Hard to Believe

It was a mere three years ago when we awoke to a snow-covered Rocky Mountain National Park, our first official stop on our tour of 50 national parks in the coming seven months.

With the snow, the challenge was deciding where to hike - we were geared up with summer and fall clothing and footwear, but unprepared for winter. Just shows how naive we were.

Sun quickly disposed of a lot of the white stuff, and after consulting with a ranger chose Lumpy Ridge as our hiking choice for the day. Turned out to be a good one, part of the park we didn't even know existed. This is hiking through big boulders and rock formations (hence the name Lumpy Ridge) with scattered clumps of pine for relief. The shadows kept a lot of snow on the ground here - our first (and last) hike in such whiteness.

It's a good workout to access our Gem Lake destination, and well worth it. On the small side, it's bordered on one side by some steep cliffs with flat rocks at the shoreline for sitting, enjoying and meditating. Across the way is a flat beach-like area, with a nice natural bench to do the same but looking in the opposite direction.

We pat ourselves on the back; our first successful hike of some 100+ hikes yet to come. And with that, the Sprinter Interstate 2010 Tour begins.

Click Here for More Information