Sky Pond via Bear Lake (Glacier Gorge TH) - Oct. 25, 2008

Oct. 25 Ron and I set out for Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park via the Glacier George trail head at Bear Lake. This was the first time I could remember being in RMNP and at first site entering Estes Park from U.S. 36 I was greeted with a predominant rage of 13,000 Ft. peaks that border the park... more items for the to-do list. Not to mention an incredible view of the Northeast face of Longs Peak.

We left the car and headed out on the trail head around 8:30am, I don't think either of us were prepared for how cold and windy the day was going to be. Or rather I should say we were adequately prepared for the cold physically but not mentally. Nevertheless it was a beautiful morning and despite being a fairly popular "day touristy" spot due to the beauty of Berthoud Falls, it was still quite early and we had planned to get up as close to Sky Pond as possible which meant that as the day went on the chances of seeing many other people diminished.


Making our way up the trail we passed Berthoud falls which was completely frozen over by this time of year. Continuing on I was surprised to find that there's a trail up to Longs Peak via this trail head, just over eight miles past the break from the Glacier George TH to the Boulder Field. Ascending Longs via this route would make an already extremely long hike even longer calling for either a night camped or a very long day. Just short of 3 miles from the TH the trail splits heading either towards Black Lake or Sky Pond via Loch Vale, our destination. Judging from the amount of tracks in the snow, the trip to Loch Vale and Sky Pond was obviously the less traveled.

Once we reached Loch Vale the views began to open open up, first of Taylor Peak in the distance with a backdrop of Taylor Glacier and The Sharks Tooth obscured but to the right, and ultimately the base of our destination.
On the north side of The Sharks Tooth is part of the long ridge of Otis Peak with Andrews Glacier partially visible between.



As we gained elevation and approached Sky Pond, exposure increased and the wind began to be a factor, freezing everything in its path. This created some great scenery as well as slightly more challenging terrain as we made our way up through an arguably class three frozen drainage. Above the frozen drainage area opened up into the the basin of Taylor Peak and with little to nothing to knock down the wind it began to be quite a struggle to continue, at times being necessary to take a defensive stance to keep from being blown off the edge the we just climbed. After a short break and few pictures of the path up we turned back for the day. By now nearly 12:30.



The view of the climb back down from the basin of Taylor Peak.


Once we got back down out of the wind we took a break to eat lunch and encountered the first set of people since we split from the path to Black Lake. One of the interesting things about this hike that in way boosts the ego are the looks that people give you as you get closer to the cars and begin to see many more people out on their nature hikes. On a day like this near Sky Pond I venture to say that the temperature wasn't much above the 20's, near the trail head though temperatures are pushing their way out of the 60's. People in shorts without shirts look at you like wow that guy really over dressed for the occasion. Little do they know.
Additional Photos