Herman Lake - Wildflower Hike

7.20.2013
I would like to report that the wildflowers along Herman Gulch Trail are in their peak. If you don't want to miss the gorgeous view, plan to get there as soon as possible. It is a well known trail with a fair easy access.
Direction: take I70 west from Denver and Exit 218. The trailhead is on the right after the exit. There is map and restroom at the trailhead and the parking is roadside parking with limited space.

Elevation Change: 10,400 feet - 12,000 feet

In and out trail and the one way distance is 2.5 miles

Europe Impression - Adventure in Alps Switzerland

the famous Staubbach waterfall didn't impress us

In the morning, we took the cable car to Grutschalp(4379 ft) then the train that rides among the mountains and forests to get to Murren (5,374 ft).The end of this route is Schilthorn(9,744 ft). But the highest mountain is Jungfrau with the peak at 13,642 ft. The view is definitely similar to what I have seen in Colorado. We hiked a couple miles in Murren on the well maintained concrete trail. Met a group of people from Fort Collins and Castle Rock…it was so nice to finally hear American English again!

Hotel Balcony

Overlook village from the mountain

Our plan was to go down to Gimmelwald then hike to Trummelbach to check out the waterfall there then take the bus back to Lauterbrunnen. While we were waiting for the cable car to go down to Gimmelwald, we saw the paragliding brochure and were so impressed by the picture of an old lady flying in the sky. We decided that paragliding could be the highlight for our trip. Two pilots John and Joe came to the station to meet us with all the equipment in a huge backpack. The route we went is 15 minutes Murren Waterfall Flight. We jumped out of a hill and found ourselves soaring in the sky almost right away. Flying in the sky in a perfect weather was bliss. At that moment, I felt like I was a bird that really enjoyed the freedom and the panoramic view of the mountains, rivers and meadows. It was a great experience although I did have upset stomach from the turns during the landing. The pilot takes photo and video for the fly and charge extra money for them. If you don't fear of the height, you actually can take pictures or video by yourself while enjoying the fly and the view.

Hotel in Murren

We landed at Stechelberg where we can take the bus back to Lauterbrunnen. But the schedule seem work out well for us…it turned out a very nice hike for us to sock really enjoy the village view along the creek, a few waterfalls(this area claims to have 72 waterfalls) and the nature in the mountains.You don’t need to go to Switzerland to experience paragliding though. I have heard people saying the paragliding from Lookout Mountain, Colorado is awesome! I think the difference between Alps and Rockies in terms of nature view is Alps has the carpet-like meadow/lawn and the blooming flowers in the villages. But we have more wild animals, wildflowers and high country lakes! Both areas are the gifts from the nature mother. Just in case you like to dine out at the mountain top surrounding by the snowy mountains, there are 6 restaurants on the "Top of Europe" - Jungfraujoch (11,333 ft). It might be an once in a life time experience.

Pilot is getting ready for the take-off

Jumping down from the hill(1700 meter) - Paragliding take-off

Flew over the forest

waterfall 

Flying like a bird

Waterfall without much water

Typical mountain view

Flower and flower

Swiss Architecture 

Rocky Mountain National Park - Twin Sisters

7.13.2013

Twin sisters trail is in Rocky Mountain National Park system but it is outside of fee zone. To get there, take US 36 west all the way to pass Estes Park then follow Highway 7 south to get to Lily Lake visitor center. You may stop here for restroom and/or have a pleasant walk along the lake to warm yourself up. Twin sisters trail is on the left after passing Lily lake and you are allowed to park on the right side of the road before entering to the trailhead.

Based on the map at the trailhead, this trail is 3.7 miles one way to get to the peak. The number at protrails.com is 7.2 miles round trip. I guess 7.2 is the distance from trailhead to the end of the trail without counting the climbing to the peaks. This trail is an in and out (or up and down) trail with two peaks (11,428 ft). The peak on the right is easier but the view is better than the view from the left. To get to the summit on the left, you really need to climb on the rocks so it is worth to throw a pair of gloves into your backpack.  It took me a bit less than 5 hours to complete this hike. 

The trail is all the way up to the peak then all the way down coming back

3.7 miles one way to the peak

Parking is along the road .. if you are late, you will need to walk longer to the trail head

rocks covered trail at the last half mile or so 

Flowers grow among rocks

the view of long's peak from the summit on the right

the view from the summit on the left

the register log on the summit 

Panoramic view from the summit 

Another angel of Long's Peak

Europe Impression - Interlaken & Alps in Switzerland

View from the train

View from the train

Interlaken, Switzerland was first brought to my attention by a co-worker.  After reading the description in Rick’s Best in Europe and seeing the pictures on the website, it became the must-visit spot on my trip.

View from the train

We took the train from Lausanne to Interlaken with SBB-CFF-FFS( Swiss Federal Railways), the largest railway company in Switzerland. Of course, it takes Eurail pass. If time and money are not the concerns, you can take the scenic lines like Glacier Express, Bernina Express or Golden Pass to get to Swiss Alps.

Cable car track

At the moment I saw the green meadows, mountains, the water in the lakes and the flowers,the word I thought of was ‘Shangri-La’.Lake Thun and Lake Brienz are the lakes made this place called ‘Interlaken’. We took the boat along Lake Thun. The entire route is over two hours but you can get off at some of the stops and turn around with the boat from the opposite direction. A local guy Peter on the boat helped us to figure out the stops that work for both directions. He also mentioned that his family had a great vacation through the switching house program with an American family in California. Although I am not sure whether I would be comfortable switching house with strangers, I would agree the person who first came out of this idea is a genius. One more good thing about the tourism office – the clerk could provide you a one-shop service by consolidating your trips into a very nice printout with the options of the connections between boats and trains. That was very helpful.While we toured the lake on the boat, we stored our luggage to one of the storage at the train station. A small storage cabinet usually costs 4 Swiss Francs and 9 for the big one that fits two suitcases.There are also bicycle rentals along the street.

Flowers are everywhere

River Brienz

There are two train stations in Interlaken. Most of the visitors get off at the OST(East). As the gateway to many other surrounding areas, the small town was full of the tourists. We preferred somewhere quieter so we picked a hotel in Lauterbrunnen, 20 minutes away by the local train.The transportation beyond Interlaken is pretty much not covered by Eurail Pass. It was so interesting seeing a train that packed with tourists. It reminded me of going to the school field trips – Noisy but you can see the glow of excitement on everyone’s face.

The hotel I booked claims to have the view of the famous staubbach falls. Since it was the late September, the lack of water made the waterfall less impressive. When I filled in my contact information on the check-in book, I noticed there were a few people from Colorado Springs checking in the same day but I didn’t get to meet them. Instead, I had a fun chat with two German hikers, who tried to convince me that wearing short sleeves on the beach of San Francisco in November was a true experience. During the day, the temperature was mild with strong wind. At night, it became pretty chilly and a light down jacket would be desired. Cheese Fondue became the best choice for the chilly night. Lauterbrunnen is supposed be quieter but the restaurants were packed!

Most restaurants don't provide free tap water. If you don't specify, the water you order is likely the mineral water but the regular drinking water

Swiss Cheese Fondue