Mt. Democrat Trip Report 11/23/2016

Peak(s):	Mt. Democrat - 14,154 feet
Date Posted:	11/23/2016
Modified:	11/24/2016
Date Climbed:	11/23/2016
Author:	aim54pheonix

Texas Flatlander - Plan C
This trip started a few months ago when the Mrs. and I decided to spend the Thanksgiving week with family and friends in Colorado. I never pass up an opportunity while in Colorado to hike a 14er. I knew that weather could be an issue so started searching for the most easily accessible trailheads, routes on the easier side, and close proximity to Denver. Additionally, we were coming from Texas, so acclimatization was gonig to be an issue. After some research I settled on 3 options: Evans from Summit Lake, Torreys from Grays/Torreys trailhead, and/or Decalibron from Kite Lake. Our planned arrival in Colorado was to be 9 PM and I was planning on doing one of these hikes the next day. I failed to account for all the additional travel type time-sucks and was not even in bed until 11:30 PM. Throughout the day my anxiety was growing about tackling my primary plan of doing the Decalibron loop and I ultimately decided at the last minute to do Evans from Summit Lake instead. Along with this last minute decision was a failure to check the Evan's road status. I awoke at 4:15 AM when my brother-in-law left for work and headed out to Summit Lake only to be disappointed by a large ROAD CLOSED sign. Lesson Learned: Always check road and trailhead status. I did run into a gentleman who was planning on biking up the trail to Summit Lake, props to him. Time to regroup. What is the next closest TH that I had a plan for? Torreys! I get back on I-70 and exit at the road up to Torreys only to find copious signage warning drivers to not even attempt the road to the TH. I was in a Ford Escape rental and the sign coupled with the inch or two of fresh snow on the road deterred me from attempting Plan B. Strike 2! At least I got to enjoy some picturesque Colorado scenery. On the way to Alma after passing through Breckenridge At this point I am pretty much ready to head back to Denver without a 14er under my belt, but I know that I will be pretty upset with myself if I do not at least attempt my 3rd, final, and ORIGINAL plan. I make the trek to Alma on my way to Kite Lake expecting to park about a mile or so below the TH based on a previous TH report. I must have picked a perfect line through the rough portion because I was able to get all the way to the trailhead. The weather was perfect and I knew I had made the right decision to continue my quest for a 14er. View up the road towards Kite Lake I was the only car at the TH so I knew I was in for some interesting route finding (I hope my route didn't lead any of the other groups on a wild goose chase). My biggest fear coming from out of state was not having the right equipment and the amount of snow on the trail initially made me nervous. In the end, I had exactly what I needed, although micro-spikes would have been extremely helpful. The initial portion of the trail was nice hard packed snow but as I ascended out of the basin I encountered a few areas of post-holing. Most areas of deep snow had enough exposed rock on either side of the trail that I really only had to fight the snow in a few spots. A portion of the deeper snow Following the trail was fairly difficult in some places but the cairns and sign-posts always gave a pretty good general direction. Above the saddle, the trail got pretty icy. I stashed my pack at the beginning of the final summit ridge push and summited the peak at exactly 2.5 hours. Having not hiked a 14ers in over 2 years, this was a big accomplishment for me. The only drawback is that I was unable to locate either the summit register or the USGS marker. Obligatory summit picture The way down off the summit down to the saddle was a bit scary without micro-spikes due to the ice. I ran into one group on their way up while I was heading down to the saddle. It was fun to share a bit of info on the conditions up to the summit. They were also fellow flatlanders like me from the Midwest. Below the saddle, the rest of the hike was fairly easy. I ran into a family on their way up. Their son was super energetic and excited to be tackling his first Winter 14er. Again, flatlanders like me, from Texas no less! This hike was one of the best I have done. Despite the trailhead snafus that plagued my early morning, I prepared adequately with food and water, which prevented my typical high altitude headache. After the climb, I drove into the town of Alma and stopped at the Two Mile High Tap House for a beer. This was the perfect cap to a perfect hike. Final Stats Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Texas Flatlander - Plan C

This trip started a few months ago when the Mrs. and I decided to spend the Thanksgiving week with family and friends in Colorado. I never pass up an opportunity while in Colorado to hike a 14er. I knew that weather could be an issue so started searching for the most easily accessible trailheads, routes on the easier side, and close proximity to Denver. Additionally, we were coming from Texas, so acclimatization was gonig to be an issue. After some research I settled on 3 options: Evans from Summit Lake, Torreys from Grays/Torreys trailhead, and/or Decalibron from Kite Lake.

Our planned arrival in Colorado was to be 9 PM and I was planning on doing one of these hikes the next day. I failed to account for all the additional travel type time-sucks and was not even in bed until 11:30 PM. Throughout the day my anxiety was growing about tackling my primary plan of doing the Decalibron loop and I ultimately decided at the last minute to do Evans from Summit Lake instead. Along with this last minute decision was a failure to check the Evan's road status. I awoke at 4:15 AM when my brother-in-law left for work and headed out to Summit Lake only to be disappointed by a large ROAD CLOSED sign. Lesson Learned: Always check road and trailhead status. I did run into a gentleman who was planning on biking up the trail to Summit Lake, props to him.

Time to regroup. What is the next closest TH that I had a plan for? Torreys! I get back on I-70 and exit at the road up to Torreys only to find copious signage warning drivers to not even attempt the road to the TH. I was in a Ford Escape rental and the sign coupled with the inch or two of fresh snow on the road deterred me from attempting Plan B. Strike 2! At least I got to enjoy some picturesque Colorado scenery.

On the way to Alma after passing through Breckenridge

At this point I am pretty much ready to head back to Denver without a 14er under my belt, but I know that I will be pretty upset with myself if I do not at least attempt my 3rd, final, and ORIGINAL plan. I make the trek to Alma on my way to Kite Lake expecting to park about a mile or so below the TH based on a previous TH report. I must have picked a perfect line through the rough portion because I was able to get all the way to the trailhead. The weather was perfect and I knew I had made the right decision to continue my quest for a 14er.

I was the only car at the TH so I knew I was in for some interesting route finding (I hope my route didn't lead any of the other groups on a wild goose chase). My biggest fear coming from out of state was not having the right equipment and the amount of snow on the trail initially made me nervous. In the end, I had exactly what I needed, although micro-spikes would have been extremely helpful. The initial portion of the trail was nice hard packed snow but as I ascended out of the basin I encountered a few areas of post-holing. Most areas of deep snow had enough exposed rock on either side of the trail that I really only had to fight the snow in a few spots.

Following the trail was fairly difficult in some places but the cairns and sign-posts always gave a pretty good general direction. Above the saddle, the trail got pretty icy. I stashed my pack at the beginning of the final summit ridge push and summited the peak at exactly 2.5 hours. Having not hiked a 14ers in over 2 years, this was a big accomplishment for me. The only drawback is that I was unable to locate either the summit register or the USGS marker.

The way down off the summit down to the saddle was a bit scary without micro-spikes due to the ice. I ran into one group on their way up while I was heading down to the saddle. It was fun to share a bit of info on the conditions up to the summit. They were also fellow flatlanders like me from the Midwest. Below the saddle, the rest of the hike was fairly easy. I ran into a family on their way up. Their son was super energetic and excited to be tackling his first Winter 14er. Again, flatlanders like me, from Texas no less!

This hike was one of the best I have done. Despite the trailhead snafus that plagued my early morning, I prepared adequately with food and water, which prevented my typical high altitude headache. After the climb, I drove into the town of Alma and stopped at the Two Mile High Tap House for a beer. This was the perfect cap to a perfect hike.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

Mtnman200

I'm not surprised...
11/23/2016 9:38pm

...that you didn't find a summit register, as they're quite a rarity on 14ers these days. Nice job bagging a 14er so soon after arriving in Colorado.

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