After a few quick days in Milwaukee for work, it’s time to get back to finishing up my road trip! This northern Colorado stop was a very quick week. I had plans to also hike at
Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins – but was rained out.
Since I have only 1 day to explore Rocky Mountain National Park, I decide to do another long scenic hike. This marks my third straight glacial lake hike. In another coincidence – my friend Stacey who visited me when I was in Oregon is in Colorado and joins me once again for this hike. Off we go!
Sky Pond
Distance: 8.3 miles
Time: 4 hours
Trail Type: Out & Back
Difficulty: Strenuous
Total Climbing: 1,765 ft
Max Elevation: 10,900 ft
We need to climb to the top of that ridge. From here, the path steepens and it becomes a glorified bouldering exercise.
A unique feature of this hike – the last 100 feet or so is a straight up rock climb. We’re losing sun, the wind has picked up, and it’s really cooled off at this elevation. Not to mention our legs are getting a bit tired – so naturally the hardest part of the hike is the last 100 feet.
The climb was worth it – a glorious view at the top! A couple other people are hanging out up here as well. Just as we’re catching our breath and about to bask in the glory of reaching the end of the trail, someone tells me
“This isn’t Sky Pond. You need to continue hiking another .3 miles!”. I actually laughed and thought it was a pretty funny joke. Sadly, it wasn’t and I felt a little deflated.
Sky Pond is actually elevated in the distance just below the glacier. We can’t hike all this way and not do the final .3 miles! We did actually complete the hike but I must’ve been too tired or concerned that we were losing daylight to take many photos – besides this selfie.
We’re eager to get back down to a warmer and less windy elevation, so we don’t hang around very long before heading back.
This hike shared a lot of similarities with the other glacial lake hikes I’ve done recently in
Grand Teton National Park and
Glacier National Park. What else can I say!? Another great hike, and another great day spent exploring yet another National Park!
