Chief Mountain

July 18, 2009
Chief Mountain

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10b)

Okay, now this is where I usually warm up before a 14’er. With Debra and I having not gotten on a 14’er we are behind in warming up. Life tends to get in the way but we will hit one before the summer is out. (NOTE: We plan and God laughs….)

Debra and I plan to go up to the Collegiate Peaks area again where we had the men’s retreat next weekend and may try Huron, but no guarantee. At any rate we did a good warm up at Chief Mountain. It is a moderate 3 mile hike and summits a 11,700’ peak which is a good altitude warmer. After last weekend I had no trouble at all getting up it this year and Debra did well. It was a good lung stretcher.

The weather was clear that day. The temps were warm but at the top a good stiff breeze had a descent chill. As is always the case there, we saw a large number of people on the trail as well as on the summit, including a little 4 year old girl whose parents said walked the whole thing up….. Man am I getting old…..

This peak is perfect as it is high enough where you have a panoramic view all the way around. To the north you can see Long’s Peak and as you scan west a host of 13’ers and 14’ers come into view. To the west Bierstadt, Gray’s and Torrey’s Peaks and to the south, Pike’s Peak. It is an amazing family outing you can take and the rewards at the top are tremendous.

To get there take I-70 to Evergreen Parkway and then drive about 2 miles to Squaw Pass Road and head west towards Mt Evans 12.2 miles and park on the right side. The trail head is on the other side of the road. It is a great warm up.

The picture set is great and can be found on our picture link at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/howethru

Enjoy…..