Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

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New hiker
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Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

Post by New hiker »

I arrived for my first visit to CO on 6/29 from NY and on 6/30 attempted Mt. Princeton. We made it up to 12,700 before my lightheadedness became of concern and we decided to turn around. Unfortunately, short trips dont lend well to proper acclimitzation! Can anyone recommend some great 12er hikes (class II) in the Front Range. Cant wait to get back to CO and hike some more mountains. Thanks in advance for the recommendations!
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Jim Davies
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Re: Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

Post by Jim Davies »

Take a look at Bison Peak in the Lost Creek Wilderness. From the Ute Creek TH it's a 12 mile round-trip hike to 12,400', with great rock formations at the top. McCurdy Mountain is another 12er in that area that has a trail most of the way, although it's a bit longer hike and it's hard to find the summit (too many possibilities, but it's fun to wander around looking). The Roach LCW book is the best reference for this area. It's about a 2 hour drive from the west Denver area, so there are probably closer 12ers, but it's a unique part of the state.
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dcbates80911
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Re: Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

Post by dcbates80911 »

I guess my first question would be where abouts on the front range would you be visiting? This may help pinpoint some good lower altitude hikes. Living in Colorado Springs, there are some decent hikes taking you to some adequate locations on the lower front range. I have done a couple trip reports for local Colorado Springs hikes that can challenge and give you some rewards without going too high.

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=4261

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=4200

Hope to get more out sometime this summer including Almagre which is worth the effort.
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womanhiker
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Re: Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

Post by womanhiker »

+1 for Almagre Mountain if you are going to be in the Colorado Springs area. You hike up a 4WD road until the last few hundred feet. The summit views were pretty sweet, given the mountain's location.
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Re: Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

Post by New hiker »

DCBATES - I have no specific destination in mind. Was just hoping to stay within a 1-2 hour drive of Denver. Thanks for the ideas, let me know if you have any others in mind.
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Re: Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

Post by dcbates80911 »

There are all kinds of good and lower hikes in that range from Denver. Although I am partial to Colorado Springs, there are some decent adventures to be found in Rocky Mountain National Park as well. You can get a map of the part form multiple locations. Also, there are a few other hikes with this area. Greenhouseguy has some decent trip reports on the lower areas if you want to check them out. If you want more information on the Colorado Springs area I can give you that. You may even enjoy heading up Barr Trail (east side of Pikes Peak) and just stopping at Barr Camp. The camp will give you a goal and a good hike. Also, the caretakers are a pretty neat couple.
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Re: Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

Post by KeithK »

There are great hikes all over the Lost Creek Wilderness, as well as the southwest portion of the Evans Wilderness. Here is a good place to start: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/recreatio ... uide.shtml. They aren't necessarily summit hikes, but still great trails for getting you up in the Wilderness. Summitpost.org is a good online resource for this, as well. The Twin Sisters near Longs are good eleveners, and if you're looking for warmup/acclimation hikes, there's always Loveland Pass for Sniktau, and Berthoud Pass for Colorado Mines Peak or Mt. Flora.
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Re: Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

Post by randalmartin »

I am going to be hiking Bandit Peak this Saturday which is 12,400+. It is in the vicinity of Mt. Bierstadt. Another nice hike, though not 12+, is Bergen Peak in Evergreen, CO. It is about 9,700ft but you start out at about 7,700 feet. It is 9 miles rountrip. Beautiful views from the Summit.
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Re: Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

Post by roozers42 »

Pawnee Peak
http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock ... -peak.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

St. Vrain Mountain or Meadow Mountain
http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock ... ntain.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Estes Cone
http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock ... -cone.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Twin Sisters
http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock ... peaks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Recomendation for 12ers in Front Range

Post by lordhelmut »

newhiker,

I highly recomend Shoshoni Peak via the Pawnee Pass route. Very straightfoward and one of these coolest summits in the Front Range, if not all of Colorado. You could include Pawnee Peak in that day as well, since they are both easily acccessed from Pawnee Pass.
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