6 Nov 2010 Lawn Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, 10,987 feet

 
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  Herd of bighorn sheep right on the road. Highway 34, about halfway up to Estes. Yeah it's a "butt" shot, but, no zoom here! As more cars stopped, they started moving up the hill. "head-bangers" of the nature kind. Lawn Lake is supposed to be "the most popular" hiking destination in RMNP. Never been there, and, it's November with no crowds. Time to go!

 
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  6.3 miles each way and only ~2300 feet elevation gain, so not very steep. Bob At the first overlook of Roaring River. Massive erosion on both hillsides from the 1982 dam break. River at bottom.

 
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  Small falls as the Roaring River comes down. The Lawn Lake trail follows the river for maybe 1/4 of the trail, very pretty.

 
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  Snow visible in top left of picture. Chipmunk! First patch of snow on the trail, guessing we're at about 9,500 feet here. Squirrel nest up in the tree.

 
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  Campgrounds, about halfway (3 miles) up the trail. On the right you can see the snow is covering about half the trail now. Trail is getting icy now. Another high overlook of Roaring River, gorgeous falls. 99% of this trail is in the trees - no wind! Away from the river now, steady gentle climb.

 
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  Another overlook of Roaring River, the destruction from the dam break is stiil visible. Snow on the trail is soft in the sun, not icy.

 
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  Getting close to the base of Mummy Mountain, about a mile to Lawn Lake. Amazing that there hasn't been much tree and bush re-growth since 1982. Mummy mountain on the right. Nearly up to the dam break. ?Fairchild mountain? on the right? "The Saddle" between Hagues Peak on the right and Fairchild mountain on the left. Nearly up to Lawn Lake.

 
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  What are we taking Notice of? Lawn Lake at 10,987 feet, looking west Looking north-west. Windy here! Cute pic of the horse!

 
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  Llama? cool! Sue at Lawn Lake. South end of Lawn Lake. Windy here, Sue gets out 2 more layers and a hat.

 
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  Mmmm honey-crisp apple at Lawn Lake. Too windy, had to leave the gorgeous view behind and beat feet back into the trees, find an open sunny space and eat the rest of lunch there. Missed this sign on the way up at the trail merge. Trail merge - left to Cow Creek trailhead (wait that looks uphill!), right down to Lawn Lake trailhead where our car is. Even in the sun, trail is mostly snow up here, maybe 3-5" deep.

 
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  Trail is packed enough to not need snowshoes, but with a fresh dump of snow this would be tough with our summer hiking shoes and no gaiters! Final look back at Mummy Mountain on the way down. Final look down at Roaring River.

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