Day 10 was our kind of day!

We read that the path around Bear Lake is a great hike for kids but you have to make sure you get there early before the parking lot is full. RVs can only park in the park ‘n ride and we were told to get there no later than a little after 8am. So once the kids woke up we did only the minimum necessary to get on the road – we converted the RV from sleep mode to drive mode, gave the kids a breakfast snack for the road, and headed out in our pajamas (we knew once we got a parking spot we could stay in the RV and actually eat a real breakfast and get ready for the day). Thank the Lord we got there around 8:06am and got a parking spot, because the lot was full a little after 8:30am. After getting ready for our adventure, we caught the shuttle for a 15 minute ride up the mountain to Bear Lake. We hopped off the shuttle, refilled water bottles, used the restroom and set off with the kids in hiking backpacks. First up, a 0.5 mile hike around Bear Lake. The kids quickly wanted out of the hiking backpacks to hike on their own so we let them down to explore. As we traversed the lake, the views were just stunning – beautiful mountains peaking over a pretty lake. The kids did great hiking on the mostly flat-ish terrain and we all had a great time on the first leg of hike.

Next up lunch. We found a bench to eat and refuel before taking off on a 3.8 mile roundtrip hike on the Emerald Trail. This trail takes hikers to see 3 lakes spread out along the journey, with the last at the base of a glacier. We were pumped. To our chagrin right as we set out another thunderstorm popped up. This time we couldn’t relax in our RV so we waited out the storm under the shuttle pavilion. Thankfully it passed reasonably quick and we headed back out on our hike.

This hike was the kind we love – challenging terrain, kids content in our hiking backpacks, and utter beauty everywhere. God’s creation is astounding and Rocky Mountain National Park shows it off! We would love to spend weeks here exploring the park and going on hike after hike. I’ve repeated many times that I would love to live in this area so we could be so close to explore all the outdoor activities available here. We were getting a good workout as we progressed along the trail, a constant upward climb (the overall hike would take us from 9,449 feet to 10,110 feet). We made it to Nymph Lake after half a mile, a surprisingly beautiful lake covered in lily pads. After trekking along another 0.6 miles, we made it to Dream Lake which was a stunning dark green color, had a gorgeous river flowing by it, and a beautiful mountain backdrop. Truly, it felt like a little piece of Eden! This was honestly my favorite lake of the 4. We continued onward another 0.7 miles and after carefully crossing about 40 feet of snow (!) and climbing up more and more steps, we made it to Emerald Lake. This lake is located at the base of a glacier cut mountain under Hallett Peak (12,713 feet high). It was definitely worth the time and effort to get there – the view was breathtaking and humbling! There is nothing like God’s great creation to make you realize how truly small you are (which we’re realizing over and over on our road-trip).

After reaching the top, we gladly took off our hiking backpacks and all sat down to take a break and eat some food. Unfortunately, less than 20 minutes after we made it to Emerald Lake ANOTHER thunderstorm crested the mountains with no warning. We quickly packed up and rushed away but we didn’t make much distance before the rain caught up to us. The skies opened up big drops of very cold, hard rain and then marble sized hail(!) so we stopped our frantic pace and my Eagle Scout skills started to kick in to look for cover. We couldn’t keep going in this type of weather with 2 young kids on our backs getting pelted. We were only able to find the slightest cover possible under the edge of a big boulder. Honestly at this point, I started to get worried because Kenzie was complaining of being cold and Caleb was starting to cry (rightfully so). If it had been just me and Leesh it would’ve been fine, but a 19 month old and a 4 year getting wet and cold 1.5 miles from shelter was another story, especially if the weather continued. Praying began! Thank the Lord after a few minutes the hail stopped and the rain let up enough that we began our fast, jogging pace back. We were especially mindful of being on the exposed mountainside whenever we were away from tree coverage because of potential lightning. After hiking Pike’s Peak years ago, we learned that you don’t mess with lighting in the Colorado mountains. We continued to move quickly over the next 30 minutes in on and off rain. Needless to say, we were all very happy to get back to the shuttle and even more so the RV! 🙂 The kids were brave and total troopers! We would’ve been extremely happy without the rain and hail but an outdoor experience, plus a tough workout, plus a little excitement is standard for a Hartley adventure. All in all, it was an awesome hike and one of those days where you just love life.

Once we were back at the RV Campground we met new friends (Magnus, Oliver, Oscar, and Mateo) which was another highlight. The RV crowd has been a very friendly and welcoming group. We’ve met a lot of great people in our different sites. We’ve been surprised by how common it seems to be to vacation and take trips in an RV, even for international tourists visiting the states. Now that we’re more aware, we notice RV parks all over the place. We’ve met a number of people who live full time in their RVs traveling around. The RV sub-culture is really intriguing and we’re enjoying being part of it during our trip!