Hiking Colorado’s St. Mary’s Glacier

Over in our neck of the woods, took a hike to St. Mary’s Glacier recently. Mind you, the trail is only 1.4 miles (that’s to the lake and back, but you can continue the hike past the lake, which we did), and it’s labeled as easy on All Trails.

I’m no ninny when it comes to hikes, and we’ve done our fair share since we’ve moved to Colorado, but this was not easy. The altitude (you’re at 10,848 feet at the base of the glacier) probably has something to do with it, but the steady incline and slippery rocks don’t help, either. Now is it worth it? Spectacularly yes! The views are amazing and if your breath isn’t already taken away by your hike to reach it (which it likely will be), the lake and glacier will certainly do the trick. We had thrown Lotte in the Ergo and brought her with us, of course, but there were definitely times, especially on the descent, when I questioned how safe the whole thing actually was with a baby.

Chris, of course, felt perfectly safe the entire time. What can I say, it’s my momness kicking in.

Anyway, if you can push on through the altitude and rocky climb (if I can, you can!), here’s some of what you’ll be blessed with:

She looks excited for another adventure, doesn’t she

Look at that sky?! Have you ever seen anything so blue and clear?

Dangerous indeed. In fact, the whole time we were taking a short rest and snack break at the lake before heading back, a team of about five or six rescue workers were trying to figure out how to get a snowboarder down who had injured himself up on the glacier. Yes, snowboarding is allowed on the glacier, but of course it’s entirely dangerous. Hence the injury.

See those two tiny little snowboarder flecks in the white snow and ice? Crazy!

After the hike, we stopped off in Idaho Springs on the way back for lunch at Tommyknocker Brewery.

Other fun articles if you love nature, Colorado and to hike:

• On Colorado
• The Glorious Magical Colorado Rocky Mountains
• Pure Prestine Energy and Nature in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains
• Discover Ancient Polynesia Culture and Tradition in its Mountains
• A Look at Fort Collins Colorado
• Colorado’s Hanging Lake
• Hiking Colorado’s Stunning Rocky Mountain National Park
• Idaho’s Beauty & Views
• Hiking Taiwan’s Snow Mountain
• Things to know about altitude sickness
• The Mountains of Peru
• Great US Nature Spots
• Walking the Himalayas

Cheryl Lock

Cheryl Lock is a former magazine, newspaper and website editor turned full-time freelance writer. She has worked on staff at the Daytona Beach News-Journal, More and Parents magazines, as well as for Learnvest, the leading women's financial website. Her work has also appeared in Newsweek, Forbes, Ladies' Home Journal, the Huffington Post, AOL Travel and more.

Cheryl was born in Nuremberg, Germany and grew up moving around every few years as an Army brat. The urge to travel has been with her her whole life. While she calls New York City home, Cheryl makes it a priority to travel as much as possible throughout the year. Some of her favorite places include Iceland, the Great Barrier Beef, Cabo, Rome, Calabria and Munich, although she hopes to never stop exploring. Cheryl blogs about her travel adventures (and what's happening in and around New York City) at Weary Wanderer.