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I took the day off work to take advantage of the nice weather forcast. Twice before I have attempted to climb Evans and had to turn around due to inclement weather. It was really good to finally be able to check this one off the list..
Started from Guanella Pass Trailhead at 6:50am. The road is completely clear - seasonal closure of the Pass is scheduled for next week, so I lucked out.
It was cold but windless, and the 2-mile stretch of marsh and willows was frozen solid - which is especially nice if you have ever had the experience of trudging through the deep mud on a warmer day. And if you're getting ready to do this hike soon (before the next winter storm), you can leave your snowshoes at home.
Crossing the marsh I made good time, and started my ascent of the gully around 7:45.
The ascent is steep and but unlike my last time, not much in the way of snow or ice. I would recommend bringing spikes along, but didn't break mine out, as I was able to pick my way around the scattered patched of ice.
Pic of Gully Route
Pic of Mt. Bierstadt, w Grays Peak and Torreys Peak in the background on the right.
Made Evans summit around 11:45. No cars in the observatory parking lot - guess the Summit Lake road is already closed??
Sweet view of Pikes Peak on horizon.
Digging on my Colorado-style breakfast - gorp and jerky.
Started heading down after lunch. Took this pick of Mt. Bierstadt. Then I ran into a soloist who had hiked Bierstadt in the morning and then crossed over on the Sawtooth to do the Evans combo. He said there was much snow and ice on the Sawtooth, which makes the route very technical and hazardous, given the level of exposure (2000 ft drop).
On my way back down through the Gully, ran into a herd of bighorn sheep.
Made good time all the way to the marsh, then remembered one of the reasons this hike sucks. There are many makeshift trails through the willows in the marsh, and it is hard to know which way to go to get back to your car. The parking lot isn't easily visible from the field and it's way too easy to be headed off course. A few degrees off makes a big difference; so anyways - thanks to a directional error I probably tacked on an extra hour to the end of my hike. Seriously am needing to resume shopping for a GPS.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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