The weather forecast wasn’t pretty: 70% chance of precipitation, 2-7 inches of snow at 12,500 feet, and gusts up to 30+ mph. Still, 8 of us met at the park-n-ride and carpooled up to the Wild Basin trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The overnight cloud cover kept the temperature a little warmer than any of us expected and only a slight drizzle accompanied the start of our hike. Clouds did obscure the peaks above and all of us were mentally prepared for a rough day.
After 4 miles of hiking we reached Ouzel Lake.
Our route required us to leave from the south side of the lake to begin the steep ascent up Copeland Mountain. The trail didn’t go to that way, so after crossing the lake’s outflow we bushwhacked to a clearing and had a quick break.
From the lake we pretty much headed straight up through the forest, trying to avoid the worst areas of downed timber.
Gradually, we emerged from the thick woods to the tree line.
Across the valley the clouds lifted enough to reveal Longs Peak.
Everyone picked their own way over the rocks and tundra and we’d stop periodically and regroup.
The wind did increase near the top, but we didn’t have any new snow. Most of the alpine plants were coated from a past storm and looked like sea corral.
From where we reached the crest of the ridge, the summit was only a short walk.
To the south we had a great view of Cony Lake and Ogalalla Peak.
We relaxed for a little while on the summit admiring how much better the weather was than we’d expected. Still, it was windy and we soon hustled back to the north side of the ridge where we were more protected from the gusts.
After a long descent down the rocky slope we hit the forest again and fought through the vegetation.
I’m not sure which was worse, pushing through the shrub-like krummholz or navigating over huge fallen and rotten trees.
After passing the lake again we hurried down the trail and reached the cars just as it began to rain.
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