Colorado - Rocky Mountain National Park
Cub Lake Trail - August 18, 2013
Elevation gain - 540 feet
Distance Round Trip - 4.6 miles
Characters - Alicen (me), Nathan (my boyfriend of 15 years)
After setting up camp we decided to go for a short hike to acclimate ourselves to a higher altitude. If you have ever hiked at higher altitudes you'll know that even an "easy" hike can be exhausting.
The hike started off on pretty level ground, skirting one edge of Moraine Park. I remember Nathan and I being amazed at the wide open space.
We saw some Golden Mantle Ground Squirrels and a curious Yellow Bellied Marmot. Seeing new types of wild life always thrills me.
We passed several marshy areas and beaver ponds.
A forest fire occurred here in 2012. It was remarkable to see all the new growth amongst the burnt trees.
As we hiked up... we came across a thick grove of Aspen trees. Later I would learn that this Aspen grove is a kind of marker, approximately 1.75 miles from the trailhead.
It was beginning to get late in the day. We didn't how much farther Cub Lake was, but we both determined it was time to turn around if we wanted the energy to make it back to the campground.
Even though we didn't make it to our "destination" we had a great time on our first Colorado Rocky Mountain Hike.
After setting up camp we decided to go for a short hike to acclimate ourselves to a higher altitude. If you have ever hiked at higher altitudes you'll know that even an "easy" hike can be exhausting.
The hike started off on pretty level ground, skirting one edge of Moraine Park. I remember Nathan and I being amazed at the wide open space.
We saw some Golden Mantle Ground Squirrels and a curious Yellow Bellied Marmot. Seeing new types of wild life always thrills me.
We passed several marshy areas and beaver ponds.
A forest fire occurred here in 2012. It was remarkable to see all the new growth amongst the burnt trees.
As we hiked up... we came across a thick grove of Aspen trees. Later I would learn that this Aspen grove is a kind of marker, approximately 1.75 miles from the trailhead.
It was beginning to get late in the day. We didn't how much farther Cub Lake was, but we both determined it was time to turn around if we wanted the energy to make it back to the campground.
Even though we didn't make it to our "destination" we had a great time on our first Colorado Rocky Mountain Hike.
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| Walking from Moraine Campground down to the Cub Lake Trailhead. |
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Walking from Moraine Campground down to the Cub Lake Trailhead. |
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| Adorable Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel. |
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| Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel. |
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| Yellow Bellied Marmot watching us. |
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| Yellow Bellied Marmot. |
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| Marsh along the Cub Lake Trail. |
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| Although damaged by fire the colors through this part of the hike were vibrant. |
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| A grove of Aspen trees damaged from a forest fire. |
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| One of the many beaver ponds along the trail to Cub Lake. |
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| Our turn around point. |
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| Moraine Park on our way back to the campground. |
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