Tag Archives: Wild Basin

Ouzel Falls

27 Sunday Jul 2014

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Wild Basin TrailheadI return to the Wild Basin section of Rocky Mountain National Park this morning.  This time with Karen.  We drive two miles beyond the ranger station and Sandbeach Lake Trailhead to the Wild Basin Trailhead.  Tons of parking and good camp sites along the way.  This trailhead has nice facilities and ample parking, but is also quite packed.  The guidebook states the hike to Ouzel Falls is the most popular route in all of Wild Basin.  I now believe it.  Still, it’s like Bill Bryson’s description of the Appalachian Trail in his book, A Walk in the Woods.  No matter how many people visit the trail, they spread out and it never feels crowded.

Copeland FallsThis trail is popular for several reasons.  The trail is fairly pedestrian – well maintained with an obtainable elevation gain.  The guidebook rates it suitable for families.  The rushing creeks and spectacular falls are stunning.  Plentiful camping sites reward backpackers on their trek to Thunder Lake.  And then there are some nice views of the south side of both Mount Meeker and Longs Peak.  This photo of me sitting on a log is at Copeland Falls which is only a half mile beyond the trailhead.

Calypso FallsThis second set of falls is nearly as impressive as Ouzel.  These are Calypso Falls rising behind us in this photo.  It’s apparent some families are only walking to Copeland Falls.  Calypso is about two miles past the trailhead and would make a satisfying turn-around point.  We witness a little girl, maybe seven years old, get scolded by her father for climbing a rock.  Seriously, drive Trail Ridge Road if you don’t want to get out of your car and walk about.  Although that’s a great road to get out and climb some rocks too.

Ouzel Falls

We hear the roar of rushing water flowing over Ouzel Falls well before we arrive.  This site is 2.7 miles from the trailhead and not at all difficult for a short day hike.  We are almost meandering and it only takes us 90 minutes.  We see this really cool looking bird that I believe is a Steller’s Jay.  We are looking for the Water Ouzel – or American Dipper – for which the creek and falls are named, but don’t see any.  We don’t climb up too close for better views of the falls.  Quite a few people are on the trail spur and Karen’s not a big fan of bushwhacking.  We can’t go beyond this point either as the bridge is washed out.  There’s an alternate, in fact much shorter, route for backpackers headed to Thunder Lake; so the bridge is not an issue.

Mount MeekerWe return without stopping at all the sites.  Many more families are headed up – even though it is now lunch time and rain clouds are forming.  Besides the water features, several spots along the trail open up for nice views of the south side of Mount Meeker and Long’s Peak.  You might have to click on this photo to see it well enough.  The peak above my hat is Mount Meeker.  To its left is Longs Peak.  From our house in Longmont both peaks have the traditional triangle peaks.  And in fact are termed the Twin Peaks.  From this southern view you can see the flat top of Long’s Peak.  Karen has a dance audition in a couple of weekends and I think I might target that date to bring the girls up here.  This is one of those hikes that everyone in the family will love.  It’s 45 minutes from town.  Get your family up here.

Sandbeach Lake

20 Sunday Jul 2014

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trailheadI wake up the girls at 6:30am this morning because they want me to.  We’re headed up to the Wild Basin area in Rocky Mountain National Park for a massive hike to Sandbeach Lake.  Surprisingly, we’re out the door shortly after 7am.  We stop by Big Daddy’s Bagels for something to start our engines before leaving the neighborhood and reach the trailhead by 8am.

rockThe girls climb the first big rock they see.  Brit’s been doing this ever since she saw Lion King as a three year old.  Ellie can’t pass up a good rock either.  She might wish she had because moments after this shot she slipped and slid down, scraping her leg.  She toughs it out though and doesn’t cry.  She toughs out a lot today because not only is our target lake 4.5 miles away from the trailhead, the entire trail is uphill.  Rarely is it overly steep, but uphill at altitude is never easy.
Nice trail for the family and we see several.  We see at least three groups of hikers returning from having camped out at the lake.  Others are returning because they simply started before us.  Smart as today is hot.  There are several camp sites like this one along the way with access to water from a small but strong running stream.  We find this camp sign ironic as the girl’s Uncle Steve has played at the Hole-in-the-Wall on Guadalupe in Austin a million times over the last thirty years.  We figure this camp site is a tribute to that dive bar.

creek crossingThe entire hike is in the trees with only a few spots for views of the valley or Continental Divide.  This is probably a good thing as the temperature soars well above 90° today.  We take advantage of several creek crossings to cool off.  Ellie is emboldened by her water-proof hiking boots and wades into deeper water than us to cool off.  Brit and I can’t believe her feet remain dry.  She pushes the boundaries often drowning her bootlaces.  My RMNP trail guidebook suggests there are some downhill segments, but no down slopes ever present themselves for more than 20 yards in length.  This is a long, hot, uphill slog.
Ellie’s patience wears thin as she discovers this trail will never go downhill until we turn around.  I learn later from my Garmin that we climbed nonstop 2000 feet in elevation over 4.5 miles.  Brit brilliantly provides Ellie a chocolate chip cookie (what do you pack for trail food?) and this enables Ellie to pull through for the final stretch.  Then the lake presents itself through the trees.  Even Ellie is wowed and says the hike is worth it.  Sandbeach Lake is one of Rocky Mountain National Park’s biggest and deepest mountain lakes.  The water is as clear as the sky.

brit n dadThe lake was dammed around 1900 to provide drinking water for our town – Longmont.  The dam was dismantled in the ’80s and returned to its natural state, once again displaying the sandy beach for which it is named.  I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a sandy beach on a high-altitude mountain lake before.  Sandbeach Lake offers stunning views of close-by peaks to the north and the Continental Divide to the west.  You can almost watch water run off the moraine on the northern peaks to a waterfall flowing into the lake.  The sound of flowing water is peaceful; this beach no doubt makes for a great camp site.

meeker park trailThis is only one trail of many in the Wild Basin area of RMNP.  The trails sit south of Mount Meeker, many leading to lakes and waterfalls.  Our plans are to return each weekend that we can this summer to explore the other trails.  The trailheads are less than an hour from our front door, just north of Allenspark, CO.  We stopped in that little mountain haven on our return for a cold beverage.  We later lunched at Lyons Fork in Lyons.  Nice Sunday.