Estes Park, CO: Camping in Moraine Valley

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Flag of United States Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Saturday, May 26, 2007

Karen and I met on 14ers.com – a site that 14ers climbers come together to arrange trips and offer each other advice and status / trip reports that illustrate the condition of the trails. We decided to meet at Rocky Mountain National Park for the first time. Karen, Ginger, and Justin chose Moraine Valley of the Rocky Mountain National Park to camp -- it's one of the coldest camping spots since the topography of the terrain routinely channels cold air from the glaciers above and funnels it through the valley floor. Expressing “Brrrrr!” is an understatement. When I arrived, they had just finished setting up the tents. I received the best smile and hug from Karen. We unloaded our supplies and then went on a short 5-mi hike to Cub Lake; I asked an elderly couple who camped nearby to adopt me since they were grilling steaks...they said they would. It seemed everyone had something simmering on their grill so Justin and I headed out to the store in Estes Park and got ourselves more firewood and STEAKS

Moraine Valley Camp Site

! Mmmmm yummy! Then off to the "Comfort Room" to brush and wash-up for bed. I had borrowed Nick’s minus 20-degree sleeping bag to keep me warm! It was c-c-cold! I needed something soft for my head and Karen gave me one of her pillows. We kissed good night and slept like babies!

We woke rather late on Sunday morning so we decided to attempt taking Flattop Mountain (12,324 ft.) -- We didn't summit it due to the incredible amount of snow. Starting from 9,600 ft. to the summit, we had to posthole our way up and down the trail. We couldn't tell where the snowfield ends and the Tyndal Glacier begins, but their melting would feed into Emerald Lake. The view from Emerald Lake lookout point was amazing! I'm glad to be there again...this time with a digital camera not a film-based one. The diamond-head summit of Longs Peak (14,255') dominates the entire area since it's the park's highest point. I remember climbing it with Alex, Nick, Nadia, and Ben in 1999. We paused again for one last picture to capture how GREEN Colorado could be. This is the most green I've seen in over a decade. In a month's time, there will be MILLIONS of flowers in the basins, in particular, the American Basin, the Chicago Basin, the Yankee Boy Basin, and the Missouri Gulch. In the afternoon hours, we rendezvous at Bear Lake with Nick and his son, Dakota, who gave me big strong hug! What a great nephew!

Karen at Cub Lake

! We ate Mediterranean pizza at Poppy's in town and saw elks several feet from the restaurant.

I still can't believe how much snow we had so late in the season. Arapahoe Basin was still in full ski/snowboarding operation -- today is its last day! Next year, they're going to expand in a big way by adding 400 acres of the Montezuma Bowl to the resort making it an 80% expansion! I can't wait till 2007-2008 ski season!

Knight,
Journal Entry, June 3, 2007

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