Day 7

Black Lake and Beyond

Once again we were on the trail at 6AM. Andy was feeling better so we set a pretty good pace and were at Mills Lake in a little over an hour.

After that, the trail got serious and took us uphill to Black Lake, and then REALLY uphill above Black.

The trail follows a stream up a steep slope above Black. We were both puffing by the time we got to the top. Once there, we were in a spectacular setting, surrounded by the park's tallest peaks.

Glacier Creek is loaded with trout.We saw 40 in one small stretch of the stream.

We saw this pair of bighorns
on our way back to the cabin.

Unfortunately, a fire started near the park that evening. The wind was from the wrong direction and the park and Estes Valley were soon smoke filled. We checked out a day early and headed for Loveland. Sadly, two men died when their slurry bomber used for fighting fires crashed.