After one day of acclimation, Alex was ready to hike! He and Emily chose Mills Lake, another first time hike for the Highlander clan. Mills Lake is named for Enos Mills who was instrumental in the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park. Highlander possesses quite a library by and about Mr. Mills! The hike begins at Glacier Gorge Trail Head. It climbs 750 ft. to an elevation of 9,940 ft.
The trail follows Glacier Creek and quickly arrives at Alberta Falls (.8 miles). This 25 foot cascade is the most popular waterfall in RMNP and is named for Alberta Sprague, wife of our friend, Abner Sprague
. 
The Glacier Gorge Trail continues beyond Alberta Falls and crosses two footbridges. The first bridge crosses Icy Brook and later, after a steep climb, the second bridge crosses Glacier Creek.
The trail continues to a shelf of exposed bedrock where cairns (rock piles that mark the trail) show the way. In May 2010 this bedrock also sported thick, slippery ice and snow. With only hiking boots (no poles, YakTrax, snow shoes, etc.) Alex and Emily were forced to turn back. Fortunately, the entire hike is extremely scenic with verdant subalpine forests, sweeping alpine vistas, and fantastic views of Mummy Range, Mt Chapin, Mt Chiquita, Ypsilon Mt, Flattop Mt, and Hallett Peak. So, missing Mills Lake is just a good excuse to hike that way again. Not that Mills Lake itself isn't a good enough reason to repeat the hike! It is considered by many to be the prettiest lake in RMNP.
