Michelle and I usually hike in our national parks in the summer and fall. As we ended 2023 and began the new year we visited Estes Park, Colorado and nearby Rocky Mountain National Park. Hiking in the winter brings on a different set of challenges, namely the weather. It's cold and icy and snowy. But if you love to hike and explore, you make it work. We hiked up to Dream Lake, and later to Emerald Lake, which are around 10,000 feet elevation in the Rockies. And this time of year, all the lakes are frozen.  Our hike there and beyond to Sky Pond a few summers ago, when temps were in the 90's, was one of our hardest hikes ever. But boy it was sure beautiful! Would it be just a beautiful in the dead of winter?  We also run down our top 5 toughest hikes over the years. The hike to Sky Pond is definitely one of them. What other hikes are on our list? Come along on our adventure to find out.