Meadow Mountain Hike in Allenspark

Meadow Mountain (11632')
~7 miles RT, 2700 ft. gain from St. Vrain TH near Allenspark, CO


My bride and I decided to spend a fantastic fall morning with a more leisurely hike up Meadow Mountain near Allenspark. I had spotted Meadow Mountain and its higher neighbor, St. Vrain Mountain, during recent forays into Wild Basin. Since the area appeared to be near-peak in terms of foliage viewing, and the summit would provide fantastic panoramic views, it was nice to minimize driving on I-25 and avoid I-70 altogether. Finally, I would get to check out yet another trailhead and trail, having recently decided there's no reason not to visit every single trail in the park at least once.

Both St. Vrain Mountain and Meadow Mountain are less-popular hikes, but much of the hiking information I do find is in regard to snowshoeing. Undoubtedly, with ample snowfall, the great views and relatively safe approach on the mellow angles of these slopes make it a great choice for winter excursions. In fact, the St. Vrain TH is a turnoff near the end of Ski Hill Road in Allenspark, which is historically named for several ski areas which used to be in Allenspark. Now, the community is a very quaint outpost near RMNP, tucked off of the main Peak-to-Peak highway. It gets almost none of the attention of its famous neighbor to the North -- Estes Park -- yet has more than twice the charm, and is worth a visit any time of year.

The hike is a typical forested creekside trail with a steady climb to treeline. The aspen are immediately stunning near the trailhead, with some brilliant orange on display:




A hike in Fall continues in colourful splendor as the trail leaves the forest for open meadows of deep reds, and distant views of amber leaves below:




So far, the hike nicely met J's requirement of being "Over the River and Through the Woods," which means mostly on trail, without long slogs on talus, snowfields, scree piles, etc., as it approached the saddle and National Park Boundary (having crossed through IPW) at a saddle between Meadow Mtn., some unnamed points just above 11,400, and St. Vrain Mountain. We had planned on a decision between Meadow Mtn. and St. Vrain at this point. Prior to the hike, I was secretly hoping for the "higher-is-better" choice, but seeing the two options in front of us, I imagine words like "steep," "talus," and "krummholz" being thrown about as curse words should we have chosen St. Vrain. Truthfully, Meadow Mtn from the saddle was an appealingly short hike that was mostly tundra, with just enough talus to be fun but not annoying, and would give us better views to the North. Easy decision.

With extra time at the top, low wind, and sufficiently warm temperatures, we lounged around a bit with the summit to ourselves, nicely able to celebrate our 9th anniversary from earlier in the week:



The broad summit had no visible marker or summit log, but has an electric box with a solar panel and antenna, and otherwise sublime views in every direction. We were in no hurry to leave the summit, with only gentle clouds in the area.

In all, this was a spectacular fall hike, even better by enjoying it together, and I can imagine returning for a bluebird winter day. We hadn't left the trailhead until almost 8:30AM, yet had only seen 2 other people on the trail, and took plenty of time for foliage pictures. On the way down, we did see maybe half a dozen parties as the clouds began to roll in. I hesitate a bit, but this hike is a great suggestion for foliage viewing and acclimatization hiking for visitors. It is similar in difficulty and elevation to the much more popular Twin Sisters hike (also a free-parking TH that accesses RMNP), yet has better views and much less human traffic.

Rawah Wilderness Videos

Herman Lake Wildflowers and Continental Divide

Herman Lake and Continental Divide
~7.5 miles, 2800 foot gain (10,200 to 13,000)



J and I were looking for enjoyable wildflower and tundra hiking, with less than a 2 hour drive from Fort Collins, and something different than the reliable but crowded IPW. Herman Gulch met these requirements, and then some.

Herman Gulch is located East of the Divide tunnels, just off of I-70 on Exit 218. Correspondingly, the large dirt parking lot just off the freeway can be crowded. But getting there around 8AM, there were still plenty of spots.

This hike is well-documented elsewhere on the internet and guidebooks. A class-1 trail leads
3.5 miles up, through the forest and into wildflower meadows, before leading to Herman Lake itself, which sits in the shadow of 13er Petingell Peak.

So essentially there were 3 goals for this hike.

First goal: to see the wildflowers in full bloom.






































































Second goal: Get up on the Divide.
After visiting the lake, with maybe a dozen or so other folks, we headed back down less than half a mile to the Jones Pass/CDT trail split. We descended slightly on the Jones Pass trail, which follows below a ridge to the north before cresting it. Shortly after that, we headed up the steep tundra to the ridge itself, giving views of a whole new basin and range of mountains. Next, we followed along the ridge to the flat, loafy 13,000' shoulder of Petingell. This is an unnamed expanse of tundra, but gives fantastic views above Herman Lake, as well as new views which opened up to the North. And for a couple of hours of hiking and lounging around, we had the place to ourselves.



J took a nap:


I poked around restlessly:


...before waking her up to achieve the 3rd goal of the hike:
Hit J with a snowball in August!



Another beautiful day up high. This hike is rightly popular for being within an hour of Denver, but it's undoubtedly less crowded than Torrey's/Grey's across the street. The trail here, as well as the CDT trail towards Jones Pass, is also fantastically runnable: need to stare at the map for some loop options.

Here is a map. The extra effort of getting to the Divide more than triples your views:

Bison Peak Hike: Southwest Ridge in a Lingering Winter

Bison Peak Hike
with Caleb
Southwest Ridge from Ute Creek TH
12.2 Miles RT (plus scrambling)
3671' gain (8760' to 12431')
Class 1 / Class 2-3 (snow/scrambling)

With deep, unstable snow -- and equally unstable weather -- hitting many of the higher mountains, Caleb and I decided to check out the Taryall Mountains in the Lost Creek Wilderness (LCW). We've read great reviews (online and in the Roach's famous Colorado's Lost Creek Wilderness: Classic Summit Hikes guide) and been enticed by pictures of the otherworldly rock formations on the summit plateaus of Bison Peak, which also promised great views and less snow than higher peaks to the west, while still offering sublime views but no significant avalanche risk. Although the same wind that scours snow from the summit hit us above treeline, this hike ended up being a fabulous one.

We made the left turn off of 285 onto Park County 77 toward Taryall Reservoir, which was a new road for both of us. The road heads 20 miles East to the trailhead, and other than some construction, it was snow-free and in excellent condition. We drove past the Ute Creek TH and looked for camping off of the side of the road, not really finding anything until we found an excellent spot near the Twin Eagles TH.

After rain and clouds in the Front Range for most of the week, we were fortunate to enjoy hundreds of stars in a mostly-clear night, made even brighter when the waning moon rose over the mountains just after midnight.

At sunrise the next morning, we broke camp and headed back up to the Ute Creek trailhead.



We started getting ready around 7:15, and although nobody else was stirring in the parking lot or along the short drive to the trailhead, a pickup truck pulled up as we were getting ready. We exchanged friendly greetings with the solo female hiker. She commented on how conditions in the Sawatch and Front Range didn't look appealing, but that it should be a nicer day here. We asked if she had been up to Bison before, and she replied that she had done so numerous times.

She asked if we had the LCW guidebook. When we responded, she said, casually and humbly, "My husband wrote that book."

I also noticed the Hard Rock 100 stickers on the truck.

"You're Jennifer!" I exclaimed. "What do you mean, you're husband wrote it?" I asked, shaking her hand. "You wrote it too!"

Caleb and I counted ourselves very lucky to meet Jennifer Roach, a Colorado mountaineering legend.



We asked her more about Bison Peak, as well as Hard Rock, which both her and Gerry are doing this year. Again, the entire time she was incredibly friendly and modest. We have a strong appreciation for folks like the Roach's, and their contributions to safe and interesting hiking and climbing challenges, as well as enjoyment of the state of Colorado. I wish them the best at Hard Rock, and the presence of people like them also make me very excited about the history, tradition, and ethos of the Hard Rock 100.

After chatting, we headed up to the drainage on the well-defined trail. The trail rises gently through the trees, along a stream and occasional boulders, well-protected from the elements. Caleb and I kept a steady pace and we were encouraged by the lack of wind above the trees, yet were almost startled about 1.5 hours into our hike when we came across a hiker coming down.

"How is it up there?" we asked.
"Full-on winter conditions!" he told us. He left before sunrise, but told us of an unrelenting wind up on the ridge that reduced visibility to zero and made him turn back. He wished he had goggles, warmer gloves, and a 3rd layer of wind-proof pants (none of which we had), but said it was still enjoyable views before the summit. We were a bit dismayed by this forecast, but optimistic that the previous front moving east and the morning sunshine might make things more tolerable.

Soon after that, we started hitting snow, and the terrain became more interesting out of the trees:


We also now had a view of the summit ridge, and saw some spindrift and evidence of stronger winds up high, but hoped we could stay along formations on the summit to help block the wind as much as possible. We hit McBison Pass (between Bison and McCurdy) and the wind was still tolerable, so we knew we could safely head to the summit. The boot-deep snow on the summit was manageable without snowshoes, although Microspikes and/or poles were helpful.




Mesmerized by the summit rocks, we got a little sloppy and started scrambling up the tallest pile of boulders in front of us. We knew that route-finding would yield an easy scramble to the summit peak, but decided to play around instead. ("After all, hotshots climb the face!") We stuck to problems within our modest abilities, but still enjoyed a few challenges. When we couldn't get higher, Caleb found a nifty passage to the other side:



And then, we saw a completely separate, but clearly higher, jumble of rocks in front of us. So, we downclimbed and headed over to the true summit. This was significantly easier, but we still enjoyed practice on some challenging mixed snow and rock.

The summit itself afforded great views:



We were entirely surprised at how prominent the view of the West side of Pikes was. But, it was incredibly windy, so we descended to a sunnier, sheltered spot below, where we ate lunch. Shortly after, we saw Jennifer again, and chatted. She pointed out the trail to McCurdy, including the loss and subsequent gain of elevation on the "Bison Arm" ridge, as we had mentioned a possible hike to McCurdy as well earlier in the day.

By now, however, we were content with our exploration of the Bison summit, and some more unhurried scrambling:


We made our way back down to the pass, and then decided to head back into the trees:


...after one last view of Pikes:


Our feet warmed up quickly once we headed back into the trees, out of the wind.
Some of the snow on the upper parts of the trail was already melting. Did I mention: the Class-1 trail through the trees is excellent for running? I think Caleb started it first, and we ran the steeper sections. I certainly loved doing this, and was encouraged as Caleb was keeping up. He's already good at real sports, like basketball and softball, so who knows if he'd want to pick up a made-up sport like slowrunningthroughthemountainsallday?

By the bottom of the trail, the temperature was absolutely glorious, and the windy creek came into view:



In fact, it looked good enough to fish in!


In all, this was a great hike with great company. Shoulder-season, winter conditions make it a great option before the high peaks open up, yet without as much avalanche concerns. Scrambling on the rocks can be as easy or as hard as you make it. The LCW is definitely and uncrowded area worth exploring!

Mt. Morrison Hike - South Ridge

Mt. Morrison
~3.8-4M RT, ~2000' gain, Class 2
~2.5 hour hike

Update 2014: South Ridge Trail up Mt. Morrison is open; direct access from Amphitheater (east face) is not allowed

With a nice day on Saturday, J wanted to get out for a modest hike, and we didn't want to drive to far out of Denver. Thought it might be a good day to check out Mt. Morrison -- and we were glad we did.

Mt. Morrison is a prominent foothill above the quaint town of Morrison, Colorado. Even more famously, Mt. Morrison stands above Red Rocks park, home of the famous Red Rocks amphiteatre. Other than the antenna towers near the top, it seemed like it would be an interesting climb, with a great vantage point above the city.

As usual, mtnrunner2 takes much better photos, such as this one from last year:


Otherwise, I didn't even know the logistics of hiking Mt. Morrison until recently. It doesn't appear on the official Red Rocks trail map, for example, and I hadn't seen it in popular guidebooks (despite being a very popular park). However, there was some discussion on 14ers.com that discussed the "South Ridge" trail (among others), which is described specifically on Summitpost.

It appears there are some "official unofficial" trails to the top, and only in the last few years, I've read, have some fences been removed to allow access to the summit. The various trails seem to have arisen as social trails, yet not prohibited, as the unofficial trailhead we started at had a sign next to it for hiking only (no bikes or horses). Several folks suggested that the South Ridge trail is the best developed trail, while the more popular and shorter trail from the amphitheater itself is more erosion-prone, which seemed both less fun, more crowded, and less ecologically sensitive.

So these trails appear to be popular, but not developed with modern sensibilities for heavy use, and operate in a nebulous state between official and unofficial. I'm torn, because I love cross-country hiking and scrambling in more remote mountains, whereas this area sees heavy use, but also want to see resources be used sustainably. On the other hand, it's littered with dead telephone poles, antenna, infrastructure for a funicular, and assorted concrete waste near the top. Now you know, and feel free to comment if you have more information or disagree.

South Ridge trail begins by parking at Entrance #4, the West entrance off of Bear Creek Rd. Immediately on your left is the obvious trail and sign, so park anywhere convenient and accessible near the entrance.

And then, there's nowhere to go but up! You begin the hike directly next to an overhead cable, and then over a knocked-down barbed wire fence. Higher up the hill, you actually go over the neglected cable itself:



At the top of the first ridge, you have great views of the valley below, to the West, as you start following the ridge and continuing upward to the North:



Continuing following the obvious ridgeline trail to the north, where the rocky summit itself comes into view:


And on the last push to the summit, the fun begins!
The actual bits of trail are steep enough at times that you might want to put down a hand or grab a rock occasionally (and be careful to avoid sending loose rocks down on a person below), and then you have some occasional larger rocks and boulders to scramble over. But, none of these "problems" are exposed, nor more then 5 yards or so in length, so it's pretty much good clean fun.



By now, Mt. Evans is clearly visible to the West, and a short bit of easy trail on top of rock leads to the summit.



*

We both liked this hike, and I liked it more than I thought I would. It's right near the magic 1000ft/1M ratio that marks much of the Class 2 mountains I've enjoyed hiking with J in the Sawatch Range especially, so I can see this as a good "14er training" hike for people obsessed with such things. It has some scrambly bits to be interesting while being relatively safe, and is great practice for steep running in either direction (as I annoyed J by goofing off with some repeats on the way down). And, we still only saw maybe a half dozen people or so on the trail. Meanwhile, being a Sunday, other folks were running the amphiteater stairs below -- over and over and over -- I don't discount that as a good workout, but was happier to have the views up top.

Hooray for (Mt.) Ouray

Mt. Ouray, 13971 ft
East Ridge route, Class 2, 9 miles/4300' gain RT

Again, hoping to see more aspen, J and I took a (long) day-trip down to Mt. Ouray.

Mt. Ouray is a centennial 13er at the Southern end of the Sawatch range. I had it on 'the list' for awhile since it was scenic, high, and uncrowded, and had an interesting route through bristlecone forest, an open mountain cirque, and then a gorgeous ridge to the top.
Still, I had debated the night before on mountains and routes: J didn't want something too steep and long or scrambly; I have a perpetual aversion to crowds; and I wasn't sure if there were even any significant aspen in the area (I only knew about the bristlecone), and how impressive they would be (yeah, that's how picky I am), since there aren't enough pictures of Mt. Ouray in the fall. But, I found some great recommendations and pictures of Marshall Pass Rd, and luckily, it ended up being fabulously gorgeous. Unluckily, it ended up being steeper and slower than advertised: partly Roach's fault (he called it Class 1+, which I told J and based timing assumptions, though there was non-trivial talus hopping, which is why Summitpost calls it Class 2), partly our fault (we ended up going down more talus on the way down while chatting and not paying attention), and mostly my fault (because I have a selective memory on things like this and tend to downplay length/difficulty!)

Anyway, for the second wknd in a row, we headed down 285, south past Poncha Springs.
Now that it was daylight, with a waning gibbous moon waning gibbously, we could see Mt. Ouray from several miles away.



Nice. I like mountains that look cool from a distance, have a decent prominence, and when you hike in the direction of their best presentation, so you can stare at it for hours.

Two other cars were in the small parking lot at the Gray's Creek trail. Within the first half mile, we saw a couple and their dog, from the Springs, heading back to the TH. They had camped their for the night, not knowing it was a trailhead, then heard about the trail (presumably from the people in the other car), decided to hike up a bit, then turned around when the trail became lost at numerous creek crossings. I showed him the map and stats, they were in good spirits and decided to go mt. biking instead anyway, but J articulated to me, later, what I was also thinking about waking up and randomly deciding to do a hike of indeterminate length and difficulty without a map, etc. (Then again, I guess we did that for millions of years, and as long as you turn around when things get dicey...)

Indeed, the trail crossed the creek a few times right around a mile, and pretty much disappeared, but we stayed mostly North and followed the creek right up, and after 10-15 minutes a trail was easily discernible again. We wound our way through some nice aspen, steadily climbing upward in through the gulch:


J started asking if the steepness relented -- it's pretty much 1k/mile the whole way -- and wasn't too happy with how hot it was for the end of September, when I was paranoid about having gloves, hat, etc. I tried to offer my sympathy, but since I was shirtless already, it probably wasn't too helpful. Permanent note to J: non-cotton t-shirt or tank-top is *never* a bad layer to have!

Alright, the trail got a little rockier as we got closer to treeline. Then, we reached the famous bristlecone forest, something I was looking forward to...



...in no small part because it reminds me of "The Legend of Zelda"


(BTW, I couldn't find any images of that online, so I had to spend 15 minutes going online to play it, then get a screen capture, just for your enjoyment. OH, and, while I did my capture, I only had one heart left, so the game kept beeping at me. You're welcome.)

Just a bit further up, and the entire cirque was visible, called the "Devil's Armchair."



Mt. Ouray is the high point in the middle. This route finds the easiest path up to the saddle to the left of the summit. To the right (Northeast of Mt. Ouray) is a big heap of scree that can serve as an alternative route along its shoulder. A descent there would make a fabulous Tour d'Ouray, but J called "no scree" so we didn't head that way.

Anyway, the half-mile grunt up to the saddle is a mixture of talus, faint trail, and tundra ramp. Take your pick!

We wound our way up to the ridge, leisurely. Did I mention there was essentially no wind and no clouds? Awesome weather. Once on the ridge, there was a faint climbing trail that zigzagged through the talus. Some bad news, though: several obvious false summits. I tried to remind J how quickly each little hump went by, 10-15 minutes or so, then the next one. Just moving forward. The trail actually winds around the backside of the ridge now, exposing new views to the West. Here, we actually saw a group of people descending. I apologized for 'crowding' the mountain, but we all laughed at the great day. And pushed forward, one hump of talus at a time.

Finally, the summit was achieved.


We shared the summit with a group of women, friends from various parts of the state that met to climb some 13ers the day before (Webster Pass ridge run to Horseshoe), then had taken the East ridge route (back side of the cirque) up to Mt. Ouray, while their respective husbands were toiling away at respective home projects.

J and I were able to sit right on the summit for half an hour, enjoying leftover pizza and Red Bull. Heaven!

J's spirits were better now and she enjoyed the descent, which is good as I worried I had pushed her into a longer hike and she wasn't enjoying it. I told her we went to 13,970+ feet, so basically 14 -- she had thought the whole time that we were on a 14er (since I was telling her about advantages/disadvantages of some options the night before). I told her we were less than 30 feet short -- also, note the lack of people -- did that bother or affect anything at all? "No," she replied, and I love her for it. Then she admitted enjoying the hike, but she's ready for some more "rolling, over the river and through the woods" hikes instead. I know what she means.

As I mentioned, we ended up going past the saddle and just decided to head straight down the talus. No biggie, a little slower but somewhat shorter and more interesting. Back into the gulch by line of sight, and we picked the trail up again.

End of September, and we were both sunburned! We looked forward to reaching treeline in this direction as well.
Now it was afternoon, and the aspens were even brighter:




Even though it was windless, it seemed like the trail was more covered in solid leaves, so you could "sense" a trail was there more than you could actually see it.




Back to the car, turns out almost 7 hours went by. We enjoyed even more views of the aspen...


...before the planned apres-hike food and drink at Eddyline. Yum!

A great day in the mountains with my favorite girl, how lucky can I be, 2 days before our 8th wedding anniversary!

Kenosha Peak

"Kenosha Peak" 12,100 feet.
9 miles / 2300' gain RT from South Ben Tyler trail (campground at bottom of hill)
~5 hours total (30 min on summit)

Sunday, 19 September.

Mid-September, time to see some aspen.
This is our 5th Colorado autumn, and I don't think I'll ever get over it. The cool, crisp air; infinitely blue skies; and blazing yellow aspen on the mountainsides. I guess I missed this season altogether when we lived in San Diego, so I don't take it for granted anymore. Otherwise, folks rave about the palette of colour back East. I'm not inclined to disagree, and certainly enjoyed that growing up in Wisconsin, but for my money, I'll still take the Colorado gold.

Unfortunately, with school and all, we're limited to day-trips. One of the most reliable spots closer to Denver is the Kenosha Mountains (coincidentally named with a Wisconsin connection). I've enjoyed the famous Kenosha-to-Georgia pass mt. bike ride a few years ago in October, after the leaves had mostly fallen as well as a dusting of snow. This time, we'd head into the Lost Creek Wilderness for a leisurely day-hike. I knew that this area held lots of potential for easy travel on long above-treeline ridges in relative solitude, so I was anxious to get to explore.

J, along with friends Ben and Bailey, were looking for a day-trip hike of similar caliber, so it worked out well for us to head up on a glorious morning.

The first stop was Kenosha Pass itself:


Then, over the pass, around that glorious curve of Hwy 285 south of the pass (I had a friend remark once how he enjoyed that section of road, and having thought the same thing, I now wonder how many other people can picture what I'm talking about), we soon hit Lost Park Rd, new terrain of dirt road heading east.

The road was passable in the Outback, probably doable in a slow 2WD car, but I was grateful for sufficient clearance in some of the ruts. At one point, the car was tipped pretty far sideways and everyone leaned in the opposite direction, but it takes a lot to tip a car over. Right?

Headed up, and up, with some great views to the West.




Anyway, we stopped at the campground about a half mile from the TH. Good parking (and camping) spot. Headed up the road, then onto the trail. The trail was easy to follow, mostly buff with a few creek crossings. There were some interesting bouldering opportunities early, so definitely worth spending some time here. Otherwise, through the forest, up a short, steeper section of switchbacks, and then above treeline, with a thicket of willows to the right of the trail.

To get to "Kenosha Pk", leave the trail just after the views open up after the switchbacks. As suggested on Summitpost, heading further up the trail, then arcing back uphill makes it easier to avoid most of the willows. There's a small ridge that does exactly that, so it's easy to head for the ridge and follow it up to the Peak.



This is an open expanse of tundra with great views and a long ridge of other peaks in each direction. Yes, this is a great ridge run, and many have done exactly that. In our case, we hadn't seen anyone on our way up to the top.

We had a leisurely snack break at the top:


On the way back down, we went more directly through the willows, as it was easy to see the trail intersection, and there were numerous game trails winding through them.

Going back down, Ben and I impatiently ran the switchbacks and some other fun stuff. In short, this whole trail is eminently runnable. If you wanted to run, some great options would be an out-and-back on the Ben Tyler trail (note that the Northern TH is very easy to get to, closer to Denver and right off of Hwy 285), as well as off-trail ridge run possibilities.

We saw 2 parties on our way down, on a glorious day. Oh, at the bottom was a family having a picnic near their truck, right at the trailhead. An aluminum can (can't remember if it was beer or soda now, though it would be a better story if it were beer so I should just say that) was sitting right in the middle of the trail, and a young boy at the bottom was doing...something. After we passed, he resumed: shooting at the can with a BB gun. Now I know the (lack of) power of a BB gun, I grew up with guns and have enjoyed shooting in the past, so I'm not an irrational gun-phobe, but this just seemed like, uh, one of those teachable moments (even though they were armed). I mean, shooting up a trail of all things? So I quietly asked Dad if he thought it might be a better idea to shoot in a different direction (Rule #1: Don't tell some dude what to do. Rule #2: Don't chew him out in front of his family)...luckily he agreed and asked little Johnny to move the can. Phew.

Anyway, a great hike in an uncrowded area, avoiding I-70 altogether. Of course, I had to stop and take more pictures on the way out, because the aspen look different in the light at different times of day...

"Old Baldy" Pt. 13038 IPW

"Old Baldy" Pt. 13038
Indian Peaks Wilderness
~7.75 miles RT, ~4.5 hours



With predicted high temps in the 100s, there was no doubt on where to go: above treeline. However, we also an appointment in Denver mid-afternoon. Working backward from that, visiting Indian Peaks wilderness seemed like a good choice. Then, I decided to check out the 4th of July TH, since we've never been there and it's free; and the plan was to hike the Arapahoe Glacier trail to the saddle between "Old Baldy" and S. Arapahoe, then picking a mountain based on time and desire.

We left Fort Collins at 5am on Saturday, and got to the TH at 6:45. Some cars there already, but it's a campground, and wasn't too bad. We ran into 3 people in the first half mile, we passed 2 of them and the solo guy passed us; after that, we had the trail to ourselves.

Wildflowers of all colours were on display:


We passed alternated between dense forest canopy, stream and waterfall crossings, thick wildflowers, and amazing views.


A tall waterfall roared in the distance. At 2 miles, we hit the Arapahoe Pass junction, and the old 4th of July mine, which was a buried pit and some old equipment.

We took the right turn to switchback up toward the saddle. The trail was nice and well-maintained. Finally, at the saddle, we were able to peer down at Arapahoe Glacier, as well as getting great views of the Arapahoe traverse. S. Arapahoe by itself looked like ~45 minutes of steady scrambling (shown behind me in this picture), truly a legitimate and worthy mountain, but we did the gentle x-country walkup to "Old Baldy" instead.



And while we saw a few folks heading up S. Arapahoe, we had "Old Baldy" to ourselves. We laid down in the sunshine for a 20 minute nap or so, though I'd sit up every few minutes and look around at the amazing views.

Time to head down, where we saw ~40-50 people coming up, along the lines of what I expected in a popular area.

Now, back at the car just before noon, we reached the crux of the route: navigating through a cluster of traffic. I wiggled my way out of the parking lot while some guy waited for my spot, waited a couple minutes for a cop and another guy to finish a conversation through their car windows, then headed down the road clogged with park cars to the Hessie TH. There, traffic was backed up, while an old woman "took charge" by demanding everyone back up the hill so she could get through. To make it worse, one of the SUVs was driven by a tentative young woman who couldn't back up her car to save her life. (Literally -- these are the folks that swing a sickle six inches from my shoulder unaware when I'm on my bike. Oy.)

To the rescue? Scott and Anton! No, literally, these guys helped direct the girl's car so she could back up. I saw them on the way past, and when I was waiting, said "Hello" -- both were incredibly personable and friendly, and were equally perplexed about all the traffic in the mountains. (Coincidentally, someone on 14ers.com posted a comment on the traffic/parking on that day as well, so something unusual must have been up?) It was nice meeting them briefly, sounds like they had a nice run as well.

Generally a great, moderate hike, with awesome views, wildflowers, waterfalls, mountains, and glaciers. I can see a future trip involving the Arapahoe Traverse, as well as popping over Arapahoe Pass.