This mountain has been on this year's list just aching for a try. Rated as quite possibly the easiest 14er hike, I can tell you it's a bit easier than that even. Of course, eight weekends in a row at elevation probably had some impact as well.
Friday July 24, 2009:I'm so glad the dogs have gotten used to the morning load ups. Every weekend nets better and better behavior (despite what my mom would say)...
My mom and I tried so hard to leave before 6:00am to beat the road closure at 8:00am in Georgetown. As usual, our typical checklist fumbling had us out the door and on the road at 6:15. Mustering every bit of 3.8 liters out of the Caravan, we were bookin' it up I-70 and made it to exit 228 at precisely 7:50. The problem was this happened to be the time that the early weekenders were beginning to clog the narrow olde town streets. The cops were everywhere as they hit the roads for the day, so forcing my way around town was out. Finally out of the main drag traffic we panicked our way up the .75 mile run to the cutoff. 8:04am. Missed it. The crew had NO sympathy as they told us what we already knew. Back to Georgetown we went for a three hour mosey waiting out the closure. Time really flew just wandering around. A few poop stops and a couple of cups of coffee later it was time to get a spot in line on the road. At 10:30 the van was parked at the front spot to head up at 11:00. The road itself was very navigable and finding a campsite was quite easy since everyone was behind us. After unloading at our chosen site, I headed back down two miles to the last cell phone signal. Once I texted all the pm arrivals with the details I turned the van around and headed back up to get organized. *DING* My eyes scanned the dash looking for maybe the low fuel light or the always present o2 light. Nope, it was in the overhead console, "(1) Tire Low Pressure". Blimey...
Oh well, it's been nearly eight years and four sets of tires on two cars since the last flat. The thing that sucks is it was a straight gash. No patching that one, and with three 70% worn tires left that means we need four.
Dealing with that turd took all of 10 minutes and then it was time to finish the setup...
Everyone arrived without incident and somewhere around 10:00pm or six beers later it was time to call it a night. I set my alarm for 4:00am hoping to be out of the campsite by 5:30. See, it takes me about an hour to be ready enough for departure. Downed some coffee, a liter of water, an allergy pill and a pit stop later we were heading up trail about 5:30-5:45...
Sunrise in the Rockies...
The group was doing quite well. My mongrels wanted to sprint up the mountain, so I spent most of the uphill journey slowing them down so they didn't kill themselves...
Argentine Pass/Peak lit up to the west...
Looking back at Guanella Pass. We were camped out where the road disappears into the trees...
Bierstadt's shadow rapidly retreating to the east...
We made excellent time up the mountain. By the time we reached the last saddle, the sun was just breaking over the summit. The way up was pleasant and we hardly encountered half a dozen people on the way up...
Final segment...
Success! Everyone made it...
Now it's time for some views...
I'm sure someone knows what this place is...
The more difficult route to Mt. Evans...
Zoom...
Once again, Longs peak off in the distance...
Gray's peak and Torrey's peak under cloud shadow...
Looking west-ish. See that high point on the left way back there? Mount of the Holy Cross...
In the 20 something minutes we spent at the summit, the crowd went from about 15 to approaching 30. So expecting the coming pilgrimage, we headed back down to the saddle to take a luncher...
The light from a partly cloudy sky made for some unique scenes. I really like how this one of Gunny turned out...
Here they come!!!...
Going down was easier once I discovered that people yielded instantly when I was jogging with the dogs. The sucky part was jogging. Summit temps were probably in the mid to upper 40's, and as we reached the parking lot it was definitely approaching 80. Ugh. All in all, it was great. We even made it back to the site before noon. Sweet. Then about 3 o'clock it all went to pot. I still have a pile of muddy wet tents that desperately needs scrubbing. At least I have a couple of weeks before the next camp. Still going to hike something in the meantime.
I'll end this thread with some pictures I took during the rain storms moving in and out. Then the last two from Sunday's sunrise over the Guanella Pass valley...
Bierstadt...
Fin.
