Originally, we had planned to camp in the Rawah area again as a season ending. The overnight lows along the front range had dipped into the low 50's, and the thought of gearing up for cold at elevation made for easy consensus. Canceled. It was a good decision too. By the time Tuesday rolled around the multitude of weather forecasts seemed to be on the same page. A cold front for the weekend was predicted to include highs 25° lower than normal, mostly cloudy skies, fog and rain. Knowing what Colorado weather is like, we all decided to give it a go anyhow. Except this time we all had plenty of time to plan for various types of gear.
4:30am Saturday we were on the road and pushing the time frame for a 6:30 trail time. Just to make it more of a challenge, my mom got pulled over for following me too close through an intersection. We made great time on an empty I-25, and the cloud cover was very high so we encountered no rain. Until Floyd Hill dropping down to Idaho Springs. Even then it was more of a floating drizzle and the interstate was only soggy on the shoulders. Heading south on Mt. Evans Highway as the sun and elevation began to rise brought a significant change in conditions. The precipitation was becoming more rain like, and there was a wall of fog wrapped around 9,000 feet. It still didn't look like severe weather, just a bunch of wet. Then as we started getting close to the fee station the fog was gone, settled into the various valleys and gulches. Those of you who live in micro climates can understand how fast fog and rain can be pushed around. A short battle with an automated fee station that didn't like cash put a slight cramp in our style, but we were on the last nine mile leg before 6:30. Then we passed 11,000' elevation...
In some spots the fog was so dense that only two or three center line dashes were visible. Slow and steady doesn't even begin to describe our pace from there. As I mentioned earlier, we committed to this hike knowing full well what typically happens with 3,000-4,000 feet in elevation change. Night and day...
Arriving 20-something minutes late, I was sure "someone" felt annoyed. After parking the van, I jumped in back and started gearing up the dogs as fast as I could. Despite the blue skies we were fighting an unknown time table. Straight for the trail we went...
The trail begins at approximately 12,800', so it I thought we were in for a nice treeline stroll above the clouds...
Our first break came rather quickly. Even though this route is minimal in distance, elevation gain and exposure, I would never recommend it to anyone just starting out. The biggest obstacle probably being how long you spend at those elevations. With most of our hikes it's up and down with little time spent at any given altitude. This hike was different. Starting at 12,800', Mt. Spalding is 13,842' and the rest of the loop over to Mt. Evans never drops below 13,600'. A continuous workout with that air is taxing I don't care who you are...
Stunning cliffs surround the Chicago Lakes area to the north...
The trail was obvious at the beginning but slowly faded as we entered the rocky portion. It's rated a class 2 for good reason, but somehow I think we meandered left of the route and ended up in a class 3 situation. While not perfectly vertical, there was a rock wall we encountered that was a couple of feet taller than my 6 foot frame. We got the smaller dogs (Cooper and Gunny) up with some simple lifting and coaxing. My mom and Danielle easily climbed their way onto that next segment. Then my two alpine boys (Ridik and Bubba) surprised the hell out of me by scrambling up the face sans assistance! Okay, I DID have to give Bubba a little butt push to keep him from sliding back down onto me. Idiot sled dog was carrying 12 pounds in his pack too. While none of the three cameras documented the actual scene, I believe this picture shows the area in which we were no longer hiking but climbing...
Sioux and Coco didn't quite make this segment the same way. They hadn't been picked up in a long time and I was feeling stupid for not keeping up with that exercise. We ended up leading them around an outcropping and having to lift them a much more manageable four feet. Here's that segment from my vantage point at the end of the group...
Poor Coco, she hates scrambling...
...and looking back over our success. I actually enjoyed the challenge...
After that it was all tip-toeing through the tulips to the summit of Mt. Spalding. Mom and Cooper...
¿You know the car culture term "sleeper"? This is my sleeper mountain climber...
Casey brought something along for our accomplishments, he won it on a forum somehow...
Me and doggies on summit #10 for the year!!! (# 9 for Malamutes)...
...and this is what fortified vodka at 8:15 in the morning at 13,842 feet tastes like...
We only hung out for maybe 15 minutes on Spalding before the rising fog gathered above the mountains and started falling as rain a few miles west of us. It wasn't looking wet near us, but watching the clouds rise from the valleys and sit in the sky a couple of thousand feet above made it obvious we were not exempt. Bierstadt to the southwest...
The approach form Spalding to the west ridge of Evans...
Ratings are very subjective. This is considered by many to be a no brainer walk across to Evans. Maybe it was the four dogs, or maybe it was the fact this is our first big summer of hiking, but I would not call this easy. Simple yes, but easy no. I have a fear of heights that only shows up on certain angles. Looking down over 1100 feet to Abyss lake happens to be one of those angles...
No pictures from our traverse on west Evans. I think we were all feeling it and just trying to get to safer ground before those rocks got wet. Right before things got easy again, some locals decided to rile up my dogs and test my physical fortitude on steep terrain...
We lucked out. The weather held and the trail remained dry as we rounded the mountain and caught sight of the final stretch...
Then we merged with the tourist trail to the top...
It was cold. It got windy, and above all else, it was WET. ¿But you know what? SUMMIT # 11!!!
The trip down was beyond interesting. But knowing this state like Lance Armstrong knows his bike helped to cut three plus miles off the route following the road. Our original route down was a no-go due to weather so we had to improvise our way back to the lake with 1/8th mile visibility at best. After that experience it was clear how some folks can get completely lost up there. No, I can't imagine any of us getting lost on Evans in snow, but I do see how it's possible if one is not a regular in Colorado. I had a blast. Even with the numerous tail bone to rock encounters I experienced. The silence of the mountain surrounded in a snow storm is surreal. Nothing exists except your current footing and the dogs' locations. There was no view, there was no sound, there was no sun and there was no trail. Perfect...
A quick look at our original descent route. Yeah, right...
Back down at the lake/trailhead and feeling great about finishing in the snow instead of
starting.
4hr 47min, 12,840' to 14,264, 5.72 miles and 1724 vertical gain. It felt at least twice that with the changes in weather. But a bad day out on the mountain is better than a great day on the couch. It was an awesome route in killer weather with gnarly sections. Fun was had by all...
Fin. Until I edit the things I don't like...
I love that you were so far above the cloud cover for some of it 
