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| Steve, Susan, and Lauren at the trail head |
One of our favorite shorter hikes is Lily Mountain, a somewhat steep 4 mile RT trail. We've shared the summit experience with most people that come for a visit, and had the opportunity to share it with
Susan's son Steve and his girlfriend Lauren this Memorial Day weekend.
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| Steve on the trail with Twin Sisters in the background |
Our strategy to stay out of the National Park on the busy holiday weekend worked out -- we passed only one party on the way up and otherwise had the trail to ourselves, reaching the 9,786' summit at 10AM on Saturday.
Fires in New Mexico blurred the normally crisp 360 degree views up top, but it was great to have the peak to ourselves. It looked like this:
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| View from the summit of Lily Mountain |
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| Continental Divide view from Lily Mountain summit |
When the winds picked up we headed down, passing lots of folks on the way up. It just about always pays to set that alarm clock.
Later the same day we drove up Trail Ridge Road to Rock Cut and explored the rock outcroppings along the Tundra World Nature Trail. Though it was cold and windy, Mike stayed until after sunset, hoping to see unusual light because of the wildfires. The rest of us wimped out and walked back to enjoy a little car picnic of brie and strawberries, veggies and hummus.
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| Trail Ridge Road and Longs Peak, from Rock Cut |
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| Steve and Lauren at the Mushroom Rocks |
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| The sun sets into the clouds |
It always amazes me how far the smoke will travel from those fires. Last year we got smoke from the fire in Boundary Waters Recreation Area in Northern Minnesota all the way down to northern Illinois at Lake Michigan! Looks like you had a great day!
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