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| Hiking | 8.36 Miles |
3,563 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.36 Miles | 6 Hrs 37 Mns | | 1.59 mph |
| 3,563 ft AEG | 1 Hour 22 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This was the second stop of a five day car camping trip I completed with Jackie and the pups following my Colorado Trail hike. I was looking for an "easier" 14er that I could get Jackie and the pups up and this one came highly recomended. We car camped along the road on the way in and enjoyed literally one of the most picturesque sites I have ever camped at. Located in a high mountain valley along the north fork of Clear Creek with snow capped mountains in every direction, it was simply amazing. The only drawback was the flies, never seen them so bad in my life. Almost maddening at times for us and the dogs!
We got a pretty early start, as I thought we would want every extra minute to beat any potential early afternoon storms and I wanted Jackie to be able to go up at her own pace. Jackie did just fine, she was slow and steady, but steady won the day and after some tough moments she was finally standing on the summit with me. Meanwhile, the dogs were literally in heaven. If you have an outdoorsy dog, do it a favor and take it to the tundra at least once in its life. Between squeaking Pikas and barking marmots there are enough sights and sounds to put any dog in sensory overload. I can say for certain that no rodent sized animals were harmed in this trip by the wolf pack, but there may have been some interesting chases.
The summit was absolutely spectacular and one could hardly tell we were standing on such a "diminutive" 14er. There were 360 degree blue bird views of the Collegiate Peaks and so much more. Likewise, we nearly had the summit to ourselves on this weekday morning and only crossed paths with four other hikers while atop the peak. Jackie was stunned by the views and amazed by the elevation. I kept reminding her that it was a small one and still stood a solid 1,500 feet higher than any point in AZ, something she was very proud to hear. Heck just a month ago she was hitting 11,000 feet for the first time and now her and the pups were taking in the views from a 14er!
It was just a great experience overall, being able to take someone up a 14er for the first time and watching my 11 year old Cup stand on one for the first time in her long eventful hiking life. After a very extended stay on the peak, we headed down the trail and enjoyed the nice quick grade all the way back to the TH. An awesome peak and despite its height one of the better ones in the area if you ask me. |
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Wildflowers Observation Extreme
If you are a flower lover, get above the treeline and you will be blown away! |
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