I recently wrote about my backpacking trip to the Smokies with my wife.  A week later, I got to go on a trip with my son, this time to Rocky Mountain National Park.  This was a 4-day trip, covering 29 miles and gaining and losing roughly 5000 vertical feet.  The full trip report is documented on the Canyon Man Blog.  I'll give you a taste of some of the highlights.

We set out from the Wild Basin Trailhead parking lot on a Wednesday and would return on Saturday. The primary lot was fairly full, but mostly dayhikers.  Over the next 4 days, we would see roughly 10 or so backcountry hikers, which was fantastic and a far cry from the copious amounts of backcountry hikers in the Smokies.  As with our Smokies trip, though, we still did not see a bear.  Not that I'm hoping an ursa comes rummaging through my campsite, but I would really like to see another bear.  I was fortunate to get close (but not too close) to a griz in the Tetons in 2007.

On day 1, we hiked around 7 miles and 1500 feet up to Pear Lake.  The weather for the whole trip was more than ideal.  The days were dry, calm and around 75 degrees.  The nights were cool, calm and around 40 degrees.  Pear Lake is a fabulous spot and could serve you as a great spot for a couple of days.  There are several lakes just beyond it and I'm told that if you are willing, you can even climb the 13,176 foot Mt. Copeland giving you some spectacular views of the entire area.  Below is a panoramic picture of Pear Lake, which was directly behind our campsite.  Not a bad place to be for a day or so.

On day 2, we hiked down to North St. Vrain creek.  Along the way, we passed some gorgeous waterfalls.  One is Calypso Cascades, which is probably about 150 feet from top to bottom.  We were there during the dry season, and it was still quite impressive, as was Ouzel Falls, about .5 miles away from Calypso Cascades.  If you are ever in the area, Calypso Cascades and Ouzel Falls are both easily accessed as a day hike and are well worth the trip.

On day 3, we combined a day hike over to Ouzel Lake for lunch with a hike up to Thunder Lake where we camped for our final night.  Of all the places I've been so far in RMNP, this has to be one of the prettiest.  Thunder Lake is nestled between 12,420 foot Tanima Peak and a large meadow.

On day 4, we went up behind Thunder Lake, climbed up the moraine and touched the glacier. Nothing like touching snow in August.

This was my son's first backpacking trip.  He and I both learned a few lessons on this trip.  He learned to listen to me and you need to try your pack on prior to heading into the backcountry, because there are limited alterations you can make to a pack in the backcountry, especially if the pack is too small.  I learned that if you are going to experiment with cooking, do it at home, not in the backcountry.  Most of all, we both learned that we love backpacking and look forward to doing it again.  We also want to bring Mom along with us to do a family trip.  Not sure we will get my daughter out for it, but we'll see. My two youngest still have a few years yet, but I'm looking forward to those days.

So, I highly recommend getting out with your kids and spouses, and if you are looking for a great trip, I can't recommend RMNP highly enough.  I've only covered a few small sections of it, but it doesn't disappoint.  The views are fabulous, the weather is phenomenal and the trail conditions are top notch.