Backpacking the Never Summer Wilderness: Day 2

 The next morning, I hiked for a few minutes around the lake to warm up and had the treat of watching the sunrise over the far western mountains I mentioned earlier, including Longs Peak. Parika Lake had frozen overnight and my tent was still standing. It was so quiet, serene and jaw-dropping picturesque. I found a run-off stream that had a tiny opening melted away, big enough for me to fill my water bottle with and boil to make breakfast: dehydrated biscuits and gravy and fruit. Keeping the stove lit, I collected more water and boiled it for drinking.

While spooning away at my dehydrated food pouch, I heard a big crash. I looked over my shoulder and up on the edge of one of the peaks surrounding the lake were a group of bighorn sheep, two of them bashing their horns into one another in a fit of rage. They would stare each other down for a few seconds and attack. It was the only noise you could hear at this elevation, everything else was silent. Fascinating. This may go down in my books as the best backpacking I’ve ever done, up at Parika Lake.

I tore down my tent, packed up and took one last prolonged look at the alpine lake I fell in love with. Originally, I had hopes to climb to the top of Parika Peak, but there was, way too big of an avalanche risk judging the terrain and snow coverage on the way up. I found my trail I carved the prior night and headed down back a few miles to the trail split to start day two of exploring the Never Summer Wilderness.

Backpacking the Never Summer Wilderness: Day 1

After arriving late into Denver on Thursday night and speeding up Berthoud Pass to the Fraser Valley, I got a room at the YMCA of the Rockies Snow Mountain Ranch and just crashed.

 
Friday I awoke and gave myself a full day to acclimate to the altitude, as our definition of high-points in Wisconsin are small glacier kames that don’t surpass 1,000ft by a long shot. It was a day of catching up with old best friends and co-workers, making last-minute trips to the local gear shop in Fraser and a warm-up hike to the ranch’s waterfall trail. Later that night, my former boss and her husband hosted me for a glorious dinner at their home at Granby Ranch where I used to ski. Mary Ann and Andrew, I’m incredibly grateful for the two of you. 

Saturday I was up at sunrise and packed my suitcase before heading to the YMCA's dining hall, where I devoured my last full hearty meal before heading to the backcountry. Let’s rewind for a second to right at dawn. While pulling together all of my gear, sprawled out over one of the two beds in my lodge room, I paused and reflected for a few minutes, determining if I were ready for what I was about to take on. When it comes to solo adventures, you can have all your homework and research done, be physically fit at the top of your regiment, and stockpiled with every piece of necessary outdoor gear possible…but if you aren’t ready then the trip is a wash. I ran through a series of affirming questions, checking to ensure I was confident, content, and capable once I arrived at the trailhead in an hour. Good to go. I pulled into Rocky Mountain National Park and drove about six miles into the park to the Baker/Bowen Trailhead. Truthfully, there isn’t a single location on earth that makes my heart stop and send chills up and down my entire body like Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s a tremendously important place to me for a lot of reasons and its quite possibly the most majestic place I’ve ever been to. It’s just so beautiful.