The Grand Traverse

Justin and I have been enjoying many hikes in RMNP this year.  Many of these hikes were in training for a longer three day hike that looped clockwise from Bear Lake, up Flattop Mountain to Grand Lake and up to Haynach Lake and then back to Flattop Mountain, finishing in Bear Lake.
Here is a map with the loop:

We awoke at 4AM and left home at 4:30.  This got us on the trail at 5:45.  Even though we delayed our trip by one day because of poor weather, things still started out a little shaky.  We were not sure if we would have enough visibility to see from cairn to cairn.  Here are some photos from the start of the hike.

Once we got over the continental divide the weather improved.  At about 3:00 pm and 18.5 miles later we left the trailhead and walked into Grand Lake to sleep at the Rapids Lodge.  Surprisingly we felt pretty good and enjoyed a nice dinner with friends at the Sagebrush Restaurant.  The next morning we got back on the trail at the same spot, this time taking the Tonahutu Trail to our backcountry site, Haynach Lake.  As the first photo demonstrates- the previous rainy days made for a muddy hike but at least we had mostly sunny skies.

Our backcountry site was spectacular.  It was looking over a nice creek and meadow and was about a mile from Haynach Lakes which were beautiful and we enjoyed them all to ourselves since they are a bit off the main trail.

The third morning we awoke early to get on the trail by seven.  (The reason we cut the second half of the hike into two parts was because it would be hard to be below treelike before afternoon if we did it all at once and there are just too many lightening strikes in the afternoon.  So we hiked to right below tree line, enjoyed the sights and the backcountry for a night and then began the upward climb early in the morning.)  Below are some photos of the tundra with panoramic views.  The final two photos show where our loop began right after Flattop Mountain and where we ended.

This hike was a wonderful three day trek and training for it was also fun.  I am grateful to Justin for coming up with this idea and carrying more than his share of the backpacking load!