Trillcation: Utah To Colorado 2020 Day 6
Saturday, August 29 (MDT):
4:45 AM – Arrive at Glacier Gorge Trailhead
5:45 AM – Arrive at “The Loch”
6:30 AM – Arrive at Timberline Falls
6:45 AM – Arrive a Lake of Glass
7:15 AM – Arrive at Sky Pond
10:00 AM – Return to Car
10:30 AM-6:00 PM – Lunch at house, chill
6:30 PM – Take out Dinner from Fresh Burger Stop
Birthday (33) hike day has arrived! We got to Glacier Gorge Trailhead at 4:30 AM, and there were 4 other cars already there, I believe. We got settled and hit the actual trail at 4:45 AM and it was pitch ass dark. We had one small hand held flash light for the both of us (headlamps would have been better but we managed just fine to be honest) and walked in darkness for an hour and a half. Not gonna lie, it was a little scary at first. It didn’t help that my husband thought he could hear bears at every turn. I was more afraid of ghosts or getting abducted by aliens, but those are our personal problems to work out and should not deter you from night hiking. It seriously only took us 30 minutes to adjust and we saw 4 other hikers total on our way up. As soon as it started to get light, that’s when we felt true excitement for this hike. I’m actually really glad we started as early as we did. Doing most of the hike in the dark was helpful because you were only focused on what you could see ahead of you versus looking up to your destination and psyching yourself out.
Also, there’s just something so hopeful about walking in the dark and then having the sun come up to start to illuminate your path, but that’s some spiritual birthday shit I was on. On this hike, you pass Alberta Falls, Loch Lake, Timberline Falls, and Lake of Glass. All worthy on their own, so getting to see all of those then ending up on Sky Pond for the finale is beautiful.
But let’s get back to the hike. It’s all easy breezy until you start approaching Timberline Falls which I was a tiny bit nervous about. Reading about it on All Trails made it seem like it was treacherous, which I’m always down for, but I’m human so nerves are normal. After completing it and on our descent down, a lot of hikers were asking if we went all the way to the top and how it was. I told them that it looks scarier than it is, and it’s the best and worst part of the hike because it does get pretty steep and tiring. The falls themselves are not sketchy at all and while you are climbing all up in/on the waterfall, I did not get wet and if you’re careful, there are plenty of hand and foot holds and it’s a quick, and worthwhile ascent. Once you get to the top, the view of Lake of Glass is breathtaking, and it’s an exhilarating accomplishment to get up that high.
Now here is where I need to insert one of my tips. It feels like you’ve made it to Sky Pond, but no, you’ve got to keep on going. We read that you need to bear right, so we went all the way right and found ourselves completely off trail. Zach was able to pull up All Trails on his phone because he had it opened before, and one of the reviews (which are so helpful) says to hug the lake, which is the most helpful tip of the whole hike. There are no signs, so yes, the trail is on your right, but stay as close to Lake of Glass as possible and then it becomes obvious where you need to go as long as you remember that the lake should stay visible to your left the whole time.
You go a short distance, then you hit Sky Pond, and voila! You’ve made it! Since we got there so early, we had it all to ourselves for at least 30 minutes and even then, only 3 other people made it up around the same time. We even saw a Pika, which is the cutest thing. It’s considerably more windy, but not necessarily cold once you get there. I had shorts and a sports bra only under my jacket and I was fine. Layers are important though! I started out the hike with a long sleeve shirt which I shedded in the middle of the hike, but was glad I had it for the early morning. My ears get unusually cold so I was grateful to have a hooded jacket on. Meanwhile Zach had on low top Nike Blazers, regular pants, t-shirt, flannel, and baseball cap and went beast mode on the hike. Very proud of and impressed by him because of this.
It took us 2.5 hours to reach the top but it felt like nothing after the fact. Coming down was an even bigger treat. This is where I excel because going up is more difficult for me due to my lack of cardio, but trekking down is mainly strength and I have that. It’s also euphoric to know that you completed your task and because we knew that the way down will feel brand new to us since it was dark when we were heading up. This trail, like most trails, is in and out which means you take the same trail both ways. Others can be a loop, which is probably ideal but we didn’t do any of those on this trip. Also, it was wayyy busier on the way down and took us longer because we would yield to the hikers going up since we were in no rush.
I gave us a little cushion time in case we wanted to chill at various points during the hike, so we had an extra two hour window before lunch time with the family. Originally, they were going to use my reservation (it says the person with the reservation needs to be in the car but they did not check it that closely. Just have the QR code with the time slot displayed and you’ll be fine) to meet us at Bear Lake (a very popular, but easily accessible on foot destination) for a picnic lunch we had already packed the night before. That was the worst case scenario, but since we finished our hike by 10 AM, we went back to the house to all ride in one car. Which we did, and got there 30 minutes earlier than our reserved time, so we got turned away. We went back 5 minutes until noon and were let in, but the road to Bear Lake was closed because the lots were full. So we just turned around, went back to the house, and had the picnic there which was fine with everyone because our 92 year old grandmother was going to be in the car for a long time the next day and we wanted to keep her out of the car as much as possible.
I mean, we were pretty set for the day after completing the Sky Pond hike so anything that followed it would be a bonus. It’s been an ongoing tradition for almost ten years now for me to eat a cheeseburger on or around my birthday and pretty much any other special occasion. Knowing that half of the party would be leaving the next day and already stocking up on groceries the day before, I wanted to keep it simple and order burgers for takeout. We chose Fresh Burger Stop and got damn, those burgers were so good. I got a classic double cheeseburger, strawberry milkshake, and regular fries and that really set it off. Another thing from the trip that I cannot stop thinking about.
Dessert was pie from You Need Pie Diner and Bakery and they have like a thousand pies available. We chose a 6 different slices Franken-pie (key lime, raspberry key lime, chocolate peanut butter, blackberry, apple, and peach ginger) and they were all good.
Then we passed TF out. The End.