This was my first experience doing a prolonged backpacking trip. I went with my boyfriend and spent 3 days trekking approximately 30 miles in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.
To put the distance into perspective, do you see that little bit of snow on the third peak (from left to right)? That is where the second day of the hike started!
The trek began in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, but then quickly we hiked into the backside of the Rocky Mountains into Arapaho National forest.
Here is my boyfriend making sure we were well accounted for before leaving the Rockies.
It began in a beautiful forested area where mushrooms and mud were plentiful!
The scenery opened up to beautiful mountains and spring flowers
Our goal for the first day was to head to Parika Lake to camp. You don't see many signs along the way. So a sense of doubt starts to kick in after hiking about 6 miles, but finally we came upon a sign!
There is that snow patch again!
Feeling accomplished, we continued on and after what seemed like another 6 miles, we made it to Parika Lake and to much colder weather! That patch of snow directly above our heads is the same snow patch from the earlier picture.
We decided to back track a little to be under some trees so we could set up our tarp and tent. Like clockwork, there are thunderstorms around 2pm each day. So after our long first leg, we wanted to be able to relax and enjoy the view instead of being couped up in our tent.
We got some much needed rest and woke up early and continued towards our second trek: up and over an enormous mountain. But before we left the beauty of the lake, we made sure to turn around and capture a few last photos.
We continued our ascent.
The elevation gain became very evident (approximately 4700 ft).
After stopping to the enjoy the view and to catch our breath, we began the descent into majestic wild flowers and plentiful streams which we stopped at frequently to filter water.
The beautiful scenery didn't change much from the knee high flowers and mountains and it almost felt criminal taking photos because it was almost impossible to capture the expansiveness of the beauty. We came to our second campsite and quickly made food and enjoyed our last evening before hiking out.
These pictures don't do this trip justice. I would highly recommend going out and seeing this for yourself. You forget you live on a planet sometimes.
PS: You have to pack out all your trash. Not too bad for two people across three days!
Happy Traveling!