It’s prime backcountry and backpacking season in Rocky right now. Almost all the snow is gone though there is still some to be found here in there in a shaded nook or cranny. The wildflowers are in full bloom as are the mosquitos. Even so, its one of my favorite times of year in Rocky Mountain National Park.

When the backpacking lottery comes around March 1st every year, summer seems like its forever off. Even though March 1st is still right in the middle of the winter season, one can start dreaming of where they are going to try and land backcountry sites at and what the conditions will be like when the actual date finally rolls around.

You can plan all you want for the backcountry lottery, but usually you have to be pretty quick on the draw to get sites you want. You need to have a plan B ready to go as once your first pick if gone, you can’t wait long for your second or third. Sometimes you go to your old reliables, places you have been many times but can never explore or photograph enough.

That was the case with my first pick this year of the Upper East Inlet backcountry site. I’ve camped at both Solitaire and Upper East Inlet multiple times in the past and can never get enough of the area east of Lake Verna. Ironically, no matter how hard I’ve tried, I’ve never been able to land a permit to camp at the Lake Verna backcountry site.

So finally on July 20th, the date arrived for my first backpacking trip of the year in Rocky. I arrived at the East Inlet trailhead a little before 8:00 AM. I had been in the park since 4:00 AM prepared to photograph sunrise. Large thunderstorms had been rolling across RMNP all night and a good amount of rain had fallen. The sun managed to spot light a few areas through the fog in the Kawuneeche Valley, but rain and clouds quickly moved back in so I photographed what I could and then headed over to the East Inlet TH to make the six plus mile trek up to the Upper East Inlet site.

It was fairly warm and wet when I headed through East Meadow on my way towards the climb up to Lake Verna via the Devils Staircase. The mosquitoes couldn’t get enough of me as I walked through the grass meadow. With dozens of mosquitoes converging on my arms and legs at the same time I had to stop and break out the bug spray. Normally, I try not to use any repellant until I absolutely have to. This was one of those situations, and as I hastily dropped my pack and grabbed for the repellant, I said to myself ‘if this does not work I’m turning around and bailing right now’. Happily, the Deep Woods Off did its job and the mosquitoes disappeared.

From the East Meadow up until Lone Pine Lake it was an enjoyable but tiresome hike with a heavy pack on. I stopped to photograph Lone Pine Lake as the sun spotlit the namesake island (which now has like 4 or 5 pines on it). After that short stop, and another mile or so I was heading up the trail to my campsite at Upper East Inlet. Eating lunch and setting up camp just before the rain and lighting really started to pickup again worked in my favor. With pretty heavy thunderstorms moving over the East Inlet, I spent a good 3 hours just waiting out the rain and storms in my small one person tent. Keeping an eye on the forecast, it looked like I’d have a decent chance for some good light around sunset when the storms where supposed to abate for a little while.

Finally around 5:00 PM it seemed like the rain had stopped. I grabbed dinner, threw on my pack and headed up the trail past Lake Verna to get in position for sunset. The goal was the area around Fifth Lake but clouds and thunder starting moving back in so I stopped at Fourth Lake to wait it out.

It remained pretty unsettled through the rest of the evening and I figured I’d stay down in the trees at Fourth Lake and shoot for Fifth Lake another time when exposure would not be an issue. Photographing for a short while at Fourth, I headed back down to Spirit Lake for the final hour or so before sunset. Fourth Lake is beautiful but Spirit Lake is in my opinion a better location to photograph landscapes as its a little more open and accessible along the shoreline than Fourth Lake is. Regardless, the sun managed to break through again in spots and I had pretty good sunset light on Fleur de Lis and some decent yet spotty light on the Cleaver to the east of the lake. After spending a bunch of hours hanging in a small tent, I was a happy camper as I hiked back in the dark to my site.

The next morning, the 21st of July dawned clear. I rolled out of my tent a little before 4:00 AM, fired up the JetBoil and made a nice hot cup of Anthonys Organic Instant coffee to wake myself up and figure if there was anything worth photographing that morning. After finishing my coffee, I made a quick run up to Lake Verna just to get a better look at the skies and see if there were any promising clouds. The sky was clear as a bell so while that was a bummer, there was lots of low hanging fog on the surface of Lake Verna as well as some fog hanging over the Inlet of Lake Verna near its beautiful but tiny beach. I made a quick run down to the trail to the overlook looking over Lone Pine Lake just west of the Solitaire site to see if Lone Pine was fogged in. Amazingly, it was not, only Lake Verna was.

Hustling back to Verna just as the sun was cresting the continental divide, I spent the morning keeping my fingers crossed that the low lying fog hanging over the surface of Lake Verna would remain long enough for me to make some images. Its common in Rocky Mountain National Park that both clouds and fog will dissipate just as the sun is starting to rise, so I’ve learned to temper my excitement as I’ve watched epic conditions turn into fair and boring conditions quickly and often.

The ground fog held and I was able to get some interesting and unique images of a backlit Lake Verna fogged in. Overall, another great morning and I headed back to camp to relax and reset.

That afternoon the weather was much more settled than the previous day. There were still thunderstorms that started to form in the afternoon and it would sprinkle here and there but overall it was obvious there was not nearly the staying power in the clouds and storms as there was the previous day. Thunderstorms staged to the west of Grand Lake, but over the divide and the Cleaver it was basically clear. I could see thunderheads east of the divide but they were not high enough to be beneficial in anyway for photography that afternoon. All I could do would be to pick a spot and see what happened. Again, I chose Spirit Lake because thats where the clouds were. If they moved east I would have a shot and if they stayed south and west I would have s shot. Needless to say I did ok though the lighting was not nearly as dramatic as the afternoon before.

My final morning in the backcountry of RMNP again dawned clear. Regardless, I had wanted to go explore Fifth Lake and especially the area around it as its one of the best places in all of Rocky for wildflowers. I headed up the trail before 5:00 AM and made my way past Lake Verna, Spirit, Lake Verna and Fourth Lake in short order quickly ending up in the spectacular meadow just below Fifth Lake. With the mountains still casting a large shadow over the meadow, I used the diffused light to photograph the amazing blooms of Blue Columbines, Red and Pink Paintbrush all before the wind started to pick up and blow the flowers around.

I was able to photograph for about a 1/2 hour before the wind became to blustery and the conditions deteriorated. It was time to make my way back to camp, pack up and head back down to Grand Lake.

Overall another great trip in the backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park and as is always the case from a landscape photographers perspective, being out in the backcountry leads to about a productive a time as one can spend in the field. I’ve still got a few more days left in the backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park and I’m looking forward to spending as much time as I can enjoying it, stay tuned!.

It’s mid July here in Rocky Mountain National Park. While late September may vie for the best time of year in RMNP, I think mid July gives late September and run for its money. The snow has more or less melted in the higher elevations or at least on most maintained trails, the tundra and grasses are a vibrant green, and wildflowers are blooming all over Rocky.

Days are long, start earlier and end late but its amazing to watch everything come alive again after a deep winter slumber that for some of these locations lasts into early June. We’ve had some really interesting weather here in Rocky. Anecdotally, I would say I noticed a change about mid way through last summer. Lots of moisture, cooler, and overall, much more conducive to landscape photography.

It’s not uncommon in Rocky Mountain National Park to get a week without seeing all but a few clouds in the skies during the summer months. This can be especially true if the monsoonal flow of moisture that runs up from the Southwest and Gulf of California is not active or is cut off by a high pressure system parked right over Colorado.

That weather pattern has been occurring here in Rocky for about the past week or so. Not much interesting out there to photograph from an atmospheric standpoint for the past week or so. Looks like starting tomorrow the monsoonal flow is going to kick back in and we should have some really good chances for active and dramatic atmospheric conditions and landscape photography.

This is going to coincide with me spending a few days on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park backpacking, so I’m both really excited and keeping my fingers crossed that I can stay mostly dry but also come home with some great images in sections of the park that can be difficult to photograph without lots of effort.

Even with the clear conditions, I’ve been out in the field, hiking, photographing and exploring. After all, some of my best images and times in RMNP have come when I’ve had the lowest expectations or just decided to try something different because things did not look promising.

As I often do this time of year with Trail Ridge Road open for the season, I spend a lot of time on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. Not only is it easier to access this time of year with Trail Ridge Road open, but for the most part its a lot less crowded and many of the great locations on this side of the park are just flat out ignored by other photographers. Many of these locations are physically much more difficult to reach and require much earlier or later start times, but they are both amazing an awesome.

While it was sunny last week with nary a cloud in the sky, I spent time exploring and photographing the burn area on the west side of the park. While the bloom in Big Meadows is not quite as good as last year, its still offers lots of promise. I also made a run up to Timber Lake for sunrise just because why not?. Sure it was clear when I arrived after hiking the five plus miles, but the winds were calm, I got to watch both a Moose and her calf graze in the meadow below the wake as well as watch a pair of bald eagles at the lake hunt for fish.

While Rocky is only 400+ square miles, its still huge when most of ones travel is on foot. Some may not realize this, but it can be years between visiting locations no matter how efficient one is or how many days a year I spend in the park photographing the landscape and wildlife.

Photographing locations like Timber Lake are like visiting and old friend. Even after a great morning hike into the lake for sunrise, heading out and leaving one often feels a sense of somberness as you may not see your old friend for years again as other locations in the park are visited and photographed. Life is short, and watching short seasons in the high country like summer and fall make you only appreciate how little time one really has to spend at each of these spectacular locations. None of us know how much time we have on this planet, but its certainly shorter then many expect. You only have so many sunrises and sunsets and sometimes you can be on the shore of Timber Lake to photograph them. Appreciate each day, get out and explore and embrace the excitement, beauty and even the somberness that comes with photographing these unique locations in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Sorry for the lack of recent blog posts of late. After and amazing autumn season in Rocky Mountain National Park, winter started early in November and never really seemed to let up much. To be honest, with the cold weather and snow we had early this year, I took the liberty of stepping back this winter and did not make nearly as many trips into the park.

With April arriving and a slew of late season snowstorms running through the park every few days, with signs of spring even so slowly starting to appear. I’ve been re-energized and I’m back to getting out and photographing RMNP early and often again.

Everybody needs a break from their creative pursuits now and then, and while I had not planned on taking a break from photographing Rocky this winter, It just kind of happened. Rather than fighting it, for the first time in my photography career I went with the flow and found some other things to occupy the time until spring thaw started and I felt inspired and motivated to get back out in the park and break out the camera once again.

I dont plan on taking a break anytime again soon, but its been a rewarding and refreshing experience for somebody who obsesses about getting out in the field as much and as often as possible. To any of my fellow photographers struggling with burn out or just and overall malaise, I’ll be the first to tell you its ok to take a break and step away for a little while.

Regardless, I’m fully recharged now and pumped up for my favorite seasons of summer and fall in Rocky Mountain National Park. The park is slowly thawing out, Trail Ridge Road should be open in the next thirty days give or take and other sections of RMNP are already opening for the season such as Upper Beaver Meadow Road and Wild Basin Road.

I’ll make sure to both keep posting on my Twitter and Facebook accounts as well as to keep this blog updated with the latest conditions and images from recent outings. Here’s to thaw and hope to see you out on the trail.

Every landscape photographer gets a special tingle when they start talking about using their widest angle lens. Shooting at 11mm or 14mm with a field of flowers in the foreground and a stream winding through the scene with beautiful mountains, clouds and light filling up the background is enough to make any us want to print up a 40×60 inch print to hang on the wall.

While very wide lenses are awesome, here is a little secret. Many of my best landscape images are taking with my mid range zoom of 24-70mm and if not with that lens, something longer like my 70-200 or now recently added 100-400mm lens.

Being able to compress the landscape and focus in on the nooks, crannies and other nuances of light have saved my bacon more than once on an outing into the field. This morning up in Rocky was no exception and I was more than thrilled to rack out my 100-400mm lens to capture some interesting light that would have otherwise been to far away.

To make a long story (and blog post) short, my morning up in Rocky Mountain National Park started with an inversion or low lying cloud layer of the park. As is usually the case, when an inversion is present, I try to get above it. This morning is was up Trail Ridge Road and then a few miles out on the alpine tundra and Ute Trail to get an interesting vista.

The only problem was, these inversions layers can be quite fickle. The rise and fall like a wave but also ebb and flow just like a tide. This morning, the beautiful layer of clouds that filled Moraine Park, Horseshoe Park and Forest Canyon below me had moved on out to the east by the time I arrived at my vantage point.

Sunrise was beautiful but there were almost no clouds left and for the most part, much of the landscape while spectacular and beautiful, was not all that interesting from a photography perspective.

There was one exception however. The Needles across the valley in the Lumpy Ridge section of Rocky had some awesome light beams coming down as the sun rose over RMNP. Even better, some fog and clouds hung over the lower peaks.

Off went my 24-120mm lens and on went the 100-400mm lens. At 400mm, I was able to compress the landscape to accentuate the light beams, capture the fog and clouds around the Needles and come away with dramatic light. If I only had my 70-200mm on me I would not have been able to compress the scene enough to keep it interesting. Even so, one more time my long lens landscapes with my 100-400mm saved my bacon!.

Believe or not, I actually made my first run up Trail Ridge Road for the season this morning. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to get out on Trail Ridge but both weather and timing have made it impossible to find a morning to head up since Trail Ridge Road opened for the season just before Memorial Day on May 27th.

For those unaware. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States. It tops out just over 12,000 ft in elevation above the Lava Cliffs overlook and connects the towns of Estes Park on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park, with Grand Lake on the west side of the continental divide and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Each year, millions of visitors come to Rocky Mountain National Park to drive over the hairpin turns and switchbacks of Trail Ridge Road to take in the views and enjoy the alpine scenery and tundra. It’s a great way for visitors to RMNP to be exposed to multiple mountain ecological zones including the alpine tundra above timberline.

Trail Ridge Road also offers photographers lots of opportunities for iconic vistas of snow covered landscapes as well as wildlife such as Marmots, Pika, Ptarmigans, Big Horn Sheep, Elk and just about every other creature in Rocky that at some time or another will migrate up or down from the higher elevations.

To date, I had not made my ‘seasonal’ first migration over Trail Ridge Road but when I awoke this morning to rain falling, it seemed like a perfect time to head on up and see what opportunities for photography might exist.

Like I always say when I head up to RMNP, I never really have any idea what I’ll come away with photography wise. I try to keep an open mind and look for opportunities, while using my 20 plus years of photographing in the park to put myself in locations that are likely to have the most interesting conditions or lighting.

That was the case this morning as I cruised past Forest Canyon Overlook and started to notice snow on the hillsides. Soon that snow became snow and ice on the road itself and by the time I had driven to the Rock Cut, there was a decent layer of snow and ice over the road.

Taking it very slowly so as not to end up at the bottom of Forest Canyon I made my way to the Gore Range overlook where the Never Summers had some fresh snow but so did the alpine tundra in the foreground. While I had originally planned to make it down the Kawuneeche Valley, the snow and ice slowed me down enough that the Gore Range overlook was as far as I was going to make it anyway before sunrise.

By the time the sun actually hit the mountains, most of the clouds had dissipated as they so often do in Rocky, but the great thing about this spot is earth shadow this time of year over the Never Summer creates a nice band of color above the peaks as can be seen in the image above.

So I’ve got my first trip over Trail Ridge behind me for the seasons and it was a fun one. Getting some fresh snow on June 7th makes it even more fun and I cant wait to get over to the west side of the park as soon as time allows, which is hopefully sooner than later. Regardless, with Trail Ridge Road now open for the season its really starting to feel like Summer in RMNP, even if there is snow!.