Saturday, September 20, 2008

RMNP Adventure Day 2: Emerald Lake & Lake Haiyaha


Most of you don't know, but Bob was a weather man in another life. He can read multi-colored, fast-moving blobs on the radar like nobody's business; rattling off phrases like, "peeled off the Horn of Africa" when sizing up Mother Nature's problem child Ike. It's really quite impressive. 

But understanding yellow and red blobs isn't high on Bunny's priority list. She just wants to know if she can go for a hike. Or hop, as the case may be.

After a night of pounding rain, Bunny eagerly threw open the curtains to check out the impact on the terra firma. As suspected, a dusting of snow covered the Rockies in an impressive and oh-so-inviting way. She wanted in. As so did we.

Guided by the green weather blobs, Bob determined there were still showers that needed to move through so we diverted ourselves with a drive through the park and cappuccinos at the historic Stanley Hotel (filming location of  The Shining if you're not already muttering "Redrum" to yourself).

Busy digitally documenting the Stanley's historic edifice, Bob suddenly declared, "It's lifting to the West!" Bunny translated the urgency of Bob's weather-speak and swiftly hopped in the Yaris where they gunned the 9 miles up to the Bear Lake trail head to maximize their weather window of opportunity. 

Undeterred by the constant smattering of raindrops, they donned their parkas and set off for Emerald Lake. For the next 8 miles, they would experience rain, snow, hail, thunder and (as Stormtracker Bob predicted): sun. Perfectly timed to coincide with our arrival at Emerald Lake.

Next up; Day 3: Flat Top Mountain

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahhhhhhhhh, I feel better and calmer. I needed these fine reports. Say, Mama, I was wondering...when the weather gets foul, with serious precip., do you put Foo in some kind of moisture-resistant gear to keep her dry? Like a sandwich bag? Or a case for portable headphones? I am assuming she bundles up in one of your pockets, but I do see that she likes to get out with everyone. Is there some catalog, like L.L. Bear?

Mama Foo said...

Les,

Ms Foo has a sweet dual setup.

The first is a custom Foo pouch in my backpack so she doesn't miss a second of action (you can see it here if you look closely—http://adventures.of.bunny.foofoo.googlepages.com/sowhat%27sthedealwiththebunny%3F).

The second is the perfectly-sized front pocket of the digital camera case (for more inclement weather or when she's behaving badly and needs to be contained).

Sandwich bag? Bunny would never permit such a low-tech solution for her hiking adventures. In fact, she insists on business class when we travel to France; relegating us to Economy class.

Anonymous said...

Tnx for the rundown, Mama Foo. I goofed. I meant to type "L.L. HARE," not "Bear." I am going to HOP on over to see the pic of the custom Foo pouch. Is this a great life or what?