emerald lake hike

I hiked up to Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park this past weekend (Saturday, August 29th). I had hiked up to Emerald last summer, but had been wanting to re-do this hike since getting my wide angle lens (Canon 10-22mm).

On my way up to Emerald Lake I stopped at Dream Lake for sunrise. There were two other guys who had arrived before me, and then one more guy with camera & tripod showed up… and he was wearing hip waders to actually get out in the water at the eastern end of the lake. I didn’t know whether to be impressed or amused. Anyway, this particular Saturday morning was pretty much a mirror-image of when I was at Dream in July, so— knowing I wasn’t going to get any kind of unique shot— I simply settled for getting a vertical shot with a nice reflection, then packed up & headed for Emerald Lake.

Emerald Lake is 0nly a 0.7 mile hike from Dream, with a 200 foot elevation gain. On the way up, I got a nice shot of Tyndall Creek as it flows down a steep rock face beside the trail (below). I used a neutral density filter to slow down the shutter speed (this is how you get that neat “streaming” effect with flowing water in a creek, waterfall, etc…) & then tone mapped the image in Photomatix.

Emerald Lake lies at an elevation of 10,100 feet above sea level, and is dramatically situated at the foot of Hallett Peak (12,713 feet) and Flattop Mountain (12,324 feet). It’s only a 2.6 mile round-trip hike from the Bear Lake Trailhead (9,450 feet), so this is a nice, easy hike. For photography purposes, this is a target-rich hike, since you also pass right by Dream, Nymph, & Bear Lakes. And up between Nymph & Dream, you’re also treated to a nice view of Longs Peak & Glacier Gorge to the south.

Once I arrived at Emerald Lake, I got a few shots (including the self-portrait at the top of the post), then sat down to enjoy the solitude— since I had the place all to myself!— and have a snack. When I’m hiking, I won’t spend any longer at some spots than it takes for me to grab my shots, and then I’m quickly on my way again… but at other spots I just have to stop for a bit & sit and enjoy God’s creation, and Emerald was definitely one of those places.

When I did finally head back down the trail, I stopped at Nymph Lake on the hike out and got a lovely reflection shot (being sure to get a bit different foreground than my shot from July). Just as a side note: It’s heart-breaking to see the damage the pine beetles have done to the trees around the lake. I haven’t been over to the western side of RMNP this summer, but I imagine it’s unbelievably devastated, since last year that side of the park was already much worse.

The shot below is Bear Lake… where I almost didn’t stop before heading for the car. When I got back down to the trailhead, I was just going to blow by Bear Lake, but then I thought, “Eh, c’mon, there was such a nice reflection at Nymph, you might as well walk over to Bear ,too, & take a look.” And I’m very glad I did. I wanted to get some kind of a different composition than I’ve shot previously here at Bear, and I think the shot with the rocks in the foreground & Hallet Peak reflected across the way accomplishes that.

As always, thanks for reading about stuff I’ve photographed. ~Rich