Climbing Party: Kit Dover, Amanda Harnden
Elevation Gain: 3,062'
Mileage: 6 miles round trip
We had this hike in mind as a good training hike for Longs Peak the next weekend. Dad was visiting from NH, and we wanted something that would give a good pump and some elevation.
From Denver, take I-70 west and get off at exit 216. At the end of the exit ramp, make a sharp right hand turn and drive down a dirt frontage road to the access gate to park.
Continue past the gate along a dirt road that gently leads you away from the highway, and eventually turns into a trail. Continue along the obvious trail in and out of small stands of trees until the trail disappears at the bottom of Dry Gulch. Although there is no trail, once you leave the trees there are quite a few cairns that will help guide you up the first steep section (around mile 2). Tis second mile will lead you out of the bottom of Dry Gulch. You will want to keep to the left around the large bulge in front of you. Contour around this feature and you will see the saddle to gain the ridge. Once on the ridge, spectacular views of Herman Gulch on one side, and Dry Gulch on the other await! From here, gain the false summit to your left and you will see the Citadel in all its glory! Make your way around the back of the prominent feature and there are multiple gully options. Choose your adventure, although the easiest gully becomes quite apparent as you rule out other options. The gully we chose was loose, and brought us to the saddle between the east summit and the west summit. We enjoyed a nice lunch on the west summit for about 30 minutes before we saw anyone else approaching.
The summit is nice and airy! Big drops await, and it may leave you asking what the hell holds all of these rocks in place?
It was Dad's first western hike, and he had a blast. At only his second day in Colorado, thought he did well with the elevation and cardio.
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