I'm just now getting around to posting a trip report from our annual backpacking trip which we took in Rocky Mountain National Park last August. My family and I have hiked and backpacked in RMNP since I was 5 years old but I never had seen the Mummy Range hikes so was excited to try one of the more remote parts of the park. We started from the Lawn Lake Trailhead and then hiked up to Lawn Lake on the first day. It was colder than normal for that time of year in August and rained at the start of the trip. We then hiked east where we stayed at Peregrine for the night.
The next morning we woke up and did a day hike to Bridal Veil Falls which was beautiful.
From there we hiked up to the North Boundary Trail where we took a quick side hike to West Creek Falls.
After the West Creek Falls we wouldn't see another person for two days. At the fork of the North Boundary Trail we took the North Fork Trail west where we stayed at Lost Falls for the night. Lost Falls was a great campsite because it was basically on an island due to all the recent flooding in the area.
We woke up the next morning early knowing we had an extremely challenging day ahead of us. We woke up to freezing rain/snow and then hiked up the Stormy Peak Pass which was well over a 2,000 foot elevation gain. When we reached Stormy Peak pass it was snowing and the wind was brutal. Luckily the snow/sleet stopped almost immediately and the sun came out and the rest of the day was clear.
We veered east off trail for some cross country travel towards Mummy Pass. The views of the rest of the Mummy Range were spectacular but travel was very slow and tiring due to the alders and boggy ground.
We finally descended below the tree line where we saw some elk and met up with Hague Creek and followed it to Flat iron which is where we setup camp for the night.
Our original intent was to meet up with the trail at Mummy Pass and hike up to Mirror lake but we ended up going too far South and missed the trailhead. Luckily, the meadow at Flatiron was beautiful and we watched elk roam into the meadow while the sunset. The stars over the mountains were a sight to see.
The next morning we woke up and hiked south along the Poudre River trail where we were able to get great views of Flatiron mountain and the Mummy Range. We even saw a Pine Martin which was awesome!
As we continued along the Poudre river we came across 5 bull moose in a clearing. We were later told by one of the Rangers that she had never seen that many at the same time. We stayed at the Cache campground for the night and it started snowing again.
The next morning we woke up extremely early as our plan was to take the Chapin Creek Trailhead up to Mount Chapin where we would do some cross country travel across the Mummy Range and end at Lawn Lake. We had talked to several Rangers who told us this was a very feasible trip but that we should be careful. When we woke up, it was still snowing and visibility was zero. We made it up to the end of the Mount Chapin Trailhead and stopped to think about our route. Given that it was still snowing and slippery and visibility was zero, we decided not to risk the treacherous cross country travel and hiked back down to the Alpine Visitor center using an old service road.
Although we were disappointed not to see the whole Mummy Range, we figured it was a safer bet and elected to do a day hike to the top of Flat Top Mountain; where it again sleeted and visibility was zero.
But all in all it was a great trip and RMNP is still one of my favorite parks.
