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OK... IKEA didn't really have a sale there, but the line of hikers going up resembled the line of shoppers outside the funiture supestore on Wednesday!
I hiked Mt. Democrat last October in snowy and very windy conditions. My intent was to do the 4 peak combo but the wind was so brutal, I staggered home after touching Dem. This was part 2 with much better weather and results.
I woke up at 3:00am, left the springs at 4:00am and got on the trail at 6:30am. It felt like I was at the tail end morning rush hour. A Subaru blazed by me just below the lake to get the parking spot one space up the road from me. He must have had a meeting to get to or something. Decieving photo, there're more cars lined up the road.
Once on the trail, it became a game of seeing how many groups I could pass by the time I hit the saddle. I counted 20 hikers in this photo. Can you find them all? I was hoping most of the hikers would turn left up Democrat... and they did. 31 in this pic, but I know there's more. I turned right and found a much less cogested trail. Ahhh... solitude. The trail up Cameron isn't particularly steep but after 1 month of not working out, I was stopping to rest much more than I anticipated. My legs just didn't have any juice.
Reached the sumit of Cameron about 8:30, ate lunch and started for Lincoln. Getting busy. The hike from Cameron is much shorter than I thought. After stopping to talk to a couple and leisurely snapping a few pics, I was on Lincoln's summit at 9:15. A few more pics and off to Bross. This stretch must be one of the least photogarphic hikes I've ever been on. There's just not much there but at least I was able to keep ahead of the masses and it's an easy hike. From Cameron-Bross ridge. Check out all of the cars parked on the road.From Bross. Mt. Democrat on the right.
The descent of Bross looks pretty routine at first but once you cross the ridge, cinch up your boots and tighten the locks on your trekking poles. I compare the trail down to walking on marbles with a bunch of loose stuff underneath. Oh, and it's steep. Sure glad I didn't have to go down the old trail. Once down, it was a nice leisurly walk through the IKEA parking lot to my car.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
wow - this goes to show how crazy popular this 14er peak bagging has become. If you want em all you gotta go through a few crowds. Solitude is October in the San Juans!
Still beat a day at IKEA!
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