Backpacker Magazine – January 2011

Trip Finder: Rockies

Your favorite Rockies hikes—from dayhikes to weekenders to multiday trips.

by: Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan

Tags:
• Destinations
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• Wyoming
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• Idaho
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• Colorado
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• Montana
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• Yellowstone
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• Grand Teton
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WEEKEND
WILDFLOWERS Ice Lake Trail, CO
No split vote here: Readers agreed that backpackers will find the Rockies’ best blooms in Ice Lakes Basin in the San Juan National Forest. Linger on this leisurely four-miler past Lower Ice Lake (which sits just below treeline) and switchback up the cliff to the upper basin. fs.fed.us/r2/sanjuan

PEAKBAGGING Granite Peak, MT
Got solid climbing skills? There’s no better challenge  than Montana’s 12,799-foot apex and its 26 “switchbacks from hell,” dizzying Snowbridge ridge, and three pitches of class 4 and 5 rock. Tackle it in three days via the 11.6-mile approach from the West Rosebud trailhead. fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin

WILDLIFE Amphitheater Lake Trail, WY
The safari begins at the trailhead of this 10.1-mile round-trip in Grand Teton National Park: “Moose love to hang out in the lupine meadows near the start,” says Chuck Wolfe, of Michgan. Keep your eyes peeled for black bears, mule deer, osprey, and bald eagles on the way to the sheer-walled cirque. nps.gov/grte


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