OTHER Trip Report 01/24/2021

Peak(s):	Estes Cone 11,006
Date Posted:	01/24/2021
Modified:	01/25/2021
Date Climbed:	01/21/2021
Author:	Jay521

Not much of a snow cone...
An easy snowflake Estes Cone from the Longs Peak TH Parking lot Trailhead: Longs Peak trail Route: By the Eugenia mine then up to Storm Pass Length: 7 miles Vertical: 2150 feet Partners: Solo I had done Estes Cone a few years back from the Storm Peak TH on the Bear Lake road. That was during the summer and was a pleasant hike but a bit longer than from either Lily Lake or the Longs Peak TH. A friend had wanted to do Estes Cone with me a couple weeks ago but we ended up not doing it but that put the bug in my ear that I needed to do it again. Having never been to the Eugenia mine, that sealed the deal for me that I should do it from the Longs Peak TH. Turned out to be a pretty easy hike although I was a bit shocked at how little snow there was. If we don't get more soon, it's gonna be a long summer... As this was going to be a short hike, I didn't exactly get an alpine start. I hit the TH about 7:30 and stopped on the way (Wild Basin Parking lot) to take a picture of a nice sunrise. Mother Nature at work with colors. From the Ranger station, it's a short hike (maybe a half a mile?) to the first junction. Take a right here. The lack of snow is astounding. It is surprising to see a tree across a rather popular trail that hasn't been removed by the NPS. Must have been a recent fall. Even with not much snow, one has to be watchful for ice patches. This was an area where a small stream had backed up and iced over the trail. I was glad I had microspikes on when I crossed this. I am always fascinated by bridges in RMNP. This one is right at the Eugenia mine site. Remnants of an old cabin. An old boiler And a closeup of the rivets that hold it together. I hiked a bit past the boiler hoping to find more signs of the mine but either I didn't go far enough or they were covered by snow. Past the boiler, I stopped at this point. Looks like an avalanche or maybe high wind had knocked down a number of trees I received some info from user Flying Magpie on the Eugenia mine that I found quite interesting and will quote him here. "I know one good story about the Eugenia Mine. Probably comes from a James Pickering history book. You know the Eugenia mine cabin was only occupied summers. Most places near Estes, mining claims were only for property's sake. Miners had to just look like they were mining something. So they just had to dig a hole in the mountain. The Eugenia mine was just a shallow hole in the ground, still there but you have to look for it in summer. Never produced anything. The cabin used to be standing. Just a few logs rotting on the ground now. It was only occupied summers. Nearby homesteaders used to gather there. Why? Somehow, the miners had managed to haul a piano up there. In a wheeled horse-drawn wagon perhaps? Or maybe just on a sled made of rough-sawn boards hitched to a team. This was perhaps the first, or one of the first, pianos in Estes. And someone knew how to play it. So the homesteaders would gather to sing songs. Music in the wilderness. Music was rare. It was a damn lonely place in those days. Few women, all married. Most settlers were bachelors. Nearly all (except tor F.O. Stanley and a couple others) were poor. So fellowship, too, was rare. And man, I can imagine how that piano would ring in the night and those strong male voices would carry. Probably a bottle of whiskey or jar of moonshine would be passed around until it was gone. I'm sure everyone enjoyed themselves just fine." A little past the Eugenia mine, you come to Moore Park Moore Park and a view of the Cone. And a zoom on the Cone from the same spot. Not long after you pass through the park, you take a hard left and head up to the pass. Go left here. Nearing the top of Storm Pass and still not much snow. First sign at the top of the pass. And less than a mile to go to the summit. At this point as other reports have stated, the trail gets a little tougher. But honestly, not all that tough even with snow. Easy at the start Cool tree More cool trees I guess I have a thing about trees? Nearing the final push to the summit. There's lots of ways up but I chose the rocky ramp on the left. Easy-peasy class 2+ with maybe one class 3 move (if you're old and short like I am) The views were not stellar. They were fantastic on my first trip up here but not so this time as the weather just wasn't cooperating. As my friend GreenhouseGuy likes to say "Mother Nature always wins." That should be Longs Peak. Lily Lake At least I had a nice view of the Twin Sisters that I did a TR on sometime back that is visible here Twin Sisters Looking in the general direction of the Longs Peak TH (I think...) Should be a view of Meeker... And a short 360 vid from the summit. Time to head down... Naturally, the sun will start to come out... Looking down the rocky ramp as I am ready to start down. It was nice to get back to the park and do a little hike. Estes Cone is easy and on most days, the views are really nice. I didn't see anyone on the way up but ran into a total of 4 people on the way down. If you are looking for an easy winter hike that isn't crowded, I would recommend Estes Cone on a weekday like I did. There were only a half dozen vehicles in the parking lot when I arrived and all of them must have continued on up towards Chasm Lake as I saw no evidence of any sort of fresh tracks once I left the main trail. While I still don't carry a traditional GPS, I FINALLY have a more modern cell phone that will run Strava so if you'd like to see my route, you should be able to pull it up here Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Not much of a snow cone...

An easy snowflake

20933_02 — Estes Cone from the Longs Peak TH Parking lot

Trailhead: Longs Peak trail
Route: By the Eugenia mine then up to Storm Pass
Length: 7 miles
Vertical: 2150 feet
Partners: Solo

I had done Estes Cone a few years back from the Storm Peak TH on the Bear Lake road. That was during the summer and was a pleasant hike but a bit longer than from either Lily Lake or the Longs Peak TH. A friend had wanted to do Estes Cone with me a couple weeks ago but we ended up not doing it but that put the bug in my ear that I needed to do it again. Having never been to the Eugenia mine, that sealed the deal for me that I should do it from the Longs Peak TH. Turned out to be a pretty easy hike although I was a bit shocked at how little snow there was. If we don't get more soon, it's gonna be a long summer...

As this was going to be a short hike, I didn't exactly get an alpine start. I hit the TH about 7:30 and stopped on the way (Wild Basin Parking lot) to take a picture of a nice sunrise.

20933_01 — Mother Nature at work with colors.

From the Ranger station, it's a short hike (maybe a half a mile?) to the first junction.

20933_04 — The lack of snow is astounding.

20933_05 — It is surprising to see a tree across a rather popular trail that hasn't been removed by the NPS. Must have been a recent fall.

Even with not much snow, one has to be watchful for ice patches. This was an area where a small stream had backed up and iced over the trail.

20933_06 — I was glad I had microspikes on when I crossed this.

I am always fascinated by bridges in RMNP. This one is right at the Eugenia mine site.

20933_07

20933_31

20933_11

20933_09 — And a closeup of the rivets that hold it together.

I hiked a bit past the boiler hoping to find more signs of the mine but either I didn't go far enough or they were covered by snow.

20933_10 — Past the boiler, I stopped at this point. Looks like an avalanche or maybe high wind had knocked down a number of trees

I received some info from user Flying Magpie on the Eugenia mine that I found quite interesting and will quote him here.

"I know one good story about the Eugenia Mine. Probably comes from a James Pickering history book. You know the Eugenia mine cabin was only occupied summers. Most places near Estes, mining claims were only for property's sake. Miners had to just look like they were mining something. So they just had to dig a hole in the mountain. The Eugenia mine was just a shallow hole in the ground, still there but you have to look for it in summer. Never produced anything. The cabin used to be standing. Just a few logs rotting on the ground now. It was only occupied summers. Nearby homesteaders used to gather there. Why? Somehow, the miners had managed to haul a piano up there. In a wheeled horse-drawn wagon perhaps? Or maybe just on a sled made of rough-sawn boards hitched to a team. This was perhaps the first, or one of the first, pianos in Estes. And someone knew how to play it. So the homesteaders would gather to sing songs. Music in the wilderness. Music was rare. It was a damn lonely place in those days. Few women, all married. Most settlers were bachelors. Nearly all (except tor F.O. Stanley and a couple others) were poor. So fellowship, too, was rare. And man, I can imagine how that piano would ring in the night and those strong male voices would carry. Probably a bottle of whiskey or jar of moonshine would be passed around until it was gone. I'm sure everyone enjoyed themselves just fine."

A little past the Eugenia mine, you come to Moore Park

20933_13 — Moore Park and a view of the Cone.

20933_14 — And a zoom on the Cone from the same spot.

Not long after you pass through the park, you take a hard left and head up to the pass.

20933_16 — Nearing the top of Storm Pass and still not much snow.

20933_17 — First sign at the top of the pass.

20933_18 — And less than a mile to go to the summit.

At this point as other reports have stated, the trail gets a little tougher. But honestly, not all that tough even with snow.

20933_22 — I guess I have a thing about trees?

20933_23 — Nearing the final push to the summit.

20933_24 — There's lots of ways up but I chose the rocky ramp on the left. Easy-peasy class 2+ with maybe one class 3 move (if you're old and short like I am)

The views were not stellar. They were fantastic on my first trip up here but not so this time as the weather just wasn't cooperating. As my friend GreenhouseGuy likes to say "Mother Nature always wins."

At least I had a nice view of the Twin Sisters that I did a TR on sometime back that is visible here

20933_28 — Looking in the general direction of the Longs Peak TH (I think...)

20933_29 — Should be a view of Meeker...

And a short 360 vid from the summit.

Time to head down... Naturally, the sun will start to come out...

20933_30 — Looking down the rocky ramp as I am ready to start down.

It was nice to get back to the park and do a little hike. Estes Cone is easy and on most days, the views are really nice. I didn't see anyone on the way up but ran into a total of 4 people on the way down. If you are looking for an easy winter hike that isn't crowded, I would recommend Estes Cone on a weekday like I did. There were only a half dozen vehicles in the parking lot when I arrived and all of them must have continued on up towards Chasm Lake as I saw no evidence of any sort of fresh tracks once I left the main trail.

While I still don't carry a traditional GPS, I FINALLY have a more modern cell phone that will run Strava so if you'd like to see my route, you should be able to pull it up here

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

ltlFish99	Nice report 1/24/2021 5:25pm Thanks for the delightful report with wonderful photographs. I have passed Estes cone every time I've hiked on longs peak, except when I came from glacier gorge. It is such a nice area. The number one thing I miss about the Denver area is RMNP.
mathguy	Love that Cone! 1/25/2021 8:05am I've done Estes Cone several times, but always from Lily Lake and in the summer. I've thought it would be nice to do it from the Longs Peak TH, but parking there is an issue over the summer (assuming you don.'t feel like starting at 3AM) and I've always been afraid the hike from the parking spot to the TH might be longer that the hike from the TH to the Cone! But starting from the Longs TH looks like a good option in winter. Enjoyed the pics and the informative side notes. Thanks for posting
Jay521	Thanks! 1/25/2021 9:26am @Martin - Thanks for your kind comments. You certainly have done Longs a bunch of times. Perhaps if you are ever feeling lazy (yeah, right!), you might give the Cone a shot. Certainly will get you away from the crowds - at least in winter. @MathGuy - The Lily Lake route is the one route I haven't done yet and I will have to get to that one soon. While the way from Longs Peak TH is nice, of the two routes I've done, I think I like the one from the Storm Pass TH on the Bear Creek road the best. That is a very lightly traveled route until you get to the last bit to the Cone where all the trails converge. It's a little longer and you go through some varied terrain. Thanks for your compliments! Much appreciated.
nyker	Cool 1/25/2021 1:28pm I've driven past Estes Cone many times too, and always wondered about climbing it! Maybe next trip out
Jay521	Rob - 1/26/2021 10:34am I think it would make a great acclimatization hike coming from the east coast. Although I imagine you are in such good shape that you don't really need one. It is a fun little hike that I think you would enjoy.
Rick Canter	I'm from the east coast 1/27/2021 12:28pm Estes Cone was a fun acclimation hike for me a few years ago. I managed to find a spot at the Longs TH in summer. My biggest issue with it was the 6 spots that all looked like the true summit, I am a stickler for finding the true HP. This hike is low enough that, with plenty of water and the usual prep for acclimation, most easterners would be fine on Day 1 or 2.
Jay521	True HP 1/27/2021 12:39pm I appreciate your input, Rick. While I'm not a fanatic about finding the true HP, between my two trips up the Cone I ended up hitting all of them plus some, I think. I was mainly looking for good photo options and the latest trip didn't afford many. Thanks again for your constructive comments.

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