Hiking The Cub Lake Trail - RMNP
Cub Lake Trail is one of our favorite trails in Rocky Mountains National Park. Depending on what season you hike it, the diversity is just amazing. In the summer, the wildflowers are abundant and just beautiful. You can see and hear birds throughout your entire hike, from the tiny, little Chickadee, to the drum-drum-drum of the Downey Woodpecker, to the noisy chatter of the Stellar’s Jay. It almost seems that, around each bend, there is something new to discover and a great hike for the whole family!
But, as the seasons change, so does the experience on the trail. Last Saturday, we met our Outdoor Eyes Adventure Group of twelve hikers at the Cub Lake Trailhead at 9:00am. We had originally planned a snowshoeing event,” but as the weather started to change (at is does at this time of the year), we decided that a regular “hike” was more appropriate. Boot, gators, hiking poles and a backpack with enough water were all that were necessary for the hike that day. We started early, so the ground was frozen most of the way up to the lake. As we crossed the second bridge, we saw 2 American Dippers diving into the water for some food. It was a nice surprise to see them there. The group loved to see how they hunted for their food. Br-r-r…. diving into that freezing water.
We know quite a lot about the Cub Lake Trail regarding the birds (and other wildlife), trees, shrubs, wildlife, the landscape and other bits of information, so we shared that with the group as we approached different places on the trail. We had some stories about the old beaver dams and the ponderosa pines which were fun to tell. As we rounded the bend by the Moraine, we noticed that it was still a bit too cold for the marmots, who love to sun on the rocks in the distance. By then, the wind was starting to blow. It just comes straight though the canyon and nips you until you can find shelter in the trees father down the trail. We passed the birders who come out every Saturday morning and they reported that they had seen approximately 14+ different species of birds on the trail that morning. We were excited that some of the birds had come back to the Cub Lake Trail already as the Cub Lake Trail is one of our favorite places for birding.
The ground was frozen with a few dots of snow along the way. We were glad that we had our poles with us. It was a nice surprise to see the small pond unfrozen and full of ducks! It was very swollen from the melting of the snow above and a great place to take a “group photo.”
As we hiked farther up the trail, there was much more snow and some of the drifts were quite high. We could see where the birds would make their homes this spring in the hollows of some of the trees... especially one of our favorite dead trees on the left of the trail that was close to a condominium of bird homes. We did not have our binoculars with us so it was hard to identify some of the many birds that we saw and heard along the trail. It was a very beautiful day… and especially with a group of people that we enjoyed their company on the trail.
As we hiked farther up the trail, the snow became deeper, but it was a packed trail so it was easy to follow and easy to maneuver. Our goal was to have a snack at Cub Lake and then hike back for lunch at Poppy’s. As we neared the lake, the winds howled and everyone decided that we would snack on the trail on the way down. Even though the sun was shining brightly, it was just too cold to sit by the frozen lake. As we headed back down, the frozen trail had now thawed and turned to mud in many places. The winds had calmed down and it was good to be in a sheltered area. Nine of the 12 hikers enjoyed lunch together and talking about the day’s adventure. The next Cub Lake Trail hike will be after all the snow melts…. and everyone can’t wait for all the colorful wildflowers to appear.
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Enjoy Estes Park - Winter Art Walk. 
