Here at Blind Travels, we work very hard to provide blind and low vision travelers information about a destination to reduce the anxiety of traveling to a place you haven’t been to before. As a partially sighted person, I appreciate knowing what to expect before I walk into any new situation, however, I also love to challenge myself when it comes to solo travel as a low vision person. If I have been to a location a few times previously, I look for opportunities to hone my other travel skills. This can include leaving my guide dog at home on occasion and traveling with my handy white cane. A trip downtown (I live near Denver) relying solely on my orientation and mobility skills, my communication skills and my memory of a location always helps to bolster my confidence for whatever trip or adventure comes next. Recently, I had the chance to test my solo navigation skills like never before.  

My favorite place

One of my favorite places to visit is Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. I have hiked many of the trails in the park with both human and canine companions. Some of the trails I have hiked so many times that (in my mind) I felt I could have traversed the out and back with no help, but until a couple of weeks ago, I never had the chance.

Seeing the sights

When relatives visit, we try and drag them up to Rocky Mountain National Park, because there are so many amazing things for them to see – and many of them can be experienced by venturing a few hundred yards from the parking lot. The real beauty of the park takes a bit more to get to, however. My favorite place in the park is Dream Lake, which requires a little over a mile hike from the Bear Lake parking lot. A couple miles isn’t a big deal for most, but the hike begins at 9,475 feet of elevation. If you aren’t used to walking around at that altitude, it can be a bit strenuous, and visitors should take the trip slow.

While I usually bring my guide dog Fauna everywhere, for several reasons she did not attend this visit to the park, so I was rolling out with my trusty Ambutech No-Jab Cane, and sighted guide with the relatives I was with.

Three of us decided to hike the trail to Dream Lake, we had our water, our hats, our sunscreen, a few snacks and our positive attitudes.  It should be noted before we go any farther in this article that Fauna and I have hiked this trail many times, and I feel comfortable with the area and know the time-distance estimates for each turn along the trail. I’m a huge advocate for traveling to a location at least a few times with a sighted guide or guide dog before attempting something crazy like we are about to talk about.

The scenic route

The Dream Lake trail is an out and back, meaning it is not a loop. Along the four-mile roundtrip, hikers will visit three spectacular alpine lakes, A half mile into the hike, visitors will arrive at Nymph Lake, which has lots of ducks, frogs and lily pads.  A little over a mile into the hike, you will find Dream Lake, which is my favorite. Staying on the same path for another mile. Hikers will arrive at Emerald Lake, with great places to sit and take a well-deserved break. On this trip, I did not venture all the way to Emerald Lake due to lack of time.

Accessibility

My criteria for an accessible hiking trail for someone who is blind or low vision would be an area that is relatively flat with some obstructions along the way. A tree root, or rock that needs to be navigated would be totally acceptable and easy for a sighted guide or guide dog to navigate you around.  A clearly defined path for the hiker to travel on is also a must for an accessible trail. Ways to define a trail would be rocks lining the path of turns, low wooden fences or other natural looking markers. The 1.1-mile hike to Dream Lake has almost none of the things I look for in an accessible hiking trail, other than a few rocks which mark a couple of the turns. There are a ton of loose rocks that other hikers have kicked and have rolled into the middle of the path, and lots of things to trip on and fall over.  If one of the Rocky Mountain afternoon storms recently rolled through, large puddles and mud pools will also greet hikers along the way. Nothing about this trail other than where the turns are located is constant, making it a tough walk for those of us who cannot see and try to remember the location of things we tripped on along the way.

On my own

We started the hike shortly after 3pm, which is plenty of time to get to Dream Lake and back to the car to grab dinner in town. Unfortunately, the folks I was with were not feeling great due to the altitude so decided to take an extended break and then work their way to the first lake along the trail at a slower pace. It was at this point that I had the choice to make, to wait and only make it to the first lake or gather up the courage and go for the hike to Dream Lake.

Telling this story is not intended to make the people I was with feel guilty for not being able to make the hike all the way to Dream Lake, but rather to celebrate the insanity of a crazy blind guy taking the opportunity to do something he has always wanted to try solo.

Traveling solo for me is the ultimate rush, and as I mentioned earlier a huge confidence builder. It doesn’t matter if I am traveling across the world, across the country or up a mountain, I love to find a way to do it solo if possible. So, off I went, I took the journey slow, I used time-distance estimation and managed my travel time, using my compass to double check my math all the way to Dream Lake.

The path

It was summertime, so there were plenty of hikers wandering the path with me. It was great to be able to use their voices as a constant marker for where I was heading. Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park in the afternoon is always cool, so it can be a nice break if it is hot in the Denver area. Just before we headed out for the hike, a large fast-moving storm passed through drenching everything, leaving me with lots of puddles and mud to contend with.

The trail to Dream Lake has a lot of stone stairs carved into the path. Because they are carved, it means they are not consistent size and visitors should be wary of tripping. I used my cane to probe each stair and make sure I knew the size before stepping up. Small swings of the cane also help to move some of the larger rocks that are strewn all over the trail. Do be aware that there are a lot of others walking along the same path you are, and many are walking toward you so don’t take them out with your cane skills.

Other than all the rocks, stairs, and myriad tripping hazards, the path to Nymph Lake is straightforward. After passing Nymph Lake, you will come across a couple fast moving streams along the way to Dream Lake. The first is off to the left as you head toward Dream Lake, and the second needs to be navigated via a sketchy wooden bridge with no handrails. In the spring and summer, the water flows fast below the bridge so take it slow. In the late summer and fall the water is reduced to a trickle. There is barely enough room for one person on the bridge at a time so tread carefully.

Once you make it to Dream Lake, the elevation climb gets more aggressive and the path gets tougher to navigate because of the uneven stairs. All three lakes are very different and worth seeing, but for me Dream Lake is the real destination on this hike.

Heading out

After hanging out at Dream Lake for a while I began the trek back down the mountain. I can’t emphasize enough that if you consider making this hike to give yourself plenty of time to navigate the trail back safely. All of those rocks you climbed to get there, and those uneven stairs will be looking to get you.

Considerations

Was I crazy for taking this hike solo? I don’t think so. I walked the trail in the afternoon, so there were plenty of people to ask for directions and to make sure I was on the right path, and it was easy to track the direction of voices along the trail to figure out where I was going. A couple things that would make the trip more comfortable would be an all-terrain cane like the ones from Aware Wolf Gear https://awarewolfgear.com/atc/ and some bug spray. Depending on the time of year the flying and biting bugs can get thick and if you have tasty blood like I do, they will be drawn to you like moths to a flame.

Remember to take the risks into consideration before attempting a solo hike. Walk on well-traveled paths that you know in case you need help, because there are no ambulance services in the woods if you fall. Also make sure that someone knows where you are and approximately when you expect to be back for those who may worry about you.

Lastly, remember that if you are hiking in a place like Rocky Mountain National Park, there is little to no cell service so you will not be able to call for help if you get turned around. Likewise, your phone will be continually searching for service which means it will burn through battery much quicker than usual. Be sure to bring a battery pack for your phone just in case.

Final Thoughts

Being blind or having low vision doesn’t mean you can’t do fun things. With research and a couple tools like a compass and sturdy cane you can challenge yourself to do crazy things like this. If I can do it anyone can, but don’t ever put yourself in danger unnecessarily. Have you tried a crazy hike or adventure that was a challenge? I’d love to hear about it. Feel free to drop me a message here or on my social media links below.  

Safe Travels, Fellow Wanderers!