2024 CMC Rocky Mountain National Park Western Outing

Trip Report

The Chicago Mountaineering Club (CMC) 2024 Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP or Park) Outing provided peak bagging, outstanding hikes to mountain lakes, wildlife spotting, and trips to Estes Park to enjoy breweries, restaurants and a distillery. The RMNP Outing was for two weeks between Thursday, June 27 and Saturday, July 13, 2024. A new activity this year was trout fishing; More about that later in the report.

First Week

Western Outing participants in the first week were: Jim Considine, Andrew Skipor, Maggie Dabkowski (membership pending), Tiffany Obermeyer, Paul Sack, Michael Heifets, Rick Deibel, Krastio Lilov, Jeff Brath, Jacek Witkos, Marcus Daubaras, Kaitlynn Daubaras, Zenon Kolacz, Matt Brdlick, and Al Strommen (non-member).

For warmups, CMC members (CMCers) made acclimatization hikes to the tops of Lookout Mountain (10,718’) /Horsetooth Peak (10,334), Twin Sisters (11,413’ and 11,428’), and Estes Cone (11,006’). The climb to Lookout Mountain and Horsetooth Peak began from the Cabin.

There is a saddle between the two mountains, but the climbs are quite different. To reach the top of Lookout Mountain one must go off-trail but there are plenty of cairns to guide the way. Horsetooth Mountain requires more of a bushwacking effort. Horsetooth Peak required more bushwacking skills and involved crossing a boulder field to reach top. The bounder field provided good practice for subsequent climbs.

Twin Sisters provides outstanding views of Longs Peak and the surrounding areas. As indicated, there are two peaks on the mountain. Both of which can be easily summited. Estes Cone is closer to Longs Peak than Twin Sisters and, thus, provides even better views. The trailhead for Estes Cone is at Lily Lake parking lot, which is about a 20-minmute drive from the Cabin. The trailhead for Twin Sisters is up a Forest Service Road that goes by the Lily Lake parking lot.

The main trip attraction for the first week was the climb to Coney Pass and attempt to summit Ogallala Peak.

Ogalla is located at the southwest corner of Wild Basin. This remote summit is the southern-most thirteener in RMNP and overlooks four separate drainages. It is the highest peak for many miles around, and because every approach is long, it sees few ascents. It is connected to Elk Tooth by a rugged ridge spiked with rock towers. [Lisa Foster, Rocky Mountain National Park - The Complete Hiking Guide, 2013, page 212. ]

Nine CMCers decided to attempt the summit. Since we had a large group, the plan was to divide into two teams with summit attempts on simultaneous days. However, due to the threat of rain on the first day, that plan was quashed, and we decided to go as one large group to the summit. Due to the group size, we had to have two campsites. The Park Service only allows a maximum of seven people at a backcountry camp site. Luckily, we had reserved two campsites (Peak Lake and Pear Creek), which accommodated our large group. The trip plan was to spend two nights in the back country.