Everyone else has done a post so far, so it was decided that I, Calvin, will be writing this post. Day 17 was our day in the Rocky Mountains. We decided to do what we do every time we spend a day in a national park: go for a hike. We got up, ate a simple breakfast, hung around the campsite until around 10:30, and then got in the car and drove to Wild Basin for a hike. We were warned that we might not be able to get in as it was generally very crowded around that time of day, but we decided we should at least try.
Our plan was to hike over to Ouzel Falls, which was about a 5 mile hike round trip. At first, the hike was not very enjoyable, as it was very crowded and there was not much to see. However, after about a mile it became very interesting as there were many waterfalls to see along the way.
We stopped at one of these falls about 1.5 miles from the start to eat a bit. When we had finished, we continued to Ouzel falls. When we got there, a few people coming from later on in the hike told us there was a great overlook about 0.4 miles from the falls. We decided it would be worth going to.
When we reached the overlook, I tried to convince Toby to go to the next trail spot, Ouzel lake. I did not think he was going to agree, as the lake was another 2.5 miles down the trail, but I didn't count on his love of swimming, even in freezing cold water. He agreed, and we managed to convince Mom and Dad to continue to the lake. Early on, they had many second thoughts and we almost ended up turning around, as the trail was almost entirely uphill and they weren't sure we could make it all the way to the lake. Fortunately, we decided to continue. After about a mile, the trail stopped inclining and stayed flat for a while. We were above the tree line, so we could see very far.
After walking for a while, we saw some otters sitting on a rock.
For the last half mile, the trail actually went downhill. When we got to the lake, it was very cold, which we had all expected since it was an alpine lake. We waded in it a little, and then we got water from it using iodine tablets and turned around.
That's about all we did on day seventeen.
Nice post,Calvin! It looks like it was a terrific hike. I agree with you, it was a good thing that you and Toby were able to convince your folks to hike to the lake…it looks like it was terrific (and not crowded). Hope you all are enjoying your trip.
Nice job, Cal. I felt like we were there with you along the hike. It must have been fun watching the otters play. Those elk are pretty awesome aren’t they? I could just imagine you and Toby running into the alpine lake for a swim. Have you seen any snow in the mountains? That always amazed me when in August there would be places with snow still. Keep blogging, hiking, eating and know that we love you all. Grammee
Nice to finally hear from you Calvin. Nice job. Good job inspiring your parents to hike to the lake. I wonder, did you guys invest in the Hershey Bar company before you went on vacation because I think you have increased their nationwide sales with all those s’mores your eating!
Nice to finally hear from you Calvin. Nice job. Good job inspiring your parents to hike to the lake. I wonder, did you guys invest in the Hershey Bar company before you went on vacation because I think you have increased their nationwide sales with all those s’mores your eating!
Hi Calvin –
Those cool critters you saw basking in the sun and chasing each other around the rocks are marmots, one of the largest rodent species found in the Rocky Mountains. Thank you for the beautiful pictures.