Departing by dawn to Sky Pond

We met up with Michelle & Jeff near Estes Park for this adventure. Sky Pond would definitely also make it into the article mentioned above – with the lakes you pass along the way getting at least one or two honorable mentions as well (The Loch and Lake of Glass). This trail essentially takes you deeper into Rocky Mountain National Park, so you gently ascend towards the high divide in the middle of the park for the outbound trip. This was another early start that ended up being worthwhile because of eventual iffy afternoon weather.

The scenery was beautiful. Climbing up the waterfall section was fun and a bit exciting at times. (No one got drenched, so that’s a success.) Sky Pond is pretty dramatic – it sits between Taylor Peak plus the corresponding Taylor Glacier, and “The Sharktooth”. Photo below. We counted at least four parties climbing up on various spires while we were taking a break by the side of the lake. Which, turns out, wasn’t for that long because of the wind. The ‘arctic tundra’ landscape lived up to its name from a temp perspective.