Fern Creek Falls in Forest Canyon - Rocky Mountain National Park

Kali at The Pool, Big Thompson River

After four days in Colorado Springs, Kali and I drove north to Fort Collins, mostly to tend to our house in the foothills.  One day during our stay in Fort Collins, though, we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park for a rather ill-fated hike.  I'll spare most of the "gory" details, but the drive to the park was clogged with traffic, the park was crowded, parking was at a real premium within the park so we had to park at a picnic spot 0.5-mile from our intended trailhead, the day was hot, and Kali wanted to take a 30-minute nap before we set off all while I'm watching the thunderheads building up over the mountains.  (Kali perceived my irritation and agitation and decided to forgo the nap.)  I was not a happy camper when we set off on the hike.

I'd chosen a moderate, 5-mile round-trip hike up Forest Canyon to Fern Creek Falls.  With the additional walk to the trailhead from the remote parking lot, it turned into a 6-mile hike.

The trail into Forest Canyon

The hike was mostly though coniferous forest that pressed in from both sides.  There were a few breaks in the vegetation where we could look over the Big Thompson River roaring through the canyon, but mostly we just walked steadily uphill through the woods.

Kali between a rock and a hard place

The Big Thompson River at the edge of a burned patch of forest

Our first highlight along the route was The Pool, a place where the raging Big Thompson River broadens out (slightly) into a stretch of water that is smoother but still moving at an incredibly fast rate.

Footbridge over the Big Thompson River at The Pool

The Pool on the Big Thompson River - not a pool in which I'd choose to swim

Larimer County Youth Conservation Corp members at lunch below The Pool

After staring mesmerized at the torrent for a few minutes, we set off to see Fern Creek Falls on a tributary stream.

Ascending the Fern Creek Trail

Above The Pool, the trail narrowed considerably and was much more rocky, uneven, and steep than the heavily-traveled trail to The Pool had been.  Kali was becoming increasingly grumpy, and I started out grumpy, so we made a fine pair.  When we got to Fern Creek Falls, I stopped for a few minutes to take pictures, but the mosquitoes were ravenous so we didn't tarry long.  In addition, it started to rain almost as soon as we got to the falls, so we quickly donned our raincoats.  After a few minutes, the rain passed and we stowed the raincoats again.

There were many hikers schlepping backpacks who were continuing up the trail to Fern Lake and several other lakes in the higher country.  Both Kali and I had the same thought:  "Mosquito misery!"

Kali at Fern Creek Falls

Another view of Fern Creek Falls

Because we weren't going to get to a good place to view the snow-clad summits of the mountains, I took one shot of a snowy ridge peeking between the trees.

A glimpse of the snowfield above Fern Creek Canyon

Rock garden in greens

Rock garden in blues and golds

After I took some images of Fern Creek Falls, we hiked back to The Pool for lunch.  En route, we ran into the Youth Conservation Corps workers - a visibly less-motivated group of young people would have been hard to find.  Back at The Pool, we were greeted by packs of ground squirrels.  Do you think the hikers give them handouts?

Soooo cute...

We tossed this individual a sweet cherry

I guess if the touristas won't give me a fat, greasy and sweet handout I'll have to eat salad

After lunch, we headed back toward the trailhead - and we had an encounter that redeemed the entire trip.  As we were walking alongside the Big Thompson River, I noticed a long, dark, sleek form moving rapidly upstream on the riverbank just a few feet from the trail.  I called out for Kali who was a dozen paces ahead of me on the trail and we raced back up the path just in time to see a mink dive into the current and come back to the shore with a fish in its mouth!

Rock garden at trail's end

Here endeth my account of our Colorado getaway for this year.