Mt. Bierstadt, fourteener #9, September 30,2011

Friday September 30,2011 Andre and I made our way up to I-70 and took the Georgetown exit to Guanella Pass. Taking Guanella pass from 285 was not an option as it was closed due to construction. We had a late start and didn't even reach the trailhead until almost 10:00pm, this is not something we would usually do, but the weather forecast was sunny all day and the RT length for this trail is only seven miles.

Bierstadt and the sawtooth from the beginning of the trail


It was a gorgeous day! We were not expecting the weather we got, I had read trip reports for this trail dated a week earlier and according to the the reports micro spikes were needed due to the ice and snow all over the top of the trail. We lucked out because everything was completely melted and dry!

Andre and the Sawtooth


Taking the sawtooth from the summit of Mt. Bierstadt is a viable option to reach Mt. Evans, we knew that we did not have time today and would have to tackle Evans on another adventure.

Approaching the summit of Mt. Bierstadt


Sawtooth again


I cannot emphasize enough what a beautiful day this was! The hike went by quickly and we even felt like we were dragging compared to our usual pace, but before we knew it we were at the summit before noon!

Mt. Bierstadt elevation 14,060


Andre on the Summit


The sawtooth from the summit


The sawtooth looked like a challenge, if you take this route to Mt. Evans it adds an extra three miles to the entire trip and you can loop back to the Bierstadt trailhead/parking lot but because the sawtooth is a class 3 route with class 4 exposure it would probably have added another several hours. It definitely would have taken us a while. Next time...

We took our sweet time heading down as my knees have not been doing well, but it was the perfect day to take our time, we really got to enjoy the scenery and weather this way!



On the way down we suddenly came across some White Tailed Ptarmigan! There were about twenty of them and they were only several feet away from us! These birds are pretty rare and can only be found high up in the mountains. They turn completely white in the winter and they are a grey color in the summer, because it is now fall they were grey/white, they are perfectly adapted to blending in with the rocks.







After some quick photos we continued down the trail


Then we came across something I had been wanting to see on this trip, a moose! We were still high up on the trail and were able to see him from a rock. He was kind of far away and since this is mating season we were glad! During this time of the year the Bulls antlers are as big as they will get before they fall off so we were fortunate to see this one! He was next to two cows but they were lying down in the willows and I could not get pictures of them.







We spent some time watching the moose and trying to get decent pictures, then we finished our descent down the trail.

Our last view of the sawtooth


A nearby mountain


The trip back down Guanella pass was like nothing I've ever seen before, it was completely covered with golden Aspens everywhere you looked, we stopped and took a few pictures before heading to Idaho Springs.









We drove to Idaho Springs and stopped at Buea Jo's Pizza for a quick bite before going home.

View from Idaho Springs


Overall this was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to in my life. The hike was much easier than anticipated and it did not feel like it was seven miles, Bierstadt is by far the easiest fourteener I have done so far. A great beginner mountain with views and wildlife opportunities that make this trip well worth it!

Quandary Peak, Fourteener #8 August 25, 2011

August 25, 2011

Thursday Andre and I decided to risk the weather and hike Quandary Peak (Elevation 14,265). Quandary is located in the town of Breckenridge and the forecast for today was thunderstorms before 11:00 am. We left around 4am took Highway 24 east to CO 9, entered the town of Breck and turned left on Country road 850 followed by your first right onto county road 851. This is by far the easiest and shortest dirt road for any hike I've done yet, no need for a 4X4 or anything with high clearance which is great.

We parked at the trailhead at about 6:30

The sign reminds us that even though this trail is only seven miles RT there are NO easy fourteeners.



The trail is clearly marked and starts in a forest, we made sure our pace was quick so that we didn't risk getting stuck in a storm.

The trail as we approached treeline


We passed a few people in the very beginning of the trail but did not see anyone after that for quite some time.

Blue lake from the trail


The trail quickly became loose sharp rock for a very long time...



The weather was great so far not a cloud in the sky and there were squeaking Pika everywhere!




Lots of sharp rocks still... You can see the summit of Quandary in the back


We were just trekking along when suddenly we saw Mountain Goats right in front of us!!! It was a baby and his mom and they were right on the trail, they were adorable and they let us get within a couple feet of them!









Being able to hang out with the goats for a few minutes provided us with a nice break but we we still had a ways to go so we continued on... there was a big false summit, but eventually we made it to the top!

Me on the Summit 14,265


Andre on the Summit




And we beat the storm! We took our time heading down because I've been having issues with my knees but still did the entire thing in around 4 1/2 hours. It was a nice hike, this wasn't to strenuous compared to some of the others and would highly recommend it.

Mount Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln and Bross: Fourteeners #4,5,6,7 August 8,2011

August 8, 2011

My brother JJ and I decided to try and knock out four fourteeners on one day. We took Highway 24 to Colorado 9 to the town of Alma, we turned left on county road 8 and followed the signs to the Kite Lake trailhead and campground. County Road 8 is over six miles of dirt road and towards the end of this road you need to have something with good clearance to make it to the official parking lot. We took my Nissan Rogue which did fine with careful driving. It's $3 to park here, so we paid it and started out.

The trail is supposed to be approximately 8 miles, it seemed much longer for several reasons. One is that we decided to leave our jackets in the car (even after talking about how important it is to always be prepared). The last three mountains I had done this week were hot the whole way even at the top, these were not. The wind was fast enough to blow your mouth open if you were facing it and it was cold enough to completely freeze your runny nose. So like idiots we did all four in a t-shirt and shorts.

If you are wondering how you do four fourteeners in a day this is the route we took. Start from Kite Lake, go up to Mt. Democrat first, make your way to Mt. Cameron, then Lincoln, then Bross, you come down the south side of Bross back to Kite lake.


We hiked past Kite Lake and made our ascent up Mt. Democrat. This Mountain had a convincing false summit which was very discouraging. The trail was mostly sharp rocks the entire way up.

Mt. Democrat


Looking back at Kite Lake


Sharp Rocky Trail


More Pika!


Finally made it to the summit of MT. Democrat! Elevation 14,148'


JJ on the summit of Democrat


So we had finished the first one and the trail wasn't too bad, we were just discouraged because of how cold we were. We decided to continue down Democrat and make our way to Cameron.

Mt. Cameron, almost there.


Summit of Mt. Cameron. Elevation 14,222'


JJ on the Summit of Cameron


Cameron was on the way to Lincoln, the top was flat and easy to summit. Cameron is not considered an official fourteener because of something to do with the distance between Lincoln and Cameron, or maybe it's the distance of the summit of Cameron from the saddle... I don't know. But it's still 14,222' high.

The Summit of Lincoln as seen from Cameron


Almost there!


Wheeler Lake from Lincoln


Summit of Mt. Lincoln 14, 286


JJ on the Summit of Lincoln


We were done with three of them and absolutely freezing, Bross looked further than we wanted it to but we continued anyways.

Bross from Lincoln


Eventually we made it to the Summit of Bross. Elevation 14,172'


Me on the Summit of Bross, you can see the first fourteener of the day Mt. Democrat directly behind me.

This is the view of Mt. Lincoln from Bross


At this point, we were done. Unable to feel our hands or faces, we started to head down the south side of Bross. This was by far the worst part of the trip. The trail was steep, rocky, dangerous, and hard on the knees. I would never go down this trail again, if I had to do this group again I would start by going UP this trail and down the way we had come from. This was extremely dangerous. It felt like it took longer to go down the south side of Mt. Bross than it did to summit all four mountains.

Eventually we made it down without dying.
Looking back up the south side of Bross


Almost done!


Flowers!


Looking back at Mt. Democrat


Overall this hike would have been great if we had gone up Bross first and brought coats. It wasn't too strenuous of a hike considering what you are accomplishing and its scenic and pretty. I would recommend this group of fourteeners just bring a jacket and start with Bross first.