Wild Thing: Mountain Goats

So you might have noticed that I saw mountain goats when I was at Mt. Evans...  And you probably figured that I took more than enough pictures of them.  I did.  And you are lucky enough that you get to see them.  I don't know a lot about mountain goats, except that I think they are awesome little buggars and they blend into the mountain pretty darn well.  Oh and they don't like dogs.  A forest ranger told us that.  We had the dog with us and totally didn't see the goat, but he told that they don't like each other much and who knows what would happen if they got too close.

Lily Lake

I had such a hard time getting motivated for my day off.  I woke up early as always, but went back to sleep for at least another hour.  I had no idea what I wanted to do.  A part of me just wanted to be lazy and not leave the room, but I had to do something.  I went to breakfast and decided to go to lily lake.  It is about 7 miles south of Estes.  It is a short trail around the lake.  I took a book, my journal and the camera and that is how I spent my morning.

Alberta Falls... Alberta Falls...

That Thursday, the other hike I did was to Alberta Falls.  I left from the Glacier Gorge trailhead; not far from Bear Lake.  I was warned by the park service (volunteer??) that the whole trail was still covered in snow.  I wasn't too concerned as it a short hike only .6 miles in and .6 miles out... actually I think it was closer to .9 in and out.  Their signs were sending me mixed messages.  The first .3 miles was pretty dry, and as I came to a bridge over a raging stream I noticed it was snow covered.

Bear Lake

I had Thursday off and I got up early and did some easy hiking.  I first went to Bear Lake, and then to Alberta Falls.  So June in Rocky Mountain is still pretty snowy.  And in some places it hasn't melted yet, and both of my destinations were such places.  Bear Lake was mostly frozen still and the path still covered in snow.  It made for some unique hiking.

Bear Lake is an incredibly short nature walk, though due to the snow, I only walked around half of the lake and went back the way I had come.  I just wasn't feeling to secure in snow.  I am not always the graceful sort and the last thing I wanted on my day off was to tumble into freezing cold waters.  But it was such a pretty day that it was totally worth it.  I love the drive to the lake and the walk was so much fun, and it was gorgeous anyways.  Win-Win!

Coulson Gulch: First Hike of the Summer

I went hiking today, since I am here writing this it means I survived it.  It nearly killed me though, I am not as the greatest of shape, not completely used to this altitude.  That is what killed me the most, the altitude, I can suffer though normally, but there were times I was almost sick.  Not fun, but the destination was well worth the journey!