Hiking and climbing in Colorado - Day 4 of 8

Today the plan was to climb some easy trad routes up on Lumpy Ridge, just north of Estes Park, inside Rock Mountains NP. After a late morning start and much scenic stops, we arrived at the parking lot a bit pass noon. The day was hot, much hotter than I thought at 8,000 feet, and all Lumpy Ridge was south facing. Megan and I packed our gear and started hiking toward The Book, but soon I was out of breathe and overheating. After a quick rest under a shady pine tree, we decided to forgo trad climbing, and just go bouldering around the base of Lumpy Ridge instead. We need to save our energy for hiking up to Longs Peak tomorrow.

Megan bouldering at Lumpy Ridge

After getting my butt thoroughly kicked on some slab problem, and getting totally pumped on an overhang traverse, we called it a day, went to the public library at Estes Park to check weather for tomorrow (10% chance of PM showers), then went back to camp, cooked dinner, packed our backs for an alpine start tomorrow morning, and went to sleep.

The Twin Owls at Lumpy Ridge

Photo: Megan Dunn