Summer 2011 Backpacking

William Fann	Posted Mar 9, 2011 4:00 PM Link to this reply
user 11973297 Lincoln, NE Post #: 17	Well, things are moving rather quickly. I just got off the phone with the RMNP back country office. I anticipated having to write for reservations but they took them over the phone. The dates are Sept 9-14. Sept 9-11 we will be at the North St. Vrain camp site and Sept 12-14 will be at the Thunder Lake campsite. Those sites are in the lower, southern half of the park. The ranger described the trail as moderate. However, the last day will be a 7 mile hike out of the park; mostly down hill. Here is a link to the best maps available for packing the National Parks. They are National Geographic and water proof. All the maps for CO are on this web page and you will have to scroll down to find the Rocky Mountain National Park map. You can link to the RMNP map and zoom in on and see the trail, lakes and campsites. It is also topographical. http://shop.nationalg.... This is the official National Park Service web site for the park and back country camping: http://www.nps.gov/ro.... For planning purposes: Those that have never back packed before, I will require you to have completed the NAG Bare Bones back packing course. The first one is next week on the 16th. Also, I will schedule a meetup 3 weeks in advance to brief everyone on backpacking in the Mountains and to do a gear check. Adequate gear, based on my standards, will be mandatory. It matters not if you have back packed before, if you have not packed into the mountains, I will require each individual to hike with me at the Platte River park, at least once, for 2-3 hours with a full pack. If the first hike indicates you lack the requisite fitness, we will do more hikes together until I think you are ready. I try to hike once a week at the beginning of the season, with my backpack, to get into and stay in shape for backpacking. With a 35 to 50 lb pack on your back, it radically shifts your center of gravity and you use muscles you never knew you had. I would enjoy doing this with others and maybe it is something we can do as a meetup. I know this all probably sounds very anal; however, this is for your benefit. You will enjoy the trip so much more if you have the conditioning needed to be safe and to not be a drag on those that are in condition. No amount of anecdotal references can prepare you for the rigors of back packing at 10,000'. Last, my intentions are not to scare people off. With the proper conditioning, information and gear, anyone that wants to go on this trip can. I hope to have this posted as a meetup by the end of next week. William
Deb Hoffnung	Posted Mar 9, 2011 6:02 PM Link to this reply
debinomaha Omaha, NE Post #: 43	Very exciting Bill! I'm looking into gathering information about physical conditioning to prepare for a backpacking trip. If there's enough information to share I might hold a workshop or just post it here on NAG. I think the backpack hiking sessions are a great idea - and we might think about planning one or two a month starting pretty soon for any folks doing summer/fall backpacking trips.
Doug Daniel	Posted Mar 28, 2011 6:26 PM Link to this reply
littlebucks Omaha, NE Post #: 14	I've already started my conditioning and plan on backpacking Glacier. The mid-September time frame you mentioned for RMNP might work for me. I'll keep an eye on this posting since I would love to backpack this park. Doug
chris knaffle	Posted Jul 20, 2011 6:54 AM Link to this reply
user 7094076 Lincoln, NE Post #: 4	Well, things are moving rather quickly. I just got off the phone with the RMNP back country office. I anticipated having to write for reservations but they took them over the phone. The dates are Sept 9-14. Sept 9-11 we will be at the North St. Vrain camp site and Sept 12-14 will be at the Thunder Lake campsite. Those sites are in the lower, southern half of the park. The ranger described the trail as moderate. However, the last day will be a 7 mile hike out of the park; mostly down hill. Here is a link to the best maps available for packing the National Parks. They are National Geographic and water proof. All the maps for CO are on this web page and you will have to scroll down to find the Rocky Mountain National Park map. You can link to the RMNP map and zoom in on and see the trail, lakes and campsites. It is also topographical. http://shop.nationalg.... This is the official National Park Service web site for the park and back country camping: http://www.nps.gov/ro.... For planning purposes: Those that have never back packed before, I will require you to have completed the NAG Bare Bones back packing course. The first one is next week on the 16th. Also, I will schedule a meetup 3 weeks in advance to brief everyone on backpacking in the Mountains and to do a gear check. Adequate gear, based on my standards, will be mandatory. It matters not if you have back packed before, if you have not packed into the mountains, I will require each individual to hike with me at the Platte River park, at least once, for 2-3 hours with a full pack. If the first hike indicates you lack the requisite fitness, we will do more hikes together until I think you are ready. I try to hike once a week at the beginning of the season, with my backpack, to get into and stay in shape for backpacking. With a 35 to 50 lb pack on your back, it radically shifts your center of gravity and you use muscles you never knew you had. I would enjoy doing this with others and maybe it is something we can do as a meetup. I know this all probably sounds very anal; however, this is for your benefit. You will enjoy the trip so much more if you have the conditioning needed to be safe and to not be a drag on those that are in condition. No amount of anecdotal references can prepare you for the rigors of back packing at 10,000'. Last, my intentions are not to scare people off. With the proper conditioning, information and gear, anyone that wants to go on this trip can. I hope to have this posted as a meetup by the end of next week. William William, this sounds great. I'm very interested.
William Fann	Posted Jul 21, 2011 8:46 AM Link to this reply
user 11973297 Lincoln, NE Post #: 26	I am going to post this by Monday next week. Chris, I have campsites reserved on the Thunder Lake trail in southern RMNP. It is basically an in and out trail. I will leave the Sep 8 and return Sep 14. I normally set up a base camp and plan activities from that base camp. I have never been one to get up every day and hike to a new campsite. Such is the case with this trip. I will be fly fishing Thunder Lake and the surrounding Lakes.
chris knaffle	Posted Jul 21, 2011 10:20 AM Link to this reply
user 7094076 Lincoln, NE Post #: 9	I am going to post this by Monday next week. Chris, I have campsites reserved on the Thunder Lake trail in southern RMNP. It is basically an in and out trail. I will leave the Sep 8 and return Sep 14. I normally set up a base camp and plan activities from that base camp. I have never been one to get up every day and hike to a new campsite. Such is the case with this trip. I will be fly fishing Thunder Lake and the surrounding Lakes. Sounds good!
William Fann	Posted Jul 27, 2011 4:36 PM Link to this reply
user 11973297 Lincoln, NE Post #: 28	I am working on the RMNP meetup. It always takes longer than I think. I hope to get it submitted to Deb for approval tomorrow. The dates are depart Sep 8 and return Sep 14. If you want to make it a weekend trip, you can pack out on Sunday. I have one room reserved for me at the Peak to Peak in Estes Park and two other rooms, one with 2 twin beds and one with a queen for 109 each. If there are no takers I will have to cancel the reservations two weeks prior to get my money back. There is the option to make reservations that are less expensive in Longmont. I need to stay at Estes to begin my adaptation to the altitude. We will leave Estes Park at 8AM and drive down to the wild bason trailhead. From there we will hike to our first camp site short of Thunder Lake. After three nights there we will hike to the Thunder Lake camp grounds for the next three nights. On the 14th we will break camp and pack out as soon as possible. I want to pack out and then drive home all on the 14th.
chris knaffle	Posted Jul 28, 2011 6:07 AM Link to this reply
user 7094076 Lincoln, NE Post #: 15	I'm curious as to what is available for daily hikes / things to see from the sites we're staying at. Is there water we can drink nearby camp?
William Fann	Posted Jul 28, 2011 9:25 AM Link to this reply
user 11973297 Lincoln, NE Post #: 29	Chris, That has been one of my concerns regarding this trip. Initially, I set it up to be a fly fishing trip. Here are a couple of maps: http://www.nps.gov/ro... http://www.nps.gov/ro.... The wild basin trail map shows the campsites by the small squares. Our first camp site is the site just before Thunder Lake. The second camp site is the Thunder Lake camp site. If this is not satisfactory for you, take a look at the nps map and submit some suggestions.
chris knaffle	Posted Aug 25, 2011 8:39 AM Link to this reply
user 7094076 Lincoln, NE Post #: 21	William, I wanted you to know that I won't be able to make this. I had some issues at work that are going to occupy the dates you are going. My wife and I are planning to go to CO 9/22 - 9/27 instead. Chris

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