Hiking the Ute Trail.

It was just a few weeks ago that Dan and I hiked a section of the Ute Trail, going from Milner Pass to the AVC area and back.  On that hike I mentioned my curiosity about the trail- obviously, there are two sections that are well put in and well traveled- what we did that day, and the section from Beaver Meadows to Ute Crossing/Tombstone Ridge.  But the USGS and USFS topos show a distinct trail running all the way from Beaver Meadows to Farview Curve.  What, I wondered, was the status of this trail?  Was there anything at all there anymore?  How many people hike it, besides those two more popular sections?  

Foster describes it in her book as a "lengthy 16.8 mile passageway from Upper Beaver Meadows to Farview Curve".  To tell the truth, I'd already checked it off since I hiked those two popular sections, but after talking to Dan that day, I felt I should at least make an effort to see if the whole trail still existed.  If it did, I'd go for it.

I started the research online.  It didn't take me long to search satellite photos and determine that it looked like there might be a trail for most of the way, as indicated on the topos (though the USGS and USFS topos disagree slightly about location of the section from Lake Irene to Farview Curve).  

That was enough to pique my interest.  With more research, I couldn't find any trip reports of someone who'd hiked the whole thing, to give me some idea of what to expect.  In appendix b of her book, Foster gives figures for the trail in four separate sections, and in reality, I'd already covered most of the ground.  The only areas that were question marks in my mind were from Ute Crossing to Lava Cliffs, and from Lake Irene to Farview Curve.  

The Ute Trail was also a loose model for Trail Ridge Road, and sections of it now overlap the road, or I suppose sections of the road overlap it, as it was there first.  From many drives over the road, I knew the higher sections would be on tundra, and the worst part rock wise would be in the area of Lava Cliffs, and the 12355 foot Trail Ridge.  So even if there wasn't a trail, the terrain wouldn't be too bad.  If it was, I could simply bail to the road for some easy movement.
I started from Beaver Meadows at 6:12 am, and met sunrise upon the trail.  Ironically, it felt warmer at the parking area than it did at my house in Longmont.  

Sunrise coming.  I've seen just a few this year.  
After some easy undulation, the trail makes a distinct turn to the NW, and the pain starts!  I knew that this section, while short, would take down a fairly large amount of the total elevation gain for the day.  It's steep, going from around 9200 feet to top out on Tombstone Ridge in the 11600's.  Also of note, the current trail location is accurate on both the National Geographic and USFS topo, but shown too high up on the USGS topo.
The trail gets rockier higher up, and as I neared Timberline Pass, I started to hear the calls of Elk.  There was a fairly large herd in the area, and I was happy to let them be, except they kept moving closer to the trail.  Thus, I cut west, occasionally talking to them and making noise to ensure they'd continue moving NE.  My herding technique worked, and I was able to get back on the trail shortly after.

At Timberline Pass, out of the wind. 
While warmish, the day was quite windy.  I stopped behind a boulder to put on heavier socks and layer up. 

Longs Peak and others, covered in a delicate layer of snow.

Unfortunately, the amount of snow on the ground increased as I moved west.  I hadn't even made it to Ute Crossing yet, and was already going into drifts up to my knees.  While this was the exception, not the rule, travel slowed down a bit.
I finally made it to Ute Crossing, and with that Trail Ridge Road.  It was closed for a few days prior, and still wasn't open at this hour. 

Deserted Trail Ridge Road.

I cannot impress upon you enough the level of absolute silence here.  I've hiked by the road before, and I never noticed the sound of automobiles until this day, when there weren't any. 
It was here that I entered the first unknown of the day, the section of trail that goes between point 12036 and Sundance Mountain.  There was still alot of snow cover, and I was able to see what might have been a trail here and there.  Well, maybe.  I saw a cairn here and there, but couldn't see anything trail like around them.  Really, it was using the GPS app on my phone that allowed me to stay close to the "trail" in this area.
I dropped back to the road on the other side of this high point.  Here the trail supposedly crosses to the south side of the road, before crossing back and heading toward the Toll Memorial.

Some of my favorite mountains in the distance.

Rock Cut and the Toll Memorial in the distance. 
I looked, but I didn't see any sign of a trail on the south side of the road here.  Thus I decided to just stick to the still closed road.

I sure had some fun in this area earlier in the year.  It was my longest day mileage wise, up until this day.
I was able to find a trail in the area of Rock Cut, and followed that generally as shown on the topos.  On the other side of Rock Cut, I got on the paved path down to the parking area.  The Ute Trail once again joins the road for a short time before cutting more directly down to Iceberg Pass.

Tundra Curves in the distance.
This was one of the best sections of trail so far.  It was well put in, enough that I could see it under the snow, and marked with cairns here and there.  This section rejoins Trail Ridge Road right above Iceberg Pass, and stays on the road for a short time.  Looking forward, I could see a distinct trail leaving the pull off area on the south side of the road.  However, this became less distinct as I gained elevation, and I ended up taking the path of least resistance.
I looked up and could see a very distinct trail ahead, popping out on TRR a few seconds later, just west of Lava Cliffs.  It took me a second of looking around to realize where I was!  I knew this short section of trail would be good, as I'd hiked it before, to summit Trail Ridge, the 12355 foot ranked peak that stands over Lava Cliffs and Iceberg Lake.

Trail Ridge summit.  The first time I hiked here from the Lava Cliffs parking area.  Now I'd gone about 12 miles and done 4000 feet of gain to get to the same place. 

Back toward Rock Cut.
While the topo shows the trail from here to the Gore Range Overlook staying pretty much on the highest part of the ridge between them, and I knew there was kind of a trail here from my previous outing with Dan, I don't know if that trail we spied was the one I wanted.  I do know there is a distinct trail that runs toward the AVC.  I found a few cairns, but couldn't see a trail, thus I again took the path of least resistance to the Gore Range Overlook.
Here is where things got a bit tricky.  The road had finally opened, and the former trail down from the overlook is well signed to stay off.  According to Fosters book, RMNP discourages use of this trail, but you won't get in trouble if you do use it. 
Nonetheless, I didn't want to just go for it with the people there.  So I hiked the road down for a short time before dropping west.  This downhill was fun, with enough snow to run at a pretty good speed.  I met the Ute Trail as things flattened out, and then met the new Ute Trail, which comes down from the AVC.  Two people had hiked up it earlier, so it was easy to follow their footprints down, and I made good time to Milner Pass.

The Ute Trail above Milner Pass, one of other well traveled sections.
I had run out of water, and planned to stop at Poudre Lake to refresh.  Unfortunately, it was already frozen over!  I was able to break through the ice where a small stream ran into the lake and fill up.  I was already wondering if I should just wait until I got to Lake Irene to get more water, and that would have been a good idea. 
If you stand in the parking and look at the bathrooms at Milner Pass, you'll notice a trail running down to the right.  I decided to take this, wondering if it might be part of the trail.  I followed a stream with clean, flowing water down (a far cry from the heavily sedimented stuff I got out of the lake), before the trail gained elevation the wrong way.  I crossed the creek and made my way back to TRR. 
There is a thin but distinct section of the Ute Trail right next to the road, here on the west side.  It's obviously not maintained, with dead fall over and on it, but it's there.  I jumped back on the road for a short time before walking into the parking area for Lake Irene. 

Lake Irene.
It's pretty easy here- you can either stay on the Lake Irene trail, or leave it before the lake to find the Ute Trail on the east side of the lake.  If you stay on the Lake Irene trail, you'll soon come to this sign...

Guess which way I went?  At this point, I was almost there, with just over a mile to go.  And then that entire distance back.
I found this section to be quite easy to follow, and very well put in.  There's a little dead fall here and there, but nothing more than what you find on other less maintained trails.  And then suddenly, it ends.  I could see the road ahead of me and dropped down a dirt slope.  It's not the cool view of Farview Curve, but here is where the Ute Trail ends.

This was just slightly west of Phantom Creek.  While the USFS map was definitely more accurate as to the location of the trail here, it has the trail ended east of Phantom Creek.  I guess the most accurate map of all here was the 1915-1945 map layer on Caltopo, as it has the trail end almost exactly where it does end. 
As usual, I'll include a link to my map on Caltopo at the end of this.  Click where it says US Forest on the upper right of the map, and you can change the base layer to one of these older maps, or add them as a stackable layer, and change the transparency to see how they match up with the map from today.
So, I was now halfway there, but still over 18 miles from where I started.  That was an interesting feeling.  I ate a snack, went up the dirt slope, and followed the trail back to Lake Irene.  I must've been quite a sight in all my gear to the people who were parking at the lot and walking down to the lake!

On the other side of Lake Irene. 

Sheep Rock.
The Ute Trail in the area petered out, and I hiked the road for a few minutes to get back to Milner Pass. 
Despite knowing how far away I was from the car at this point, I knew the hike in this direction would be easier, with less elevation gain, and now I knew if the trail was there or not. 
I had a snowy slog back up the the Gore Range Overlook.  Very far in the distance, you can indeed see some of the Gore peaks, but I'd say the draw for me here was the spectacular look at the Never Summer Range.

Re-nearing Trail Ridge.  This day would bring my third and fourth ascents of this peak all time, and I was happy to count both, as I started from two different trail heads for each. 
The downhill to Iceberg Pass went quickly, and I started up to Rock Cut.  

A cairn marking the trail.
As I approached Rock Cut, I thought about the options here.  There are a bunch of signs there telling people to stay on the paved path only, and I wanted to set a good example.  I decided to stick to TRR for a short time, both avoid being off the paved trail while there were many other people present, and because it was getting later in the day, and a short distance of easier hiking on the road would hopefully speed things up slightly. 
I was nearing Sundance Mountain when things started to cool down.  After the earlier wind died, the day was pleasantly warm, but as darkness creeped over me, temperatures dropped.
This trend reversed as I lost altitude.  One the way up the trail, I'd noticed a large amount of cairns and felt them perhaps unnecessary.  But on the way down, I was very thankful for them.  The trail is pretty difficult to follow in darkness.
I got back to the car at 9:05 pm, changed, and started the drive back home.  It took me just under 15 hours to do an out and back on the entire Ute Trail, ending with nearly 37 miles of hiking and just under 8000 feet of elevation gain for the day.  

 

What the trail looks like in places, which is actually better than it looks in other places. 

I noticed these short wooden posts in a few places where the trail intersected TRR, so look for those if you want to hike it.  I didn't see them everywhere though. 

My thoughts on this trail are many.  Most of it still exists in some state, and where it seems to have gone back to the earth, you can still follow the line it once took, as the terrain isn't challenging.  The most popular sections are in no danger of disappearing, but it is disappointing that this trail doesn't get the attention that some of the others get as a method to cross the continental divide or through hike RMNP.  

In my mind, the limiting factor is the lack of campsites anywhere near it, so it could be broken into two or more days.  It's not a good idea to just pitch a tent on the tundra, and I feel like RMNP would have a big problem with you setting up in the most obvious areas, the parking lots and pull outs along TRR.  At least I know they don't want people sleeping in cars at these parking areas.  

One could also have the option of doing the trail in shorter out and back sections, say Beaver Meadows to Ute Crossing, Ute Crossing to AVC, and AVC to the end near Phantom Creek.  This would split it up into three approximately equal segments.  

Sadly, parts of this historical trail are disappearing, but I suppose that is the circle of life.  I am fond of exploring, and in the end, that's what this day was really all about.  

Link to hike map on Caltopo.

Hiking the Ute Trail:

36.64 miles out and back, 7979 feet of elevation gain.  Second class.  Strenuous.

Alpine Visitors Center via Milner Pass.

It's been two weeks since we hiked this, and I've still got two more days to write up after this too.  I'm getting behind!  

My friend Dan was feeling ready for a shorter and easier day after suffering a knee injury during a 100 mile race, and I was looking for a shorter and easier day (no talus/bushwhacking preferred!) after a string of longer and harder days.  Some ideas were proposed, and we decided to take the Ute Trail from Milner Pass to the AVC and back.  This would check off two new destinations for me, and we would visit ranked peaks Marmot Point, 11,909 ft, and Trail Ridge, 12,355 ft.  I visited these points last year, but it's not like he had to twist my arm to get me to repeat!

We arrived at Milner Pass after sunrise, which was nice, and got ready.  There were several cars already here, and I imagine most people were headed up to Mount Ida.  

Overall, this would be a fairly flat hike elevation gain wise, but the steepest section of the trail certainly comes immediately upon leaving the car.  In total, it's about 500 feet of climbing in the first mile, with the remaining 500 feet or so coming over the next three miles.   

 This small dip in the trail was one of the goals for the day.  I've seen it from above, but this was the first time I have stood at Forest Canyon Pass.  Interestingly enough, it's a bit beyond this that you come to a sign for Forest Canyon Pass, with the elevation 11320 feet on it.  Between the various devices we were carrying, we had the elevation at this sign in the 11500's, and it is clearly not at the pass, the lowest point between Trail Ridge and Mount Ida.
The next goal of the day was Fall River Pass.  It is pretty likely I've been here before, and if you've ever stopped at the AVC, likely that you have too.  This is the low point between Trail Ridge and Fall River Pass Mountain, also known as the AVC parking lot.  It's difficult to pinpoint an exact location with the parking area being so flat and broad, but it's in there somewhere.
Next we headed down Old Fall River Road to visit Marmot Point.  This was one of the first peaks I visited last year, right at sunrise.  It was nice to get a different perspective on it in full day light.

From Marmot Point to Fall River Pass Mountain.  Old Fall River Road and AVC clearly visible.

Looking to Trail Ridge.
Since both of us want to be stewards of the wilderness, we had a bit of trouble picking a way up to Trail Ridge.  There are a few signs that say to keep off the tundra at the AVC, and since we want to set a good example for anyone who might be watching, we obeyed them.
Not that this helped, as we saw a lady walking her dog on the tundra right behind a sign saying stay off, and observed various other people walking on the tundra right next to an established trail.  Ah well!
We headed up Trail Ridge Road from the AVC, picking up trash along the way.  Eventually, we came to a point where we decided to head up.  We gained altitude on tundra, and then hit some of my favorite stuff-talus.  Well, it wasn't too bad, smaller and mostly stable. 

Trail Ridge, 12355 feet.
We sat for a snack and talked a bit.  Then we headed back down.  We stopped at the AVC to deposit the surprisingly large amount of trash we'd accumulated, and then started down the Ute Trail to Milner Pass.

This was a pleasant and easy downhill, with great views of the Never Summers and Specimen Mountain Group. 

Some small pools of water add interest to the already captivating scenery.
For the past few years, I have had off days in the middle of the week.  Now here I was in RMNP on a prime summer Sunday.  I could not believe how many people there were!  There were people just sitting in their cars at Milner Pass waiting for a parking space.  Every lot in the area was full.  The AVC was a zoo!
I guess I should add that I'm normally up too early and back too late to see this, but it was strange!
On the way back, I convinced Dan to make a stop at the Hidden Valley Beaver Ponds.  This is at a small, unsigned pull out near Hidden Valley.  There is a board walk out and back.

At the start of the board walk.

Looking down. 

Looking up.  While pretty, there certainly weren't any ponds that we saw.  Just the lazily meandering stream and lots of green.
This was a nice, easier day for both of us, and it was great to be back in the wilderness with a friend.  If you skip the peaks, the length and elevation gain of this hike could be good for kids, and there are plenty of great views along the way.  Otherwise, this would be a mellow foray above treeline.
Link to hike map/GPX on Caltopo.
Alpine Visitors Center via Milner Pass (distances as part of the hike unless noted):
Forest Canyon Pass, 11320 feet: 1.9 miles, 562 foot gain.  Easy+.
Fall River Pass/AVC, 11796 feet: 4.2 miles, 1038 foot gain.  Moderate.
Marmot Point, 11909 feet: 5.3 miles, 1151 foot gain.  Moderate.
Trail Ridge, 12355 feet: 7.5 miles, 1597 foot gain.  Moderate.
Hidden Valley Beaver Wetlands, 9160 feet: .1 mile each way, 20 foot gain.  Easy-.
As a whole, this hike covered 13.2 miles with 2126 feet of elevation gain.  Moderate. 

Trail Ridge Road high points and 300th named destination!

What to do what to do what to do?  With longer drives and even earlier wake ups needed this summer, my eyes are set firmly on the west side of the park.  I will find a way to get there every week unless the weather looks absolutely horrendous.  I just have to be able to put together a logical grouping of destinations, and try to get the most I can in a single day.

The alarm went off at 2am.  Not just a few years ago I was often just going to bed at 2am, now I'm getting up then.  Times have changed....

I got ready slowly and then left the house around 3.  I planned for the majority of the hike to take place from the Poudre River Trailhead, right across the street from Milner Pass.  But since I was driving by a few things I had yet to do....

I first parked at Lava Cliffs and made the short hike up to the 12355 foot ranked but unofficially named "Trail Ridge".  It was still dark and I was working by headlamp.  During the day I imagine this would offer a great view.  As it was, dawn was just breaking over the horizon.  Please keep on the trail if you venture to this high point.

Back at Lava Cliffs there was just enough light to grab a quick photo before driving farther along Fall River Road to the Alpine Visitor Center.  From here I followed the paved path up to the 12005 foot Fall River Pass Mountain, in this case a unranked and unofficially named high point.  Again, great views abound from here and you can see vast swaths of the park from one place.  But you can't see all of it, which is why this blog exists!
From here I headed directly down towards Marmot Point.  You could also take Old Fall River Road down from the visitor center to access the thin but distinct trail that heads this 11909 foot ranked and named peak. 

Alpine Sunflowers in early morning light.

Looking from Fall River Pass Mountain to Marmot Point.  Note Old Fall River Road wrapping around.  The terrain between the two is fine, steep but solid on Fall River Pass Mountain, and the trail up Marmot Point is easy going. 

Looking back at "Trail Ridge".

Marmot Point and CCY (or YCC L to R) in the background.  This was a spectacular place to be to witness sunrise.  I find these moments so calming and peaceful.

Looking back to Old Fall River Road, Fall River Pass Mountain, and the visitor center.  I descended the trail and hiked/jogged the road back up to the trailhead.  There was now a second car parked there, but no person.  Doing this small loop took me about fifty minutes.  Which meant I was doing great!  Back in the car I drove down to Milner Pass. 

Elk at Poudre Lake.  My goals here were Poudre Lake Spires and Sheep Rock.

Essentially if you have ever hiked from Milner Pass, you have passed Poudre Lake Spires.  I just hadn't stopped to check them out before.  Pretty neat little rock features.  Continue up the trail until the first hard switchback to the left (which has stone steps).  There is a sign on the right asking to stay off the recovery area.  Go a little bit past this and cut off trail right to pick up a well defined trail that heads to Sheep Rock.

A great view over Poudre Lake from Sheep Rock, 10940 feet. 

Back at Milner Pass you can see Sheep Rock- the lump left of center.  I got in the car one last time for a short jaunt back the way I'd come to the Poudre River TH.  In reality, this is just a small area of the road with parking for a few cars on each side, not an actual trailhead.  You could also walk over from Milner Pass.
I started down the trail.  A few things I noticed right away:
1.  On the map it looks like the trail stays in the basin and follows the river down in a gentle decline.  This is not entirely true, as it stays uphill from the river, often cutting into the forest.  This means there are some short and steep uphills even as you go downhill.
2.  I was trying to not step in water or mud to keep my feet dry, but this soon proved futile as the grass overhanging the trail was wet, and there was alot of runoff from Specimen Mountain.
3.  This means there were large and unavoidable areas of mud -the thick and sticky kind that your foot sinks into ankle deep and then almost pulls your shoe off when you pull up to take the next step.
4.  This, due to a lack of travel to clean it up, means the trail is not very well defined in places.  There were multiple times it just disappeared into knee high marshy grass for hundreds of yards at a time.  Of course, you know the way you are generally going, so it wasn't hard to refind it on the other side of these areas.
5.  There are a TON of Elk in this area.  As such, there is a ton of Elk poo, urine, and marking scent.  Things were quite aromatic!
6.  Obviously running this 'trail', or even hiking it in the traditional sense of the word, was going to be out. 

But it is a place of great natural beauty.  And if you want to see (and smell) a bunch of animals, this would be a good place to look.
I knew I would have to cut off the trail eventually to get to the first highpoint, the 10855 foot Nutcracker Peak.  This is another peak that is ranked but unofficially named.  Hence, it was not included in Fosters book.
I definitely left the trail too early, but I was getting sick of the condition of the Poudre River Trail.  Hiking it was not fun, which is disappointing.  The area has alot to offer, but the trail definitely needs some work to improve it.  I found the animal trails running up the slope to be in much better shape and very well defined.
But of course I left the trail too early, did some unnecessary elevation gain, and had to traverse over to the peak.  Eventually I found myself on a high point that looked like the summit, but I couldn't find a cairn.  The trees were so thick I couldn't see through them.  My gps told me I was about 100 feet too low.  I spent some time looking around before it occurred to me that I was likely on the small high point west of Nutcracker Peak, which was in the 10700's.  I headed east and hit a small clearing and was able to see a heavily forested slope ahead of me.  Right on.

A little map for you.
The bushwhacking was steady but not too intense.  It was mostly downfall, with the vegetation in the area growing pretty close to the ground.
But even as I went on and got closer to the summit I was making a huge mistake this day.  I kept telling myself I'd stop and eat when I got to the summit, thinking it would only take me two hours or so.  Then it started taking longer but I was sure I was close.  Then I realized I wasn't.  Then there were so many mosquitoes I put my rain jacket on because they can't bite me through that, and I didn't want to stop and eat.
Long story short, I ended up not eating anything for the first five hours of this hike.  Not good.  Of course by the time you really think it out and know what this means, it is too late.    

I finally made it to the summit of Nutcracker Peak.  It took me almost twice as long as planned.  This was my 300th named destination in RMNP.  I should have felt joy.  I felt hunger.  Actually, I was beyond hunger and starting to feel tired and hopeless.  I ate heavily, swatting away mosquitoes, and considered just going back.  But I convinced myself to go on.  I'd have to come all the way back here to climb Confluence Peak if not.  The weather looked ok but not great, but I'd be below treeline for the rest of the day.
I convinced myself to continue on.  I could just see Confluence Peak through the trees and used my GPS and compass to take a bearing on it.  I was not going to miss it.  The forest was heavily treed and you could not see much more than occasional glimpses of the surrounding peaks through it to tell where you were.
The food I ate kicked in for the time being and I actually felt fairly good as I hit the small creek between the two peaks and started to regain altitude.  Again I faced some bushwhacking, but again it was mostly in the deadfall category. 

The mosquitoes were still with me as I hit the summit of Confluence Peak at 11220 feet.  Crazy enough, but I am now nearly done the Mummy Range.  I think with one more day I'll be able to finish the peaks, and with another day the lakes.
The difficulty in getting to this peak and the fact that it offers little in the way of views means it is not climbed often.  According to the register, it saw zero summits in 2014, and only one in 2013.  But the register is a wealth of who's who in Colorado Mountaineering, bearing the signatures of such luminaries as Gerry and Jennifer Roach, John and Alyson Kirk (before they were married and signed with her maiden name which I can't remember), and Steve Knapp.  I feel so honored to add my name to a list bearing these names!
These two peaks are probably only climbed by those trying to finish lists- ranked peaks in RMNP, Larimer County, etc. as many of the signatures bore some sort of information along those lines.  I added my name and where I was on my list.  301!
I descended back toward the small creek and cut east to hit the trail again.  When I reached it, I was finally able to take my rain jacket off and move quickly enough to avoid the mosquitoes. 

The trail here was in very good shape and I was able to move fairly quickly for the first time.  Though it is definitely a longer drive for me, but maybe not for you, hiking these peaks from Corral Creek or Longdraw would likely be a good bit easier.
Going back was gently uphill.  I passed the split with the Chapin Pass Trail.  Again, I was astounded at the natural beauty of the area.  It is truly remarkable.  Now that Old Fall River Road has reopened after the 2013 flood, this might be a fun option to access the area.  Of course, I have no idea what the trail conditions there might look like, but I can't imagine it could be worse than the Poudre River Trail.

I found this.  I have never seen antlers out and about.  Pretty cool.  Maybe 3.5 feet tip to tip? 

Magnificent!
After the split with the Chapin Pass Trail, the conditions largely returned to what I saw earlier in the morning.  Which is to say bad.  Mud, water, marshy grass, no trail in places...  Not fun.
I was wondering if I'd see some afternoon Elk, and finally spied a what looked like a large brown one with rounder ears.  I kept an eye and made some noise and yelled at it and the next time I looked for it, it was gone.
Shortly after I saw another Elk.  A huge brown one, who turned to look at me.  It was no Elk.  "Holy sh!t, that's a Moose!"  A juvenile male, it was a hundred yards or so from me and I made some more noise as it watched me.  I was happy that I was scary enough to convince it to move away from me, and I kept an eye on it until it moved into the forest on the other side of the valley.

But it now became a game.  Though I'd tried to make up for it, I didn't eat for too long at the beginning of the day.  My mental condition continued to degrade despite what I ate, and I felt like I was going slower and slower.  I wanted to finish the day strong, but that was out of the question.  I'd have to settle for just finishing.

I started to feel nausea and stopped eating anything.  I stopped to reapply sunblock and decided to consume some Olive Oil.  I love it drizzled on bread or pasta or pretty much anything, but it is gross to straight up drink.  However, the 1.5 oz that I always carry with me contains nearly 400 calories.  Down it went chased with some water.
But I was collapsing.  I felt slower and slower, wondered when I'd pass the point that I left the trail in the morning (I finally recognized a tree stump), wondered when I'd see the trailhead.  Every little hill I went up was a fight and I was taking more frequent breaks.  I would get tears in my eyes each time I ascended these hills, hoping to see the trailhead on the other side, and then feel disappointed when I didn't.  I eventually told myself I couldn't look because I just couldn't take it anymore.  I'd only look down at the trail or sideways but not ahead.  I finally pulled all the apricots out of my trail mix and ate them alone.  The fruit sugar tasted good.
Eventually I hit a few water crossings that I remembered from the morning.  These were close to the car, right?  Then I could finally hear cars through the forest on the other side of the valley.  Trail Ridge Road was getting close to me, thus I was getting close to it.  I thought about crossing the river and getting to the road and hitching a ride back.  But I couldn't let myself do that, and it would take more energy.  I was counting my steps and trying not to cry.
And then I finally crested the last hill.  Despite telling myself not to look, I did.  I cannot describe the absolute joy I felt when I saw my 2003 Ford Focus with 152000 miles and a dent on the right rear panel.  Tears streamed down my cheeks, but I quickly pulled it together and made my way to the car, stopping to rinse my mud soaked shoes off in the river. 

This is what things looked like when I got back to the car.  So if you do plan to hike this trail, be prepared to get wet and dirty.
I took a few minutes to change into clean clothes and decompress.  I was feeling whole again and had a snack in the car.  The drive back took me about half an hour longer, most of which was in RMNP.  Lots of traffic there.
This was an interesting day, and my first real summer hike of 2015.  I started out feeling great and ready to go.  I ended up feeling like I had pushed myself to the absolute limit of what I could do and even beyond that.  The mental anguish is intense, and often imagined.  Which is to say upon arriving home and looking at my gps track, I was going almost exactly the same speed coming back up the trail as I was going down.  I just felt like I was absolutely destroyed and going slow.  I even managed to jog some of the flat sections on the way back.
I've written about my unpleasant experience to serve both as a lesson to you, and as a reminder to me.  You simply can't make up for hours of not eating.  I find for myself it is essential to eat at least once per hour when engaging in any activity that goes for much over 2.5 hours.  When I got home I discovered that I'd only eaten four Clif Kit's bars all day, which equals 760 calories (76 cal/hr).  If I'd eaten once per hour, I should have taken in 1900 calories over the day, solely in bar form.  Add trail mix to this plus breakfast plus a snack when back at the car and 3000 calories while hiking for ten hours (300 cal/hr) doesn't seem out of the question. 
In short, burning alot of energy requires alot of fuel.
The high points along trail ridge road should be accessible to mostly anyone.  If you are older or younger or coming from sea level, yes it might take you some time.  And as I have said above, the Poudre River valley is a place of great and raw natural beauty.  Expect to see and smell animals galore seasonally.  But the trail absolutely sucks and falls firmly into the "slog" category.  I could tell it doesn't get much usage, so the motivation for the NPS to fix it up is probably low.  But at the same time, I wonder if it would get more traffic if it were in better shape, as there is no real trailhead, and the trail doesn't really go anywhere...  Hard to say.
Trail Ridge Road High Points and Poudre River Peaks:
Trail Ridge, 12355 feet: .4 miles each way (Lava Cliffs parking), 280 foot gain.  Easy.
Fall River Pass Mountain, 12005 feet: .3 miles each way (Alpine Visitor Center Parking), 200 foot gain.  Easy-.
Marmot Point, 11909 feet: 1 mile each way (from Alpine Visitor Center), 360 foot gain.  Easy +.  Note you'll have around 260 feet of gain to get back to the Alpine Visitor Center.
Poudre Lake Spires, 10800 feet: .1 mile each way, 42 foot gain.  Easy-.
Sheep Rock, 10940 feet: .5 miles each way, 182 foot gain.  Second class.  Easy.  Note there is also a Sheep Mountain and a Sheep Mountain Rock within RMNP, which are both on the east side.
Nutcracker Peak, 10855 feet: 5.3 miles each way, 1350 foot gain.  Second class.  Moderate+.
Confluence Peak, 11220 feet: 7.5 miles each way, 2358 foot gain.  Second class.  Strenuous-.
As a whole, the latter part of this hike covered around 15 miles with 3236 feet of elevation gain.  Strenuous-.