Date: June 2, 2012
Climbing Party: Aaron Dover, Amanda Harnden, Kelsey Breen, Kathryn Young, Mark Hensley, Scarlet, Ellie, Henry
Elevation Gain: 3,353'
Distance: 6.84
Elevation Gain: 3,353'
Distance: 6.84
RT Time: 5:50:56
Difficulty: Difficult
Difficulty: Difficult
Let me first start by saying that this trip was born from a trip to our favorite burger joint in our neighborhood: Park Burger.
You see, this restaurant offers quite an incentive to go out and hike a 14er...every photograph you get from atop one of Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks with the Park Burger flag earns you 2 beers and two delicious burgers! So an idea was crafted to take out the flag and complete the Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln trifecta in a day and get home to enjoy our spoils.
Amanda and I drove up Friday night to Kite Lake in Alma and set up camp just before dark. We were able to chill in the back of the truck under a blanket for a little bit and enjoy a high altitude clear night. The stars were awesome and the moon was full giving us enough light to get around and enjoy a nice view of the alpine ampitheater created by Democrat, Cameron and Bross. The Highlander showed up shortly thereafter and Kelsey, Kat, Mark and Henry all joined our party! We agreed that a 4:00 am wake up time was good, and we all retired and tried to get some sleep. I don't think anyone slept well, at high altitude it is hard to do so. The dogs were even restless.
We woke up at 4:00, packed up our campsite and after having a quick hot chocolate and gearing up, we were on our way and on the trail by 5:00am. I think there was one or two other folks ahead of us. The sign said 2.45 miles from TH to the top of Mt. Democrat. The GPS watch said it was completed in 2:36 with a mileage of 2.08mi. It felt long, I felt very tired. The view was gorgeous from the top of Mt. Democrat! With another group of people on our heels, we knew we had to get our scandalous Park Burger photo done quickly, not to mention it's kind of chilly above 14,000' at 7 in the morning!
Coming down off of Mt. Democrat, we quickly saw that our early start was paying dividends...there were masses of people coming up as we were going down. We were happy to have the down climb to ourselves. Our party stopped at the saddle, regrouped, and made off for Mt. Cameron, a gain of 806 vertical feet from the saddle in roughly a mile. It was done. I really started to feel the effects of high altitude starting from our climb at the saddle heading up to Cameron. I've experienced headaches before, but today was different. I had the nausea too, and even the sunlight was starting to get to me. The one way to describe it was that someone was vacuum sealing my stomach while putting my head in a vice at the same time. It was awful. I tried to keep drinking water, and as I did, the throbbing in my head would subside for a little while until I started to climb again. The top of Cameron really lifted my spirits! We saw Lincoln not too far away and we got to do another summit picture! CHA-CHING: two more burgers and two more beers please!
We could see nearby Lincoln, and it looked like a quick scurry up. This part of the hike was really cool. It was a high alpine, and barren landscape along the ridge and it was just rolling terrain along the broad shoulder connecting Cameron and Lincoln. We were amped, and it looked so close. We got on our way and made it to Mt. Lincoln in 4:28 since leaving the trailhead, and a total mileage at this point of 4.04 miles. I really wished I felt better and could've enjoyed the views on Lincoln a little more. I had my head buried in my jacket and out of the sunlight while my stomach was doing somersaults and cartwheels. I pulled the trigger a few times during the day and that alleviated the uncomfortable sensation only briefly until we started moving again. The only way to feel better would be to get to lower elevations. We did manage another summit picture on top of Lincoln after lunch!
As you can see in the picture behind us, clouds were starting to develop and roll in quickly from the west. Another issue to complicate the trip were these storm clouds. We had to move, and get off quickly to avoid getting stuck above treeline with a huge storm approaching. We decided to get a move on.
The problem was we either had to go back up and down Cameron from Lincoln or traverse over to Mt. Bross and down the shoulder of Mt. Bross to the parking lot. The Bross route required more uphill before we could start going downhill again. Neither options were too appealing, and with this coming towards us, we opted to take the direct route and down walls of Mt. Bross. This was a steep descent with loose rock everywhere, not to mention illegal. It was rock slide city, and our entire group moved as quickly as possible. Big thanks to Mark for helping me out with Scarlet. She was moving quite gingerly. Mark helped carry Scarlet through some of the tougher sections. At one point, I looked up and saw Amanda and Kelsey glissade down a part of the rockslide...brilliant! It was about 300 feet long, and it was a good way to alleviate some of the stress we were all feeling, not to mention we covered ground a lot quicker! I grabbed Ellsworth and started to slide!
Soon there after, we all reached the parking lot safely, and got the eff outta dodge. We were beat, and needed some Park Burger and rest badly. In the end, we got our three 14,000' peaks in but as always, it didn't go as planned. Here is the route we followed, complete with our elevation profile:
It was a long day, and a long time to be above 14,000' for me. Despite some of the setbacks on the trip, it was truly an adventure, no doubt about it! I think we were relieved to be off of the mountain and on our way to get some burgers:)
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| A and I ready to go at 4am! |
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| Mt. Democrat (14,148') in the buff! |
Coming down off of Mt. Democrat, we quickly saw that our early start was paying dividends...there were masses of people coming up as we were going down. We were happy to have the down climb to ourselves. Our party stopped at the saddle, regrouped, and made off for Mt. Cameron, a gain of 806 vertical feet from the saddle in roughly a mile. It was done. I really started to feel the effects of high altitude starting from our climb at the saddle heading up to Cameron. I've experienced headaches before, but today was different. I had the nausea too, and even the sunlight was starting to get to me. The one way to describe it was that someone was vacuum sealing my stomach while putting my head in a vice at the same time. It was awful. I tried to keep drinking water, and as I did, the throbbing in my head would subside for a little while until I started to climb again. The top of Cameron really lifted my spirits! We saw Lincoln not too far away and we got to do another summit picture! CHA-CHING: two more burgers and two more beers please!
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| Mt. Cameron (14,238') |
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| Mt. Lincoln group shot! L-R: Kat, Kelsey, Me, Amanda, Mark |
As you can see in the picture behind us, clouds were starting to develop and roll in quickly from the west. Another issue to complicate the trip were these storm clouds. We had to move, and get off quickly to avoid getting stuck above treeline with a huge storm approaching. We decided to get a move on.
 |
| It's hard to tell from this picture, but that is a massive storm heading towards us. |
The problem was we either had to go back up and down Cameron from Lincoln or traverse over to Mt. Bross and down the shoulder of Mt. Bross to the parking lot. The Bross route required more uphill before we could start going downhill again. Neither options were too appealing, and with this coming towards us, we opted to take the direct route and down walls of Mt. Bross. This was a steep descent with loose rock everywhere, not to mention illegal. It was rock slide city, and our entire group moved as quickly as possible. Big thanks to Mark for helping me out with Scarlet. She was moving quite gingerly. Mark helped carry Scarlet through some of the tougher sections. At one point, I looked up and saw Amanda and Kelsey glissade down a part of the rockslide...brilliant! It was about 300 feet long, and it was a good way to alleviate some of the stress we were all feeling, not to mention we covered ground a lot quicker! I grabbed Ellsworth and started to slide!
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| Ellie and I on the move! |
Soon there after, we all reached the parking lot safely, and got the eff outta dodge. We were beat, and needed some Park Burger and rest badly. In the end, we got our three 14,000' peaks in but as always, it didn't go as planned. Here is the route we followed, complete with our elevation profile:
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| We started at the green arrow, hit Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and then retreated off Bross and back down to the parking lot. |
It was a long day, and a long time to be above 14,000' for me. Despite some of the setbacks on the trip, it was truly an adventure, no doubt about it! I think we were relieved to be off of the mountain and on our way to get some burgers:)
X-Factor: Every hike has them! This time it was dealing with altitude sickness, doggie injuries, and trying to race off mountain to avoid being stuck in a storm. Memorable trip!
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