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June 29 - July 30, 2007 Other Trips
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This year, Emily and I only had two days to spend at RMNP, so we decided to hike deep into Wild Basin. My previous exploration of Wild Basin was limited to numerous hikes to Ouzel Falls, so I was very excited to finally be venturing further into the region. There are several beautiful lakes deep in Wild Basin, but reaching them either requires a very long day-hike or backcountry camping. We opted for the latter, reserving two nights at the N. St. Vrain backcountry site, about a mile beyond Ouzel Falls.
We planned to hike in on Day 1, set up camp, and then take a quick hike up to Thunder Lake. On Day 2, we planned to hike to the Lion Lakes region. As you can see from the map, this plan required several miles of backtracking between the lakes and camp. To avoid this backtracking, many utilize the Thunder Lake backcountry sites as a base for exploring the region. However, we decided against lugging our packs an additional 3 miles and 1,000 feet in elevation gain and, in retrospect, we made the right choice!
We left Wichita on a Thursday after work and drove as far as the outskirts of Denver. Friday morning, we arose early and reached the Wild Basin TH by 7:45. After picking up our backcountry permit from the Wild Basin Ranger Cabin and taking a few pictures at the trailhead, we were ready to hit the trail.
(Place cursor over picture for caption. Click on picture to enlarge.)
Having covered the familiar terrain from the TH to Ouzel Falls many times before, we moved quickly down the trail, bypassing the Copeland Falls altogether and stopping only briefly at Calypso Cascades and Ouzel Falls. You can read more about this portion of the trail here.
I had Emily take a few shots of me at the bridge below Ouzel Falls, which marked the furthest I had ever ventured in Wild Basin.
From Ouzel Falls, it is .8 miles to the N. St. Vrain backcountry site. This stretch of trail is heavily-forested and actually dips down in elevation before rising back towards the camp. Midway to the camp, the trail divides towards Ouzel and Bluebird Lakes (more on this hike below). Continuing on, we reach the campsite just after crossing back over the Noth St. Vrain river. The camp is located right at the junction between the main trail which continues on towards Thunder and the Lion Lakes, and an unimproved “fire trail” which takes a more direct route back to the TH. Numerous backcountry sites are located along this trail and it shaves about a half-mile off of your hike, but it is steeper, rockier, and not nearly as scenic, bypassing both Calypso Cascades and Ouzel Falls.
We reached camp at 11:30, ditched our packs, set up our tent, and assembled our day-pack. I mistakenly believed that this camp had a bear box (it does not) so I had to improvise a bear bag from a mesh bag and a bit of rope. Then, we hit the trail for Thunder.
The trail to Thunder Lake seems longer than 3 miles. It isn’t terribly steep, but the climb is relentless. Much of the trail is thinly-forested – enough trees to block any mountain vistas, but not enough to provide good shade. Temps climbed above 80 degrees and it made for an uncomfortably long hike. We were very glad that we chose to camp where we did! Fortunately, the trail crosses a few small stream along the way.
About two miles from the N. St. Vrain campsite, Mertensia Falls is visible to the south across the valley. It is a very impressive waterfall but, unfortunately, I never got closer than my view from the trail.
Finally, just before reaching Thunder Lake, the trail crosses a few more streams and dips down in elevation.
A large, marshy meadow lies just to the east of Thunder Lake. Unfortunately, it was still largely covered with snow at this time, though the trail was completely dry. There is also a Ranger Cabin at the east end of Thunder Lake. It is locked, but has a large overhang and a nice log bench to take a rest.
My honest impression of Thunder Lake was that it was a big, beautiful alpine lake with an impressive mountain backdrop, but that is was no more beautiful than many other lakes in the park, and much harder to get to.
Aptly enough, thunderstorms came rolling in and we quickly retreated back down the trail, arriving back at camp around 4:00 p.m. We had hiked about 9 miles so far, and Emily decided to take a much-deserved nap. I still had plenty of energy, so I decided to venture back down towards Ouzel Falls. Along the way, I decided to explore the trail to Ouzel Lake. This trail rises sharply out of the trees to a ridge passing through a large area devastated by forest fire. With much of the tree cover cleared away, the area is now heavily populated with wildflowers.
I have often viewed this area by hiking up above Ouzel Falls (see here) and it was interesting to get a different perspective from higher up. I covered the 1.8 miles to Ouzel Lake quickly, passing a ptarmigan and several marmots along the way. Ouzel Lake was pretty, but nothing to write home about. Unfortunately, I had no time to continue on Bluebird Lake, as I had promised Emily I wouldn’t be gone more than 2 hours.
Back at camp, Emily and I had a delicious “heater meal” dinner followed by Oreos for dessert. We waded in the N. St. Vrain River for a bit, but hit the sack early. Tomorrow we would be rising early to hike to the Lion Lakes.
All images © Brad Mirakian. Please contact me to obtain pricing information for prints and licensing.