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Lost Lake Overnight, late spring (~22 miles, 2.5 days)

Lost Lake Overnight

Routes:

Late spring, ~22 miles, 2.5 days

An enjoyable early season fitness backpack.

Region: Colorado
Elev: Elev (Dunraven Trailhead): 7,900 ft; Elev (Lost Lake): 10,714 ft
Type: 
Date(s): June 3-5, 2022 (Fri-Sun)
Partner(s): Nate Arganbright

Map

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Intro

With alpine climbing season just around the corner, Nate and I decided to do an overnight hike for the weekend. It would be nice to dial down our overnight setup and pack weight, as well as get some early-season fitness. We decided to hike up to Lost Lake in the northeast corner of Rocky Mountain National Park. Not wanting to burn a couple of nights on overnight permits (RMNP allows each individual 7 nights in the park), we camped at some established sites just outside the RMNP boundary. We spent Saturday hiking up to just above Lost Lake. I would have liked to summit one of the peaks in the area (Rowe or "Little No Name" looked like worthy objectives) but we didn't have quite enough time. We spent two enjoyable evenings camping out.

A unique aspect to this trip was that the trail goes through an area that was consumed by the Cameron Peak Fire of Fall 2020. This was a major fire that burned through an area of 208,913 acres of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in Larimer and Jackson Counties and Rocky Mountain National Park. I enjoyed photographing some of the results of the fire.

Below is a map showing the trail we took and then some photos of our weekend adventure. Enjoy.

Photos

Day 1: Dunraven Trailhead -> Camp

We left late Friday afternoon after Nate finished work. We hiked in 4 miles and camped, shortly before the National Park boundary.
Dunraven Trailhead.
Our camp. This was in National Forest land just before the National Park boundary, so no permit was needed to camp here.
Hot chocolate, my favorite backcountry evening drink.
The comforting glow of an MSR Reactor stove.
Hanging food.

Day 2: Camp -> Lost Lake -> Camp

We hiked up to Lost Lake. We brought all of our stuff to keep flexible to camp up high, but it looked like weather was going to move in plus we did not have a permit to camp in the actual Lost Lake area, so we had lunch, explored a bit above Lost Lake, relaxed at Lost Lake for about an hour, and then headed back down valley to camp where we had the night before.
Sunny morning at camp.
We crossed into National Park land shortly after leaving camp.
Lots of blowdowns on the trail. The trail crew has not been here yet for the season (everything before the RMNP boundary had been cleared though).
We hit snow on the trail about 1.5 miles from Lost Lake. It was intermittent at first, then more continual for the 0.5 mile. We did not use snowshoes.
Lost Meadows, an open area about a mile before Lost Lake.
Lost Lake. Above (L to R) are Rowe Peak, 'Middle No Name', and 'Little No Name'.
Lake Husted, in the basin above Lost Lake. Beyond is Icefield Pass with 'Little No Name' to the left of the pass.
Lake Louise. Above is 'Little No Name'.
The open tundra is easy to ramble in.
In addition to a bit of exploring above Lost Lake, we relaxed a bit at Lost Lake. I worked a nonogram.
Nate looking at the map.

Day 3: Camp -> Dunraven Trailhead

We had a leisurely morning enjoying coffee and books. Our camp was located in the burn area from the Cameron Peak Fire of Fall 2020, so I enjoyed doing a bit of photography of the burn area. We arrived back at the trailhead by 10am. Nate spent the rest of the day driving to Loveland to collect gardening supplies and do some gardening, while I worked on my trip report.
A burn scar from the Cameron Peak Fire of Fall 2020. This was a major fire that burned through an area of 208,913 acres of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in Larimer and Jackson Counties and Rocky Mountain National Park.
Burned trees from the Cameron Peak Fire.
We found these yellow flowers (I think they are Golden Corydalis) thriving in the burn area. They must do well after a fire.
We found these yellow flowers (I think they are Golden Corydalis) thriving in the burn area. They must do well after a fire.
Burn scars on birch trees.
Burn scars on birch trees.
Elk prints. We spotted a herd of elk.
Elk scat on the trail.
My best guess: fox or coyote scat?
Dog scat. Now I definitely don't want to be stepping in a squishy pile of dog scat on the trail, but here's an interesting point to consider: When tossed into the trash, a single plastic bag can take over 500 years to decompose in a landfill.

Previous and Next Adventures

Great Sand Dunes NP (High Dune, Star Dune), CO
Gabletop + Knobtop, RMNP, CO

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