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!