The next day of backpacking!
We wanted to backpack again, but this time on the West side of the park. At the Kawuneeche wilderness office, Ranger Ben told us that there were no available sites on the West side, but we could hike into Arapaho National Forest from their park. At Arapaho they don’t make you camp in designated spots, so you could hike the trail and set up camp wherever you’d like! So that’s exactly what we did.
We chose the Baker Gulch trail (this time, well before the sun set!) with an elevation about 10,500 feet. We hiked 2.2 miles in and set up camp a few feet off the trail. Our spot was perfect! The next morning we rock climbed the mountain. It had some insane rocks and easily climbable boulders on the incline.
Sadly, our camp had to be packed up and our time in the mountains had to come to an end. I couldn’t have asked for a better first backpacking trip thanks to the Rockies!
And I can’t wait till I see you again, Colorado!