On Thursday July 2, 2009, we hiked to the Lake of Glass in Rocky Mountain National Park. The trail starts at the Glacier Gorge trailhead. The first part of the trip goes to The Loch at Loch Vale.
After we get to The Loch, we skirt around the North side of the lake and keep heading on up. Not long after leaving The Loch behind, there is an incredible view of Timberline Falls towering overhead in the distance. The trail brings us to the base of the waterfall where we have a look around and stash our trekking poles.
This is where the fun begins. Since it is early in the season and the water levels are still very high, we end up climbing up the right-most section of the waterfall. Later in the season this section is dry, but not right now. Once we’re on top of the waterfall, the lake is just a stone’s throw away. We found a rock shelf to sit on and enjoy the views. There were some fly fishermen pulling gorgeous trout out of the lake.
From here, it’s possible to continue on to Sky Pond. However, a storm was moving in and there was a LOT of snow remaining between Lake of Glass and Sky Pond, so we decided to head back down and beat the storm. It’s a good thing we did, as it was a fierce storm with marble-sized hail.
I’ll post GPS tracks as soon as I can, although they won’t start from the trailhead. Sorry but there is a hidden trail that skirts around the tourists heading to Alberta Falls that I don’t want to publish the tracks to.
Total distance was about 8 miles. Total time was about 5 hours including quite a few stops. The most technical section of this hike is the climb up the side of Timberline Falls. It’s rated Class 2, but it can be slippery at times. However, when we hiked it,even the wet parts were quite solid. The other technical detail is the many snowfields you will encounter along the way. Make sure you know how to safely navigate snowfields. Many of the tourists attempting this hike cross the snowfields improperly and unknowingly put themselves in grave danger.
I usually avoid the National Parks due to the fact that I’m vehemently opposed to the old “fee demo” program, and the resulting ever-increasing entrance fees. Today was just a rare exception. If you want to do this hike without the entrance fee, the National Park service has decided to offer some free weekends this summer. The next weekend is July 8-19, followed by Sept. 15-16.
