This past weekend I went on a family vacation for the first time since summer 2019. Our family vacations are very different from most others is what I’ve learned. Whenever we travel in North America, we only ever visit national parks or other nature destinations, shunning the city. This trip was no different.

This time, we flew to Denver to hike the nearby Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). We planned to stay there for two nights and Colorado Springs for another night. Unfortunately, Denver weather had different plans. Southwest cancelled all their flights from Phoenix to Denver so instead of leaving Thursday afternoon, I left Friday morning at 6 AM, cutting the trip to only two nights.

I thought the delay would affect the schedule I planned, but surprisingly it didn’t. Growing up, my dad would plan our trips but now I’ve done most if not all of the planning. At Rocky Mountain NP, the hike I was most looking forward to was Sky Pond hike via Glacier Gorge, a 9.4 mile trek past three lakes and (literally) up a waterfall. That was to take place Saturday morning since summer thunderstorms plagued the park in the afternoons. To prepare for such a long and challenging hike at a 9,000+ ft altitude I planned a short, low-elevation gain trail for Friday morning from Bear Lake to Emerald Lake.

Friday, July 2

After arriving to the airport and meeting up with my parents at 11 AM, it took us another three hours to pick up our car rental so it was already 4:30 PM by the time we got to RMNP. Storm clouds were brewing as we headed to Bear Lake. After looping Bear Lake, we decided to continue along the trail to Emerald Lake. It helped that each of the lakes were located around 0.6 miles away from the previous, so we just told ourselves that we could go a little farther. Bear Lake was cute but overcrowded with tourists since it’s a perfect stroll for families or casual tourists (0.5 mi loop). Nymph Lake was about 200 ft higher than Bear Lake and much smaller, named after the yellow lilies dotting its surface. On the segment from Nymph to Crystal Lake, it finally started raining. It was such a shame since Crystal Lake was the most beautiful alpine lake we saw on that trail, and apparently the most photographed lake in the park. As a result as soon as we took our photos, we raced down the mountain back to the car. If we started an hour earlier e.g. our rental pickup took two hours, we would have made it to the last lake on the trail, Emerald Lake.

Saturday, July 3

Saturday was the biggest day of the trip – Sky Pond. I was determined to start early as the parking lot at the trailhead was reported to be filled before 5 AM. After purchasing flashlights the night before, we woke up at 3:40 AM to get to the trailhead by 4:30 AM. On the drive there, there was a stream of cars flooding into the park before sunrise, other hikers also eager to start their trails early. Once we reached the parking lot, we got one of the last five or six spots at 4:32 AM! Since it was an hour before sunrise roughly, the early sun tinted the sky a very dark purple-pink.

Once again, we were very grateful for the 4.7 mile one-way trail to be segmented by lakes, waterfalls, and other “checkpoints” as my brother put it. The hike started smoothly with a not-so-steep gradient. Alberta Falls was the first sight on the trail, about 0.7 mi in. It was still dark by the time we reached it so we forged ahead. After Alberta Falls, the sun had risen but not enough to break the mountain horizons. As we hugged the edge of a cliff, we saw the mountains and forest around us enveloped in an orange glow. Stopping, I took in the view. This was the view I came to RMNP for. Nature literally lit up before my eyes. I wish I were a poet so I could write verses to convey what the view was like in that moment but unfortunately I don’t have the ability to do so.

After we passed the ridge, we ascended more steeply, climbing a series of switchbacks until we reached the Loch, a clear subalpine lake that seemingly stretched toward the foot of the mountains ahead. On the way down, I saw throngs of people at the Loch but in that morning moment, it was just us and another couple at the clear, serene lake. The surface was unbroken and the sun just started to cast its rays on the far side of the lake. I wonder if that’s what it feels like to wake up to a lake in the mornings.

The next stretch of trail led to Timberline Falls. As the trail continued, its difficulty definitely increased. We walked along half the permieter of the lake before reaching a sloping meadow dotted by grey rocks. To be honest, it felt like a scene out of The Lord of the Rings: stones floating in green grass, a staircase leading up to a pristine waterfall framed on a black wall of rocks. Here I started to become separated from my parents because they were having a hard time climbing in already such a high altitude.

The hardest part of the hike was definitely scaling Timberline Falls. The falls weren’t that high but the water was running and the rocks were slippery. There was a part where I wish I learned how to rock climb. I was the only one who climbed up as the rest of my family was exhausted and thus not excited to climb wet rocks.

At the top of the falls, the faux Sky Pond, the Lake of Glass, lied at my feet. I thought that the Loch was the most beautiful lake I had seen at RMNP, but the Lake of Glass surpassed the Loch. It reminded me of Banff’s Lake Louise or Lake Moraine. Nestled right between two peaks, and with vegetation on all four sides, Lake of Glass was the picture-perfect alpine lake. Since I was the only member of my family up there, I was in charge of taking photos. This I did before finishing the trail at Sky Pond, maybe 0.3 miles ahead. Getting to Sky Pond from Lake of Glass required trekking across large rocks and some patches of never-melting snow. To be honest, it wasn’t as beautiful as Lake of Glass because of the lack of vegetation, but it was actually nestled at the crook of the mountains. Up ahead, the peaks looked deceptively close and to the right, the sawtooth tips were the jaws of some mountain god. I asked a stranger to take some photos of me before I went back to Lake of Glass and grabbed some more photos of myself from more strangers. If I could I would’ve just sat at the edge of the Sky, contemplating life and its diminutive stature compared to the mountains around me. However, I needed to get back to my parents before they started thinking I fell into a glacier.

My dad actually did come up the falls right as I was beginning to descend. Apparently I was gone for over an hour and my parents began to worry. We rushed a couple pictures at Lake of Glass before both heading down, which was my biggest fear on the hike. Luckily by that time (9:30-10AM ish), there were a lot more hikers so I followed a line of others descending the falls.

Once down, I got back to the trailhead at 11:11 AM, more than an hour before my parents and brother so I read Where the Crawdads Sing as I waited for them on the car. I started the trail at 4:38 AM so in total the hike took me 6 hours and 33 minutes, including picture stops and the time waiting for my parents to catch up on the trail.

After lunch, I bought a T-shirt at the gift shop. I was having a hard time picking a shirt given that I didn’t like many of the designs but this shirt had a line that spoke to me:

The mountains are calling, and I must go. -John Muir

We concluded our RMNP trip by driving Trail Ridge Road to the western end of the park.

Reflections

Sky Pond was definitely my favorite hike so far in the continental US. The Rockies have my favorite landscapes, and the trail did not disappoint. I would definitely go again with friends and sit for an entire day on the edge of Lake of Glass.

This trip also piqued my enthusiasm about hiking and nature again. I remember dreaming about a national park bulletin board in my room as a kid, pinning all the national park brochures I’d ever received on a map of the US. If I were to become a hermit, a possibility that I’m not ruling out very far into the future, I’d probably say something similar to John Muir. The mountains are calling, and I must go.

Pictures

Pre-dawn park Pre-dawn park

Dawn sun illuminating the mountains Dawn sun illuminating the mountains

The Loch The Loch

View of Timberline Falls View of Timberline Falls

View from atop Timberline Falls to the Loch View from atop Timberline Falls to the Loch

Lake of Glass Lake of Glass

Sky Pond Sky Pond

Sawtooth Peaks at Sky Pond Sawtooth Peaks at Sky Pond