Day Nine

Idaho Springs area to Estes Park, just a couple hours via more great mountain roads with snow covered peaks in the backdrop.

Due to COVID-19 however Rocky Mountain National Park was permit entry only from 6am-5pm daily. And the campground I had planned was closed. After a chat with the NPS ranger I headed for Big Elk Meadow to setup camp in the backcountry around 1pm.

Headed back into town for some trip re-planning and milling around until 5pm when I could go into the park. Power went out at the deli I had lunch at and chatted with the staff as they kept busy moving food from one fridge to the other that was still working.

Into the park at 5pm sharp as I only had a couple hours to motor around and get back to camp before sundown.

The views up in RMNP were stunning, just stunning. Something about being 10,000 feet up and continuing to climb, hearing the engine strain as it gasps for air is mesmerizing.

The campsite location was awesome, great view of the mountain and up a fun jeep trail a couple miles. The company however, nightmare. The couple downhill from me decided to have a fire anyway even with the danger to High (no fires or open flame grills allowed). The guy uphill from me snored like a bear, literally. I thought a bear was at the site all night until I realized it was him in the morning. I’ve had better camping experiences but for free I won’t complain too much.