Hiking and Nature with Angela: Bluebird Lake

Location: Rocky Mountain National Park, Wild Basin Area
Mileage: 12.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,500 ft
Difficulty: Hard

The Rocky Mountains of Colorado transport a person to a majestic world seemingly imagined. The harder to reach places will bring more opportunities for solitude and respite from obligations and demands placed by your typical routine back at home and work. Both ways of hiking are enjoyable, but I feel most invigorated by solitude and silence. Rocky Mountain National Park contains some of the most astounding views of the Rocky Mountains. Despite the park’s high-volume crowds, if the timing is right and the distance is far enough, there is usually a location on every trail where you begin to reach this point of solitude.

My most recent hike was up to an alpine lake called Bluebird Lake, in the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. About 2.7 miles up the trail, after passing the popular Ouzel Falls, the hike begins to feel more like you have entered the wilderness. The Wild Basin area contains multiple waterfalls, a coniferous forest made up of lodgepole pines, spruce and firs mixed with aspens and scenic mountain vistas. The alpine lake is reached at roughly 6.4 miles in. Distractions are discarded and your senses can be given full attention. These senses are most appreciated when you allow yourself to slow down and take a moment to acknowledge where you really are. These are things you cannot attain in a car, a bike or a run. Listen to the decrescendo of the waterfalls as you hike farther away. When ponderosa pines hug the trail sides, stop and smell the bark for its delicious vanilla scent. Feel the warm air pockets radiating from the trees. Notice the quaking aspen created by whispering wind. Marvel at the blazing orange lichen gracing the steely rocks. Listen to the tree squirrels vocalizing warning calls. Say hello to the deer coming to a standstill upon your appearance. Munch on some wild raspberries and blueberries along the way. Take a moment to watch the butterflies flutter about. Stop and look at the wildflowers, with beauty in their perfect geometry and brightly colored petals. Blooming columbines, paintbrush and asters are fleeting. There will be lingering snow, never melting all year, just a few feet from these magnificent flowers.

As the lake gets closer, the trail begins to get steeper and you know you are almost there. Glance behind from where you’ve just climbed and immense gratitude for the opportunity of being in this place at that moment in time will enter. A few more steps and strong howling winds hit as you climb atop the open expanse just above the alpine lake. Sitting at an elevation of 10,978 ft, Bluebird Lake greets you. Serving as a scenic backdrop, Ouzel Peak which reaches an elevation of 12,716 ft, rises from the base of the lake. The lake’s water ripples from the wind. On a windless day, you may catch Ouzel Peak reflecting in Bluebird Lake’s still waters. Today however, the strong wind makes you grasp onto nearby large rocks to stay balanced. The momentary discomforts don’t matter though. They may even add to the feeling of aliveness that being surrounded by nature brings. You’ve made it and every step was worth it.