Gem Lake from Lumpy Ridge Trailhead | 3.5 miles round trip | 1,000 feet elevation gain | 5.5 difficulty level | 8,845-foot maximum elevation

I went into this hike thinking it would be a beautiful fall hike to Gem Lake with my two sons and my youngest son’s girlfriend. What I didn’t realize was that Gem Lake was about to kick my butt!

My youngest son and his girlfriend eventually turned around and headed back, but my older son and I kept going. And let me tell you, with 1,000 feet of elevation gain, plenty of stairs, switchbacks, and some serious rock scrambling, this hike was no joke!

The weather was supposed to be cooler than it was, and I ended up sweating so much that my husband later informed me I had BO. Apparently, even I couldn’t smell it. 😂

But the hike was absolutely worth it. We had beautiful mountain views, fall colors just beginning to change, some unexpected encounters along the trail, and plenty of opportunities for my son and me to get a little off the beaten path.

So come along with me to Gem Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Just be prepared for a little bit of a butt kicker!

 

My son decided to do a little off-roading, thinking that it would be a more direct route to the trail. It wasn’t.

There are definitely some stairs and a LOT of switchbacks on this hike. With 1,000 feet of elevation gain over 3.5 miles, you definitely know you’re going uphill!

The trailhead is actually on private property, which has a pretty interesting story behind it. You can read about that here. Once you reach this sign, you’ve officially entered Rocky Mountain National Park.

The colors were just starting to change.

As I mentioned above, I was getting a little warm, so I rolled up my sweatshirt and left it behind a log in this area to pick up on the way back down.

We passed a group of hikers from Seattle who were struggling a little with the altitude. They weren’t really prepared for the elevation, and I had plenty of water, so I stopped and offered them some.

I remember thinking how different hiking in Colorado can be when you’re coming from sea level. Even a trail that doesn’t seem particularly difficult on paper can feel very different when you’re hiking at 8,000+ feet.

And, much to my delight, there was actually a privy near Gem Lake!

What a small world! I was passing a couple of hikers when the woman asked if I was the one from the dog park. She goes to our dog park too! Of all the people to run into on a mountain trail!

We have arrived…

My son decided to do a little more off-roading, told me I should join him, and of course I did. I’m now looking into buying a pair of hiking gloves.

We went “off-roading” one more time…

The privy that I was glad to use…

This is what it looks like from afar. I guess my son saw it on the way up, but I missed it. It’s center, left.