Sky Pond

June 25, 2013

If you come to Rocky Mountain National Park, and you want to do one moderately difficult hike with huge payoffs in scenic beauty, Sky Pond is your best choice.

Today we did what we were supposed to do and woke up at 6:00 am, with the intent to be at the trailhead ay 7:30. Everything went pretty well. We skipped breakfast, except for the PBJs Vicki made in the car on the ride up there. The construction on the roads in the park made us about 45 minutes late. We overpacked, with enough gorp for 2 meals.
Thank goodness we brought gloves and hat. The wind was either steady or gusting up to 45 mph, depending if you were in the trees or in the open.
This is an extremely popular hike, with beautiful waterfalls and lakes for the entire length. It is 8.6 miles round trip, with an elevation gain of 1,500 feet. At an altitude of between 9,180 and 10,600 feet, for a flatlander, it'll make you walk in baby steps for the steep parts.
The good thing about that is, the crowds thin out about half way up.