August 10-12, 2009: Nolan, Barrett and Scott tackle Flattop Mtn!

Scott and Nolan had planned on trying to hike up Flattop Mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park last summer, but it did not work out. After a great effort snow-shoeing this past winter, Scott decided that Barrett could come along and try too. After one date in July had to be cancelled due to the extended baseball season, another opportunity was found in mid-August. Scott and the older boys headed up to the park to camp and hike for a few days. Below is the traditional photo at the entrance to the park.


After a few hours of figuring, we finally were able to get our gigantic tent assembled for the first time. It is interesting to put up, but it sure is spacious!


Just before sunset after setting up camp, we decided to take a warm-up hike of almost 2 miles roundtrip to Alberta Falls. It went well so we thought we were ready for the early morning outing up Flattop.

We awoke at 6am to a cold morning, and hit the trail at 7am at Bear Lake Trailhead. After 4 hours, and 4.6 miles, we reached the summit of Flattop (below).

The 4.6 miles back downhill made for a long walk, but we were very excited to reach the trailhead after 7 hours of hiking. We headed into Estes Park so the boys could buy their "trail tags" for Flattop Mtn. They were very proud getting their patches and telling the folks at Outdoor World about their achievement. Needless to say, Scott was very proud of the boys for making the 9.2 miles!

The next morning, we broke camp and went for a little drive in the park. Below, the boys are pointing to the top of Flattop Mtn. The summit is actually really close to where Barrett is pointing.

Barrett was ready to go again the next day, while Nolan and Scott were a little more sore. Nolan and Barrett were already scouring the map for another challenge for next summer!