Flattop Mountain

Or, Hail and Thunder atop the Continental Divide at 12,324 ft

This is the second of a series of posts describing hikes undertaken during a 4 day Rocky Mountain National Park trip.

Date: July 5, 2013

Location: Bear Lake Area, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

This was quite a thrilling adventure for me. It is not everyday that I hike up 3000ft (encountering sublime scenic views along the way) and stand atop the Continental Divide at 12,324 ft above sea-level, only to be caught in the midst of hail and thunder when starting to descend and still around 1400 ft above the tree line.

Having recently bought a Garmin Oregon 450t, I recorded the hike track and elevation information; these are included below and seem to be quite accurate for this hike when compared with trail signage and topo map information.

Hike track

Elevation Plot

I started the day by catching the 7:30 a.m. hiker shuttle from the Estes Park Visitor Center. I had initially thought I might get the 6:30 a.m. one to get most of the hike done before noon (given that afternoon thunderstorms are the norm in Colorado), but laziness prevailed. Anyway, by 8:30 a.m. I was at the Bear Lake Trailhead and had started on my way.

Bear Lake en route to Flattop trailhead

Trail sign at Flattop trailhead

Dream Lake from trail overlook
(Mills Lake is also visible in the background)

Clouds envelop Longs Peak

Looking back after the trail emerges above the tree line

Sweeping views

Pretty flowers (possibly an aster?)

More pretty flowers

Bierstadt Lake nestled atop Bierstadt Moraine

Emerald Lake

A closer look at Emerald Lake

More sweeping views

Bird of prey (a large raven?)

Marmot

Wildflowers trailside

Overcast; and there is still quite a way to go...

Hallett Peak

Tyndall Glacier

Tyndall Gorge

Zooming into Grand Lake

The snow on nearby summits glitters in the sunlight,
while dark clouds start gathering overhead

The clouds look ominous over that summit

Longs Peak rises on the other side of Tyndall Gorge

Longs Peak close-up from Flattop summit

I had initially planned to continue on to Hallett Peak (another 400 ft odd of elevation gain) if the conditions were favorable, but by the time I was done with taking photos on Flattop, the sky had started turning dark again, and I decided to head back. It was around 12:30 p.m.

This turned out to be a good decision.

Barely had I started on my way back when the thunderstorm struck. A drizzle gave way to pea size hail within a few minutes, followed by scary thunder and some lightning. Not the best time to be 1400 ft or so above the tree line! The rain continued over the next two hours as I made my way back down, and thus there are no photographs taken during the downward stretch!