Laurie M.
Yelp
I made a reservation in March for a private hike in July on the Alpine Lakes and Wildflowers tour. On the day of the hike, the guide picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the trail-head in the Rocky Mountains. On the way there, she said that because we needed to be back at a certain time (we had a dinner reservation) that we would not have time to do the original hike we had selected.
She asked if we wanted to do a different hike but since I am from Michigan and had done no research on other hiking options (because I had hired a guide 3 months in advance), I was not prepared to answer this question. I really did not want to miss our dinner reservation because we had pre-paid for it. I also did not want to miss out on the hike, which we paid over $500.00 for.
After a bit of discussion, (we had an hour drive to the trail-head) we decided on a new hike. The new hike was very public and involved a shuttle bus to and from the new trail. The shuttle line was very long as it was very crowded. We spent quite a bit of time getting on and off the shuttle. We were the only ones with a guide, as where we ended up was on the more accessible trails where a visitor would not need a guide as they are very clearly labeled and organize with a map and by the many park rangers and the things we saw where directly along the park's shuttle bus route. We ended up hiking on a few easy trails and seeing 2 Alpine Lakes and a waterfall; both were beautiful.
It was nice to hike with a guide as it makes the trip more interesting. This is not the first time we have hiked with a guide on a private trip. We also did this in Yosemite and it was amazing and fun.
I am not giving this company a stellar rating because I e-mailed them to let them know a month in advance that I had made a dinner reservation. They wrote back and said that they had checked with the guide and the reservation would not impact the hike I selected.
I spoke to the guide the day before the trip and let her know what time we needed to be back to the hotel. I was again assured that our hike would not be impacted.
It was not until she picked us up at the hotel, on the morning of the hike, did she say that she was worried we would not be back in time. Had I known this in advance, maybe we could have picked a new hike or gotten up earlier in the morning to start the hike to make sure we were back in time. I appreciated that she let us know her concerns. I wish they had been expressed more timely.
We were made to feel like an after-thought. I was looking for a more catered and private hiking experience. I thought we paid enough money to deserve a better planned trip.
The guide that the company sent to pick us up for the trip was a bit late. She also had an injured ankle. Could this be why she chose a different, shorter, more public hike on a well maintained, common path? Maybe it was because her parents were in from out-of-town, hiking on the same path she chose for us, and she wanted to meet up with them? She let me know that she would be interested in doing that, if I was okay with it. It was really awkward, since this is not what I signed up for. I don't want to take away from someone's family time, but I had paid quite a bit of money for the hike I booked with her. She spent time, in between consulting her map for our hike, on the shuttle texting her parents trying to find out where they were on the tail. We never actually met up with them though.
We ended up arriving back at the hotel an hour and a half early so we drove over to the foot of the flat iron mountains and looked at them. That was very nice but since our hotel had a view of the flat irons, I felt that this was not time well spent.
I was planning on calling the company to speak to a manager the next day but since I was on vacation, I didn't get around to it. Also, they cannot fix what happened. The hike is over, my time could have been better spent, and so could my money.
They e-mailed a survey to me a week ago (more then a month after my hike). I tried to fill it out but the link did not work.
I would not recommend this company.