Call us naïve. Call us optimistic. Definitely call us unprepared. While in Granby, I read and heard about this amazing hike, the Monarch Lake Trail. Rueben and I had a picnic at the entrance of the area, but hadn’t thought about doing the hike since it’s a little over 4 miles long at an elevation (8400′) way higher than we’re used to. The more I read about it, the more I wanted to at least see the lake and area since the entrance was so beautiful.
We figured we could see the lake, maybe walk around for a bit, then head back. Once we saw the sign that said there was a 1.6 mi trail, we thought, we can do that! Plus, someone said there were moose in the area so, big yes from us. What we didn’t realize…is that the entire trail is a loop. The entire 4+ mile hike is a big loop, not split up!
I had only eaten a bowl of cereal and was wearing brand-new hiking boots, while Rueben was wearing Crocs and hadn’t eaten anything. We had zero snacks and one bottle of water between us. Unprepared for a long hike? Yup. At least I had my camera, because it was gorgeous!
I was so excited to walk on logs across the water! I felt like Baby from Dirty Dancing, and may have even danced a little bit.
Most of the hike was pretty level until we got about 2 miles in. We had been looking for other folks to see if we were going the right way, and finally saw some people who warned us about the next tenth of a mile or so – a bunch of trees had been downed so we had to climb over them! I didn’t take any pictures since we were a little busy, but it was pretty fun!
It was getting a little late and was definitely going to rain, so the last mile and a half or so we had to pick up the pace. It was super hard for me since I kept wanting to stop and take photos! I actually made Rueben stop, turn around and look at the view, and appreciate it for a second. Then we were off again!
Look at this adorable chipmunk! He was so tiny, he may have been a baby.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE HIKE! This beautiful fox walked into the path as we were walking and all of us just froze. He seemed as interested in us as we were of him; it was so exciting!
After this, we got burgers and beers and sat the rest of the day haha Even though we didn’t think we could do this long, high elevation hike, we did and it was so great!
Next up: Rocky Mountain National Park!
