Great Area!

Altitude is 7,522, adjust your hiking plans accordingly if you are a low lander.

You know the Stanley Hotel is haunted, right?

 

I am a lowlander. What do you recommend doing to accommodate the altitude difference?

And I spent extra cash getting the most haunted room in the hotel for two nights!

And thank you for the response.

 

The bad thing, she is not an outdoors kind of person. She is the one who thought of this trip and I think she is doing all this because she knows how much I like to hike.

I'm OK with it of course, but does anyone have pointers on how I can make this as enjoyable as possible for her?



She is not the kind of person to complain, so I'm not worried about that. I'm just trying to make her experience something she will like and hopefully appreciate enough to try it again.

I've been out with both my wife, and my sons who were 10 and 13 when I started them hiking. The kids enjoyed it enough to where they did the John Muir Trail with me last summer over 21 days. I started them relatively slow, did bushcraft stuff as they found it fun, and was very careful not to overload them nor push them too far. When they wanted to turn around, we turned around with no implications that we were being "wimps" by doing so. Sometimes I would even turn us around when I sensed that one of them was struggling or not having fun without putting the reason on them.

Don't push your fiance too far distance wise, let her push you farther if she wants. Don't try to convince her to do anything that she is not comfortable with (especially with regards to climbing), and keep her weight as absolutely light as possible. Of course, have her carry her own essential gear so she doesn't feel like you did everything for her and that she can get the sense of accomplishment and the "great outdoors", but without carrying an uncomfortable amount of weight. The Deuter pack is a good comfortable pack, very important. Have a few of the "luxuries" of home, like good food. Make at least one meal out there that doesn't consist of dehydrated food. And most importantly, make sure that she is able to "use the bathroom" as comfortably as possible.

 

Thank you.
I forgot to mention that my 16 year old son will be with us as well. They get along great and it was her idea to invite him with us.
He loves the outdoors as much as I do, so I know he will be good to go. I'll have to look into a couple good meals that are easily made up and packable for us while were out.

 

redrum.

don't over hike. do bring moleskin just in case and put it on her at the first sign of a blister. I think the hike to the waterfall is easy, so that's fun. spend the first day or two walking around town to do what she wants first and try to acclimate to the altitude.

drive to the top. be below treeline if bad weather appears and it can show up quicker than most places I've been.

carry layers!

it's mud season so don't bring your best shoes.

drive the scenic route south. I think it's 72.

read a book outside on a sunny day

 

Thank you for the advice. Im rearranging our plans a bit from all the input here.
And I think our first hike is about 3-4 miles. And it is a waterfall hike. Maybe the one your talking about. The pictures look amazing! I'm so used to hiking around here in the midwest, it will be a much needed change of view heading out into the trails up there.

 

I used to live in Colorado and spent a lot of time at Estes. We are going up later this summer and taking our dog!

One thing to be sure and pack is aspirin. You will get headaches. Altitude adjustments are wicked on lowlanders, especially if you do them too fast and don't acclimate.

Take your time. It's not a race. Enjoy the view. Remember that your body will wear out faster than at low altitude and you will sweat less due to the thinness of the atmosphere and the wind. If you are not sweating, don't think that you can't get heat stroke...you can and on the mountain, it can be deadly.

Take comfort food...candies, chips, etc. for snacking. She is probably not a protein bar fanatic.

Remember you share that vista with bears, mountain lions, etc. Be aware of what's around you at all times. Secure your food. Bury your scat well. Just because you can't see them, don't mean they ain't lookin' at you.

Have someone who knows where you are hiking every day. Have GPS coordinates written down with a friend. Check in with the ranger station, let them know where you are going. That way, if cell signal fails, if something happens and you get lost up there, at least there is someone that knows where you were headed and the rangers know where to start looking.

Take a bright flag with you. It's great for putting on a long branch to show where you are if you get too tired to move and lay down. It's hard to see a person laying down in that terrain from the air.

OK, I'm going way more than your simple question...but, all these things are from personal experience. I love those mountains and can't wait to see them this summer. Just gotta respect them. They leave you breathless with their beauty but they will rip you a new one if you don't respect them. ; )

 

To get adjusted to the altitude spend the first 3 or 4 days sight seeing around town and in the car. Drink plenty of water while you're there and try to avoid alcohol and caffeinated beverages or the headaches will get you fast.

 

Thanks everyone. I'll be sharing all this info with her tonight when I get home from work.
We were planning on hiking the first couple days, and she wanted to do some shopping the last day or so we were there. I'm going to switch that around now so we can get used to the altitude while in town. There are apparently some big wholesale shops or something like that she is wanting to check out.

 

for migraines, add valerian root to your other medicine

 

I havent ever been there hiking but I have taken a motorcycle trip through there on the way back from Sturgis along that Trail Ridge Road (highest paved road in the US) I knew I should have listened to the old man we met eating breakfast that moring when he told me it rains up there everyday. We got up to the top of that mountain and it rained all they way down. That was the coldest most miserable ride I've ever took in my entire life and it was in the middle of the summer. Make sure you bring some rain gear and warm clothes, I tossed my rain suit in N. Dakota after it ripped and I dreaded it!

 

Some good freinds of mine I knew when I lived in Mexico own a bed & breakfast in Estes Park (as well as a B&B and technical dive operation down in Cozumel.) They (husband and wife) run the Colorado operation in the warm months, then head back down to Cozumel for the winter. They send out kind of an e-mail newsletter, that always has some amazing photos of the area. They keep telling me to drag my lazy ass on out there,but I'm turning into an anti-social lump in my old age !! :

 

My wife and I go there all the time. We LOVE the place! You can get a Jeep tour of Rocky Mountain National Park. The hike up to Gem Lake is the best bang for your buck for an easy climb with a big pay off. Chelito's Mexican Restaurant has some of the best Margaritas I've ever had...coming from a Houstonian that means something!

Picture we took on the way up to Gem lake,

 

More great advice that will be taken! We love Mexican so I will pass that on as well. The lady will love to hear about the Margarita!

 

estes park is a great town. lots of things to catch one's interest such as antique and jewellery shops (traditional/native american stuff, like turquoise); and of course king's shining was conceived there.

views are spectacular, long's peak towers over town. i'd suggest not having too many metals on you if go up tree line, lightning storms are super fast and appear out of nowhere.

 

For something really fun, there is a little pull over park just before the entrance to Estes Park...I think it's on 66/36 north of Lyons. It is absolutely filled with chip monks. These little guys will crawl all over you if you have some peanuts. They are not the least bit shy and I have so many pictures of my children covered head to toe in chip monks that I can barely see them, lol. It's just fun and gives you a giggle.

 

Echo suggestions about taking things easy to start with. When I first moved to Colorado, I drove from Atlanta, arrived in C. Springs on a Friday evening, got settled into hotel and slept. Next morning, decided to go for a run to clear the road trip lethargy. Figured I'd knock out a normal 5-6 miles and then go get some breakfast.

Two miles later I was seriously sucking wind and returned to the hotel. Coming from flatlands, 6000+ ft altitude is a game changer for most. It becomes apparent when you start to exert. Aspirin highly recommended.

Do quality hotel, restaurant, and vehicle day trip exploring for the first few days. Skip the hiking until everyone acclimatizes to the altitude change. Drive into Rocky Mountain National Park and explore it by vehicle with short walks at stop-off locations. There is plenty to see and do before you guys load up for the backwoods.

 

Oh and we did the "Ghost Tour" at the Stanley....In my opinion it's not really worth the money. You get a cool tour of the hotel and all but it takes up a lot of time you could be spending doing something else. Also, if memory serves, it was like $40 a person.

 

I had a gal friend that tried to do all the stuff I like because i did most all the things she like out in the socialization world. Help her advance her career. The first long over night hike we took I took along a ladies pocket travel urinal for her. On our first pee break I handed it to her and said thought this might help. Made the stops much easier for us and she loved that I thought about her comfort. She never balked at going into the bush. Think about her comforts even if its only a little thing.

 

Jealous bro. Have fun.

 

Oh, and a kinda unrelated story, somewhat like Astronomy. When I transferred from Brooks Army Med Center at Fort Sam H to Evans at Fort Carson, I came from San Antonio to C. Springs. The day after I got there, I was asked if I wanted to do a special PT exercise on the Pike. I had no idea what that meant but said "sure" and hopped in the POV. Turned out to be wind sprints on the top of Pike's Peak. Not a good idea...not a good idea at ALL. lol. I was young and dumb.

 

You are coming at a great time of year. I have spent the last 25 years roaming that area on the weekends. Drink LOTS lots of water. Take it easy and enjoy.

Trail Ridge Road is a must hit that time of year and spending a day going over to Grand Lake from Estes is an amazing drive. To many hikes to list along that road alone. Just take some easy trails the first day to see how you feel at altitude and go from there

 

Take a good camera. The place is beautiful beyond description. Give it time and some of our wooves will be down there if they already aren't.

 

Plan to be off the Mountian by 3:00 pm at he latest . Why electric rain LIGHTING
. Boots already broken in right. Have fun

 

driving?

ever drive in mountains? use down-shifting when possible instead of riding your breaks too much. sage's post about pikes peak reminded... if you ride your breaks too much, they'll overheat and fail.

 

WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER!!!! Make sure you take plenty of water with you. All of you will be miserable if you don't drink enough water. Also, take sunscreen and bug repellent. Higher altitude means it's easier to sunburn even though it's cooler.

Levi

 

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,.

 

You wrote the same thing nine times and I still have no idea what the point is.

 

Whats funny is i just watched it last week. Completely forgot about that scene. Apperently the stanley has a channel that plays the shining 24-7 in every room.
Were not going to spend money on that ghost tour thing. But i did book what they call their "most haunted room". Mostly just to creep my son out. Well, maybe I'm I little curious...

 

You know....we did stay in the Stanley a couple nights one time. One night at like 2 in the morning it sounded like someone was throwing luggage or something all over the place for like an hour straight in a room above us. It could have been coincidence but it sure was a tiny bit creepy.