream Lake behind us as we hiked, we saw hillsides covered with pine and fir:

Here we are at Emerald Lake, a true glacial tarn with clear, emerald green water, dominated by Hallett Peak:

Hiking the return, we looked back over our shoulder at Hallett Peak again, this time with Tyndall Creek in the foreground:



This was another pretty view of Hallett Peak on the left, Flattop Mountain on the right, and Tyndall Creek running into the foreground:

This was another exceptional view of our three friends, Thatchtop, The Sharkstooth and Otis Peak:

Having completed the trail up to Emerald Lake, we circled back over to Bear Lake and caught a striking glimpse of Long's Peak across the lake, from a different direction than the view we get in our campground:

We noted a little lightheadedness once or twice, and the uphills were a little breathier than normal, but we paced our walking and eating, and we felt fine the whole way, full of energy when we completed the hiking.  So we feel our bodies passed this high altitude challenge and we'll be ready for the next ones.

We have a long weekend visiting Sir William and his parents in Toronto, but will be back in the mountains again early next week.  Stay tuned for more beautiful mountain scenery.  Maybe, if we're lucky, we'll get some colorful aspen photos, or dramatic elk or moose shots!