We started off at Hollowell park that we decided was just one huge wind tunnel.
Once we fought our way through the wind and into the trees, we found the first of what would turn out to be a lot of snow.
The next time we made it out of the trees we came across a herd of elk. They heard us before we really had the change to see the, so they were running away by the time I got the camera ready. They weren't too close, thankfully, but still neat to see them.
Then we came across a man (the only person we saw until we got to the lake). Turned out he took a wrong turn some miles back and had to turn around and go back the way he came, which happened to be the way we were going. "There are some pretty high snow drifts up ahead that come up to your knees," he warned us. We thanked him, and he headed on with his fishing gear ahead of us.
It became very clear to us that the trail hadn't yet been groomed for the season. The trees that had been torn down by high winds and avalanches crossed our path throughout the journey to Cub Lake, causing a few instances of "where does the trail go?"
The farther we headed into the mountains, the more snow we saw. Some of it was new snow that had fallen the night before that coated the ground beautifully.
Then came the snow drifts we had been warned about. The man wasn't kidding, but lucky for us he had come and gone so that we had footprints to follow. As an important part of the adventure, a dorky photo was a must.
But a mis-step and twisted knee turned dorky photo into epic photo. Notice Clara behind me taking what I'm sure is a very embarrassing video of my attempt across the snow drift.
Clara enlisted a tree in some help through the snow.
Why...yes, I do think the trail goes this way...some where...
Occasionally we looked back and thought, "Did we just cross that?" And no, the camera is not tilted.
Eric led the way to show the trees who's boss. If snow drifts don't stop us, trees don't stand a chance.
At least the snow cleared up, and the lake was finally in sight. We headed down the mountain to the beautiful Cub Lake.
We stopped and sat in the sun and ate some snacks. We saw some ducks who were near the edge of the lake eating whatever it is that ducks eat.
But apparently whatever was in the lake wasn't nearly as good as my Cliff bar because as soon as I opened it, someone came looking to see what I was up to.
They eventually got bored with us when they realized we weren't going to feed them. We saw a beaver gathering wood for his dam. Turns out beavers are pretty small. I couldn't quite capture him on camera.
Saw a cool lake plant, too.
We weren't interested in heading back up the snow drifts to get back to the car, so we headed from the lake a different way. It was a much taming trail. It had been groomed so the trees were not trying to take over, and we came across plenty of people.
And then we saw more elk!
Oh, Rocky Mountain National Park, you are just too beautiful for words.
And we came across another beautiful flower (while somewhat unsure of our direction and travelling on a trail made for horses). Always knowing where you're going and how much farther you have to go is over-rated.
We made it out of the mountains and had to walk the last mile along the road. It wasn't the most beautiful trail, and clearly we weren't allowed to be on that trail.
This dear wasn't too keen on having us on his trail. His entire family was watching us--some 5-7 others just hanging out off the trail. But he was nice and offered to lead us part of the way.
I think it's pretty clear that this was a successful start to the 2012 hiking season. Nothing beats slippery snow drifts, overly friendly ducks, herds of elk, and the Rocky Mountains.
