No Headline.By Jenn Weede
For the Enterprise
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Jenn Weede and her father, Quincy Weede, enjoy the views on the Beirstadt Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park.
JENN WEEDE
For the Enterprise
overline: HIKE OF THE WEEK
head: Perpetual views on the trail to Bierstadt Lake
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"Bierstadt" translates literally into "Beer Street" in German, which is probably why my Dad was so keen on hiking the Bierstadt Lake trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. Although there were no chilled beer steins awaiting us along the 1.5 miles of ascending switchbacks, we both drank intoxicating views the entire way.
Fields of wildflowers danced in the sun across the valley and the snow-capped peaks of Longs, Meeker, and Storm mountains sparkled in the distance as the trail wound back and forth in almost constant view of such delights.
Unlike many trails, which require a certain amount of effort to reach spectacular vistas, the Bierstadt Lake trail offers them up at every turn, almost immediately from the trailhead — a rarity in a journey with less than 600 feet of elevation gain. As such, it is ideal for entertaining a relatively fit person who is unaccustomed to altitude.
After a mile and a half of gradually ascending switchbacks and inspiring views, one reaches the one-mile path that traverses the lake. The trail dramatically shifts from wide-open hillside to what feels like a secret, mysterious route to a long lost treasure.
The lake, of course, is the treasure, although it cannot readily be seen from the path that surrounds it. Rather, the gnarled, knotted trail with exposed tree roots and damp earth weaves around it with short spoors leading to the lake's edge. Each little cove is a perfect, secluded picnic spot.
Ambitious ascenders will don trail runners, for it is a rewarding run as well as a hike, with a pleasant flat loop around the lake after the uphill lung-buster.
For the privilege of hiking this trail, one must pay the Rocky Mountain National Park entrance fee: $15 for seven days, or $30 for an annual pass, but is well worth it to break free from the foothills and embrace the high peaks without too much exertion.
July 20, 2001
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