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| Eagle Cliff Mountain from the trail |
I had been wanting to climb more peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park and Eagle Cliff and Emerald Mountains were the ones I picked for the 2nd of December. Both are short and easy and as I don't feel great about minimizing my effort on small peaks I decided to climb them together from the same trailhead. I also didn't have a pass to enter the park so the way I chose to do it maximized my effort for two easy peaks as well as allowed me into the park without having to pay.
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| View back toward Emerald Mountain on right |
I started at the East Portal Trailhead and hiked over the hill to the Glacier Basin Campground. I could have climbed Emerald first, but I chose to do it last as it was the higher of the two peaks. The weather was windy and there was snow blowing off the Divide and it was drifted in spots along the trail. It was never too deep and I found I never wished I had snowshoes. I stayed on the trail on the edge of the campground and continued on into the YMCA complex. I came out on a road and there was a bit of confusion, but I quickly located where the trail picked up on the other side and dropped to the crossing of Mill Creek.
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| "Thunder," "Lightning," and Estes Cone from Emerald |
Once past the crossing I neared the Bear Lake Road and followed trail on the side of it, just in the trees, to the crossing of the Big Thompson River. From there I left the trail and started up Eagle Cliff Mountain. I left the main trail but soon found a climber's trail that led all the way to the top. It was a pleasant surprise and made the ascent quite easy. I was glad I had chosen this route and not tried to climb the peak from Moraine Park or the other side of the mountain.
The trail led me to the top rock outcrops and I found the tallest one and climbed to the top. The views were limited to the west as snow was still blowing in from the Divide, but it was beautiful and clear out to the east. I enjoyed looking at some of the peaks on the edge of the park, both inside and outside the boundary. After some time up top I turned and followed the trail back down to the maintained trail.
From there, I followed my route back across the Big Thompson River and Mill Creek and back through the YMCA and by the Glacier Basin Campground. I followed the trail back toward the trailhead to a high point and left it to climb Emerald. Here too I found that there was a social trail that made the ascent quick and easy.
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| Emerald Mountain from near trailhead |
On top, I had good views back to Eagle Cliff and to the east as well as of the storm still hanging on the Divide. It had gotten a bit cloudier and colder and I decided to descend back to the trail and then back to my car. It had been a good day with two easy peaks, made more full by hiking them from the same trailhead. As a bit of a purist I felt better about climbing them this way than if I had climbed one and then driven to the next to climb it. The day had been great and I was pleased to have spent it in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Elevation gain: 2945' Total gain: 6485'
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