Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Third Hike, Part 1

Our last full day in Colorado and finally - finally! - the winds died down.  We knew it would be our one and possibly ONLY chance to climb Mr. Higgins' mountains - Flattop and Hallett Peak.  We started out early.....



It was 7am and 26 degrees out.  But the sunrise was so lovely on the mountains!


As we hiked up and up amidst the towering trees, we got glimpses through them...  Here, we spotted Alberta Falls, which we visited out last time in CO.


As we got higher, the views were better.  I loved the fog amidst the mountain tops!


After about an hour of hiking, we got to the Dream Lake overlook.  I never thought I'd be this high above it!


Soon, the trees were no longer as big.


And then they became downright short.


Then there were no more trees.  And the views were fantastic!


That's Sprague and Bierstadt Lakes in the distance.


After about another hour, we were above the tree-line and at the Emerald Lake overlook.  The steepness of the slope down to that lake…..let's just say I wasn't sitting on the edge of the overlook.


After a break, we were hiking again - up and up - and the trail got rockier and rocker.

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One of my favorite parts of this hike - our meeting with a pika.  How cute is he?!  These little furrballs live above the tree-line, in the tundra.


At this point, we were exposed to the wind, without any trees to shield us.  And though the wind had died down from previous days, it was still blowing at about 20-30 mph…and it was cold!  We bundled up even more and braced ourselves……  

We still had more to go…..

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