Mt. Democrat Trip Report 09/21/2015

Peak(s):	Mt. Democrat - 14,154 feet Mt. Cameron - 14,248 feet Mt. Lincoln - 14,293 feet Mt. Bross - 14,178 feet
Date Posted:	09/21/2015
Date Climbed:	09/19/2015
Author:	jon67

Mr Valdez and friends do four 14ers in one day
Left Denver at 5am. Took about 2 hours to get to Fairplay. Missed the turn to Kite Lake so lost about 10 mins. I drove my Prius. The trail up to the trailhead was pretty rough. Cobbles in some places and some significant potholes. Anyway, driving carefully we got almost all the way to the campground, parking just below the fee sign. I put my boots on and applied sunscreen. Offered some to my buddy and his son but they declined. Mistake... The forecast said winds up to 25 mph, but otherwise clear. It was about 7.30 when we hit the trail. The sun wasn't shining on us until about 45 mins in, but the sky was blue - no clouds. I'm 48 and my hiking partner is 53. We've done Grays & Torreys, Quandary, and Bierstadt-Sawtooth-Evans (crazy!) together. But we're both out of shape. The first hour or so up to the saddle was a good warm up! We were on top of Democrat by 10. As were quite a few other people. I have to say, I prefer my hiking to be pretty quiet. There seems there are some people out there that don't know how loud they are. It's exhilarating and exciting to be hiking 14-ers, but it's a shame that this causes some folk to talk rather loud and boisterously as if they're the only ones that have ever made the summit. One guy was even talking on a walkie talkie to someone. I guess they felt they were on an expedition or something. Tops of mountains are spiritual places to some; a huge ego trip to others. Just my 2 cents... Back down to the saddle and by this point it's getting pretty windy. At one point I was lucky enough to be passed by two cool young guys - one of whom had made his own micro-layer of clothing, and another who had tried to take back some Patagonia jacket after wearing it for 4 years. Thanks for sharing guys! I wonder if you realized how loud you were talking? Or cared? The route up to Cameron is pretty exposed to the north and I felt myself being blown about. It was pretty cold too. Took a 10 minute rest out of the wind and then carried on. I actually didn't even realize I'd crossed Cameron! I thought perhaps that flat area was just a 13er. Made me wonder what the surface of the Moon looks like. On to Lincoln... By this point the crowds had really thinned out. I guess most people just do Democrat? We actually had Lincoln all to ourselves, which was beautiful. Fantastic views. The wind was crazy though! As soon as I took off my gloves my hands felt very cold. It was hard to hold the phone to take pictures. It was about 1pm by this point. We were on top about 20 mins. Found that Lincoln rod thing. The route over to Bross was lovely for the most part. Very windy off and on along the ridge but the wide path reminded me of some of the fell roads in England. We reached the summit of Bross around 2pm. It's a pretty large, flat surface. I looked for the survey marker, but couldn't find it. Great views to the east and south - Pikes Peak and the Sangre de Cristo. Now for the worst part of the trip - the descent from Bross. The trail was strewn with small rocks and quite steep, so it was slippery. I tried to stay on the hump/ridge for as long as possible, then crossed over to the main path, passing some of the abandoned mines. The rest of the trail was just as steep and slippery. Pretty dangerous actually. Lovely views though. Got back to the car at 3.20, so we hiked for around 8 hours. Stopped by a street party in Buckskin for a little while, then on to the Bucksnort Saloon to watch the CU - CSU game. Beers are a good pain killer. Felt pretty good that evening - tired, but not hurting. The next day though... Great hike. Well recommended. I'd say it was about the same level of difficulty as Grays/Torreys, but you bag twice as many in one day Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Mr Valdez and friends do four 14ers in one day

Left Denver at 5am. Took about 2 hours to get to Fairplay. Missed the turn to Kite Lake so lost about 10 mins. I drove my Prius. The trail up to the trailhead was pretty rough. Cobbles in some places and some significant potholes. Anyway, driving carefully we got almost all the way to the campground, parking just below the fee sign. I put my boots on and applied sunscreen. Offered some to my buddy and his son but they declined. Mistake...

The forecast said winds up to 25 mph, but otherwise clear. It was about 7.30 when we hit the trail. The sun wasn't shining on us until about 45 mins in, but the sky was blue - no clouds.

I'm 48 and my hiking partner is 53. We've done Grays & Torreys, Quandary, and Bierstadt-Sawtooth-Evans (crazy!) together. But we're both out of shape. The first hour or so up to the saddle was a good warm up! We were on top of Democrat by 10. As were quite a few other people.

I have to say, I prefer my hiking to be pretty quiet. There seems there are some people out there that don't know how loud they are. It's exhilarating and exciting to be hiking 14-ers, but it's a shame that this causes some folk to talk rather loud and boisterously as if they're the only ones that have ever made the summit. One guy was even talking on a walkie talkie to someone. I guess they felt they were on an expedition or something. Tops of mountains are spiritual places to some; a huge ego trip to others. Just my 2 cents...

Back down to the saddle and by this point it's getting pretty windy. At one point I was lucky enough to be passed by two cool young guys - one of whom had made his own micro-layer of clothing, and another who had tried to take back some Patagonia jacket after wearing it for 4 years. Thanks for sharing guys! I wonder if you realized how loud you were talking? Or cared?

The route up to Cameron is pretty exposed to the north and I felt myself being blown about. It was pretty cold too. Took a 10 minute rest out of the wind and then carried on. I actually didn't even realize I'd crossed Cameron! I thought perhaps that flat area was just a 13er. Made me wonder what the surface of the Moon looks like. On to Lincoln...

By this point the crowds had really thinned out. I guess most people just do Democrat? We actually had Lincoln all to ourselves, which was beautiful. Fantastic views. The wind was crazy though! As soon as I took off my gloves my hands felt very cold. It was hard to hold the phone to take pictures. It was about 1pm by this point. We were on top about 20 mins. Found that Lincoln rod thing.

The route over to Bross was lovely for the most part. Very windy off and on along the ridge but the wide path reminded me of some of the fell roads in England. We reached the summit of Bross around 2pm. It's a pretty large, flat surface. I looked for the survey marker, but couldn't find it. Great views to the east and south - Pikes Peak and the Sangre de Cristo.

Now for the worst part of the trip - the descent from Bross. The trail was strewn with small rocks and quite steep, so it was slippery. I tried to stay on the hump/ridge for as long as possible, then crossed over to the main path, passing some of the abandoned mines. The rest of the trail was just as steep and slippery. Pretty dangerous actually. Lovely views though.

Got back to the car at 3.20, so we hiked for around 8 hours. Stopped by a street party in Buckskin for a little while, then on to the Bucksnort Saloon to watch the CU - CSU game. Beers are a good pain killer.

Felt pretty good that evening - tired, but not hurting. The next day though...

Great hike. Well recommended. I'd say it was about the same level of difficulty as Grays/Torreys, but you bag twice as many in one day

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

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