38 Hours in Denver
Be prepared for sidequests
It started with a Red Rocks presale...per usual. If you're new here, my trips tend to revolve around a concert or specific destination I want to visit. In this case, The Avett Brothers were playing at Red Rocks Saturday July 12th and I wanted to go.
Friday July 11th
The day started with a 4:15am wake up for a 7am flight. The plan was to land, get the car, and head straight to a trailhead. Well, my adventure partner forgot their shoes so a quick trip to REI was in order. If anyone knows, there is no such thing as a quick trip to REI. After two hours of frolicking through every section we left with a new pair of shoes in hand and limited snacks.
1pm: Magic Mountain, Argos, Apex, and Enchanted Forest Trail
We arrived at the trailhead for this 5.5 mile hike that I'd been wanting to do but never got around to it. The trail is part of Jefferson County Open Space and has a designated use schedule on odd and even days. We were in luck, it was an odd day.
The moment we started hiking our phones went off, notifying us of extreme thunderstorms in our area. Confident in our navigation and radar-reading skills we decided to continue on.
3-9pm: Lotteries, Sushi, and Martinis
After getting settled at the hotel, showering, and getting ready for dinner, it was time to face the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) reservation system. With both phones out, frantically refreshing the page and taking intermittent sips of our drinks, 7pm struck and it was game time.
If you’ve never experienced booking on rec.gov consider this your crash course. The app immediately goes into overdrive, glitching and shutting down. We’re off to a great start. After 3 minutes of chaos and a concerned look from our bartender, we had done it. A vehicle reservation to RMNP + Bear Lake Road.
We headed to dinner to celebrate our victory and plan our day in RMNP, ignoring the looming 3:30am wakeup.
Saturday July 12th
4-6am: Let the day begin
Packed and in the car, we set out on the 2 hour drive to the park.
6:30am: Time to get going
With an early wakeup and long day ahead of us, we were ready to get started. The trail we had chosen was supposed to be just under 10 miles and stopped at all the heavy hitters: Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, Lake Haiyaha, The Loch, Lake of Glass, and ultimately, Sky Pond…yes, lots of lakes.
I managed not to get a photo of Bear Lake, but at 6:30am, just under half a mile in, we reached our second lake: Nymph Lake. Steam was coming off the water and it was beautiful that early in the morning.
After a quick photo break we were back on the trail and on our way to Lake Haiyaha. I was last at Lake Haiyaha in early June two years ago, the lake was still frozen over in most places and we were postholing our way for most of the trail. This time it was a very different experience. After a very cold dip and snack it was back to the trail…we weren’t even 2 miles in.
Interlude for brief geological lesson
Prior to the 2022 Chaos Canyon landslide, the lake was known for it’s clear blue waters, but after the landslide its color turned a milky sea-green color. Why did it change color and what led to the landslide? Don’t worry, I’ll explain.
Researchers discovered that starting in the early to mid-2000s a process known as deformation—the change in shape, size, or volume of a rock or geological formation due to applied stress—had already occurred and started to accelerate in 2018. Researchers hypothesized the slide was a result of increases in long term air temperatures that thawed permafrost and ice.
So why did this change the color of the lake? Well, the grinding action of the debris slide carried silt and clay into the lake. It’s the same thing that happens with glaciers, however that’s over a long period of time whereas this was quick.
Glaciers grind rocks along valley floors and walls and this produces a powder of silt and clay called “glacial flour.” In the case of the event at Chaos Canyon, the rock wasn’t ground from a slow process but occurred quickly and the result produced “rock flour” which made its way into the lake. The particles are especially fine and remain suspended in the water column and slow to sink to the bottom.
When light hits the water, tiny particles absorb the shortest wavelengths—think purples and indigos—while the water itself absorbs the longer wavelengths like reds, oranges, and yellows. As a result, mostly blue and green light is scattered back to our eyes. This is what makes the lake appear a milky sea-green color.
7:45am
The next few miles took us through dense forest and parallel to Icy Brook before arrive at our third lake, The Loch.
8:30am
Distance check: 4 miles
Snacks: Decent
Fulfillment level: High
Around this time we realized we were lacking on snacks and water. Don’t worry, we are experienced self-inflicted sufferers and knew how to carry on safely.
Once you reach The Loch, the trail wraps around the north side of the lake. The lake is home to lots of Rainbow Trout and because the water is so clear you can see them swimming. Did I get a photo? No. Why? Have you forgotten, we have a concert to get to!
9:20am
Distance check: 5.5
The miles between The Loch and Sky Pond go from forest to boulder field. The forest kind of abruptly ends. This is when the real climb starts. I did this trail 6 years ago but had to turn around at this point due to thunderstorms. This was my redemption hike!
This is the final push before arriving at Sky Pond and probably the most technical part of the trail but is super short. You will get wet, it’s unavoidable, you’re climbing up a small waterfall and hopefully it’s not flowing fast. Once you get past the false summit it’s mostly a boulder field without a clear trail that leads to Sky Pond.
9:50am
Distance check: 6 miles
2.5 hours in we made it to Sky Pond, only slightly behind schedule. Pictures don’t do this view justice. I don’t usually take lots of pictures when I’m hiking because I’m usually the navigator, but also because I prefer to be fully present. This has been one of the harder shifts to make since my job is to take and create content.
When I’m on a mountain I feel my most authentic self. Everything slows down and my focus goes to staying on trail, feeding myself, hydrating, and taking in my surroundings. The simplicity of just being and existing.
10am
Our tight schedule didn’t allow for much of a break. We quickly got a snack and then started our descent. We had planned the night before to take a different route back to the car which was much shorter. This was a good call because if we went the same way we came our total mileage would’ve come to around 14.
The next two hours were fairly quiet as fatigue, hunger, and fear of the afternoon thunderstorms set in and the panic that if we didn’t move faster there would be no time to nap. This proved to be a very effective strategy.
12-6pm
After logging 11.5 miles, we were back at the car. It was time for a burger and beer before heading back to Denver.
7pm
Finally for the reason this trip was planned. The Avett Brothers at Red Rocks. I love live music. Pre Covid I would go to a concert almost every week. I’m talking about small venues and underground spots in NYC. However, most of these places got hit hard during covid and either shut down or significantly reduced their operations and capacity. It’s one of the weekly traditions I miss most. But enough of that.
I saw The Avett Brothers in NYC a few years ago and was excited to see them in a different space.
In Conclusion
Take advantage of your surroundings and their offerings. Everyone has their preferences for how they like to spend their time, for me, I like to maximize whatever time I have in a place—exhaustion be damned!
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