Kim and I went hiking again this past weekend, once again inside of Rocky Mountain National Park. Our mission this time was to climb to the top of Flattop Mountain. This 4.4 mile hike starts at 9,475 feet near Bear Lake and the summit is at 12,324 feet, an elevation gain of 2,849 feet. All around this is a bigger hike than the week prior when we hiked the Twin Sisters Peaks.

We started in the morning once again, around 10:30 I believe. When we reached the summit at around 1pm we ate some lunch and took in the wonderful sights. After a half hour or so, we decided to keep hiking and go to the top of Hallett Peak, which is another half mile or so from the top of Flattop Mountain. This peak rises to 12,713 feet, an additional 389 feet from where we ate lunch. It was well worth the extra distance, as we walked very close to four elk, and then had an amazing view from the top.

After some time at the top of Hallett Peak we began our five mile descent back to Bear Lake. As we neared the end we decided to take a side trail over to Bierstadt Lake, where our car was actually parked. The sign said that it was only another 1.7 miles away. Unfortunately once we hiked that 1.7 we realized that the car was another 1.3 miles from the actual lake. We eventually made it to the car, but much later than we were originally thinking. In the end we hiked over thirteen miles! Trust me, my body is still feeling it today.

The weather was much clearer for this hike, so I think our pictures came out much brighter this time. And as an added bonus, I finally got the gallery on my site working again. So the photos from this journey can be viewed here at edpaffjr.com.