Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2023-02-19, By: bangerth Info: We intended to do the whole loop counterclockwise. From Bross to Lincoln, one has to cross a snow field on the east side of Cameron that is iced over and too steep to treat casually. We could presumably have bypassed it via some rocks below, but instead decided to climb to the summit of Cameron instead from where it would have been easy to head over to Lincoln. Alas, the storm had by that time driven hard snow crystals into every pore of exposed skin for the past hour or two, and the wind chill was certainly below -10F, and so decided to call it a day, descend 2/3 of the way to the saddle with Democrat, and from there angle left down the mostly windblown slope that leads down to the basin. That worked reasonably well, and one ends up on a little shelf at around 12,800' from which one wants to head east and make a detour via some flatter terrain and finally a rib that leads back to the trailhead. This is also the ascent route described in several previous condition reports for Democrat. The issue is that the ascent to/descent from that 12,800' shelf is steep and snow covered. There is no good way to do that part of the trip. Snowshoes: From the winter closure to the trailhead boots will probably do by now, but snowshoes were useful in the basin. For the trip up to Bross, we used snowshoes for the first 1/3 and microspikes for the rest. I kept them on till we were back down on the shelf mentioned above where the snowshoes went back on until we were back to our cars. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2023-02-03, By: madmattd Info: Minimal snow and largely avoidable by rock-hopping if desired from ~200' vertical above the saddle with Democrat to the summit - bare boots were fine for the ascent. Hardly any snow on the drop down to Lincoln. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2022-10-17, By: Gweilo climber Info: Conditions were excellent, especially for mid October. Some patches of snow - several hundred meters long needed some careful steps (We only had hiking boots - no spikes). Peaks were clear of snow. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2022-05-31, By: mtnmike Info: Since we just did Democrat a couple weeks ago, planned to hike just the "Calibron" today, but ended up with the "Cabron" . Parked at the closure gate ~1 mi below Kite Lake. Road had a light dusting of new (and falling) snow. Bathrooms at Kite Lake still locked up. Trail from the Lake to the Dem/Cam saddle is still covered with snow, some deep and punchy. We had spikes but honestly snowshoes would have been helpful to the saddle. From the saddle to Cameron and (ahem) the general direction of Bross, the trail is snowcovered but not too deep. On Memorial Day there were intermittent snow squalls and vicious winds, nearly knocking us off our feet. Based on the visibility and conditions of the moment, we lurched over Cameron and decided to give Lincoln a pass. Photo is Democrat and the basin descending below Bross. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2022-03-21, By: Eli Watson Info: Summitted "DeCaLiBro" from winter parking at private property below Kite Lake TH. Parked approx 1.8 mi shy of Kite Lake TH. Some cars were parked right at the sign at the edge of private property. I chose to park a few hundred yards down the hill where there's an obvious pull off area off the road. I wore snowshoes shortly after the gate and was glad to have them on until approx 12,800'. I bobbed and weaved through the Kite Lake bowl and upper Democrat slopes to avoid avy terrain or wind drifts. I'm probably around 200 lbs with gear and pack, and the strong wind gusts out of the NW were not fun. There's a lot wind drifts that make for really variable snow conditions from bulletproof wind hammer to sugar that made for a more frustrating day than expected. Wore spikes from the summit of Democrat all the way back to the car. The Bross "S Gully" is tempting to want to take down, but it doesn't look ready and I wasn't prepared to have to climb out of it if the snow was too sketchy. I honestly think descending Bross with snow is preferable to dry. Saw 7ish other hikers out today. A group of them summited Democrat without snowshoes, but I was glad to have mine on. I could have put them on the road walk out and avoid sinking down a bit, but it would have been more effort than it was worth to switch again. 10.95 mi, 4260', 6:50 Car-to-Car Splits: 5:55 AM Parking 6:25 AM Turn off from Kite Lake TH Rd (0:30) 8:48 AM Democrat Summit (2:23) 10:15 AM Cameron Summit (1:27) 10:40 AM Lincoln Summit (0:25) 11:20 PM Bross Summit (0:40) 12:45 PM Parking (1:25) |
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Route: Bross-Lincoln-Cameron-Democrat Posted On: 2021-01-11, By: HikesInGeologicTime Info: Easy as stealing four snowflake-flavored candies from a baby. Road should be navigable by even 2WD vehicles to 1.1 miles below Kite Lake. Some soft snow on first part of ascent to Bross/last part of descent from Democrat, but not deep or consistent enough to warrant flotation. Snow mostly avoidable between Bross, Lincoln, Cameron, and Dem-Cam saddle. Did use traction for steep, hard snow section on Democrat, but it is also possible to stick to rocks to climbers' left of it and likely avoid such a necessity. Snow was shallow and springlike enough near and through the potentially problematic slopes below the D-C saddle that we encountered no problems crossing them in early afternoon, but future hikers will obviously want to make their own evaluations. Bit cold and windy around dawn on trail up to Bross. Wind calmed somewhat as we descended to saddle with Cameron and was not a factor at all after we left Lincoln's summit. We stripped down to our base layers halfway between D-C saddle and Kite Lake and were only half-jokingly contemplating removing even more. If you don't have winter ascents of these four yet, would like them, and can do them tomorrow (nearly identical forecast to today's), go get 'em! |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-12-14, By: JQDivide Info: Cam, Lin, Bross... didn't use snowshoes or spikes. There were a few places some people would have like them, but not needed. Road mostly clear from gate to summer TH. Not a lot of snow on the route. Snowy, but not deep. Lots of wind blown areas. Trail is snow covered but visible. No trench or boot pack because of the wind. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-10-18, By: olyayaya Info: Extremely windy. Gusts of 55-75mph. I got knocked off my feet on the ridge to Cameron. Was impossible to stand and hard to breathe on top of Cameron. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-09-17, By: lauradaughtry Info: *NOTE: I did not climb/summit Democrat, so I can't entirely say what the condition of it was beyond the saddle connecting it to Cameron* Got to the trailhead at 7am (on a Thursday) and the lot was mostly full. Other than a few patches of packed down snow near the summits, the trail was completely melted of snow. Microspikes aren't needed at all; but trekking poles, snow or no snow, are invaluable for the descent down Bross. Clear day with light wind, but low visibility due to the wildfires. Sadly, I saw a lot of people not keeping to the trail. (This shouldn't be an excuse as the trail was in great condition and is very well marked/visible.) People contributed it to not using a map/AllTrails, etc. or the trail appearing "less easy" than the eroded pathways nearby. I even saw some people descend down the iron/ore section up to the summit, which is NO WHERE near the trail. Please, PLEASE stick to the marked trail! The fragile environment thanks you for it! |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-09-05, By: kingshimmers Info: Smoke is gone - had a beautiful day with no wind. Route is dry. Starting to get some fall color up in there. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-08-24, By: schindlc Info: Started late and did the loop counter-clockwise. Smoke conditions were better than anticipated and I left my N-95 mask in my pack. Heavy traffic as expected so expect some dirt and fine gravel to coat the trail and give you a slip here and there. Especially with the heavy traffic most people were pretty good about picking up trash, with the exception of food on the summits. Just a reminder: pack out everything you pack in, even food that falls in the dirt. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-08-22, By: Eli Watson Info: Posting for smoke conditions on DeCaLiBro > "S Bross": The air was pretty bad this morning. My eyes were watering upon arriving at Kite Lake after pedalling/hike-a-biking from Paris Mill. Other hikers had to stop to cough consistently. By the time I reached the Democrat-Cameron saddle my throat was raw. The air quality improved considerably after noon, especially on the Bross side of the loop and the haze in front of Democrat had noticeably lessened. By the time I was back down to Kite Lake, the air was much better than it had been that morning. Less than 10 min spent on all 3-5 summits combined (depending on how you count), since I didn't feel inclined to spend much time up there. Splits for reference: Paris Mill 8:48 AM Kite Lake TH 9:30 AM Democrat-Cameron saddle 10:10 AM Democrat summit 10:30 AM Democrat-Cameron saddle 10:50 AM Cameron summit 11:19 AM Lincoln summit 11:32 AM Bross summit 12:02 PM "S Bross" summit 12:15 PM Bross trail junction 12:36 PM Kite Lake TH 1:16 PM Paris Mill 1:30 PM To avoid clutter with a bunch of the same photos, see my Democrat report for pics. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-06-23, By: wolfgangstiller Info: No need to hike any snow until around 14,000 ft just before Mt. Cameron. The snow is no problem and microspikes are not needed nor is it deep enough for post holing. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-06-21, By: gneissone Info: The snow is back! Probably won't last long, but almost the entire ridge from Democrat was under snow. Lots of blowing snow while traversing over. Cameron summit was clear. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-06-16, By: mtngoatwithstyle Info: A couple of minimal snow crossings at the bottom, in the middle of the trail before the saddle and on the way to Cameron right before the false summit. When soft in be mindful as in some spots snow starts to sink down into rocks. Other than that, trail to Cameron and Lincoln is snow free. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-06-12, By: madmattd Info: 99% dry from saddle with Democrat and over to saddle with Lincoln. One short stretch under snow, but easily avoided, and likely won't last long anyway. |
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Route: West Ridge Posted On: 2020-02-25, By: Eagle Eye Info: I reached Mt Cameron from the Paris Mill (winter closure) on Sunday. I got an early start, trying to beat an incoming weather change but DID NOT. I stayed on the Kite Lake road, then the summer trail around the lake, then reached the Democrat-Cameron saddle. Most all to that point had been in powder where snowshoes wouldn't have helped. The saddle was loaded up with snow. Visibility kept decreasing as it snowed harder and eventually I couldn't see more than about 30 feet. Nearing the Mt Cameron summit I was on top of the rocky ridge crest instead of the lower, more inset trail. It was a fairly thin and cornice-like passage with big drop-offs on both sides, especially on climbers right. When I reached the summit I turned around. My tracks were already completely covered and I saw no sign I'd come up. I carried but never used my snowshoes, but did wear micro spikes all day. The area probably got almost a foot of snow during the day. The road up to Paris Mill was second worst I've ever seen it. I'll post in Mosquito Range, Kite Lake TH. Conditions, too. cheers, mike via |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2019-12-22, By: dwoodward13 Info: Did the loop today starting with Bross. Bross is mostly windblown once gaining some elevation out of Kite Lake. There are 1 or 2 snow slopes, but you could bypass them on rock if you wanted. Route to the base of Cameron is dry. The trail bypassing Cameron is starting to load up a bit in spots. Might be better to go over Cameron both ways after the next storm. Trail to Lincoln is a mix of snow and dry rock; similar story for the trail from Cameron down to the Democrat Saddle. Snowfield on the upper reaches of Democrat can be avoided. Heading back down to Kite Lake, we followed the trail until it started down a headwall near 12,500 and stuck to a rock rib. The trail crossed a loaded slope and the party that put in a booter from Kite Lake up to there sidehilled some steep slopes, with steep slopes above it. We followed the old mining road back down to the lake thats just to the east of the summer trail on a rib. Brought spikes, crampons, and snowshoes and only used the snowshoes from 12,500 back to the car. Shockingly windless for most of the day today! |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2019-10-17, By: mtngoatwithstyle Info: Took standard route from Kite Lake up to the saddle of Cameron and Democrat. The wind was INSANE from 13K all the way to almost Cameron. Trail is dry with very few sections that have some old/icy patches. Had to turn around because of the strong and wild gusts pushing and strong winds. The trail will most likely change with our next snow storm cycle. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2019-09-14, By: RickyDavis Info: We did the full circuit clockwise. The trailhead was mostly full when we arrived at 7:30pm Friday, and when we departed on our hike at 7am there were cars parked down 3 switchbacks on the road and at least 2 groups with 25+ people. The trail is in full summer conditions and completely dry. There was a lot of wind and the route from the saddle between Democrat and Cameron was fully exposed to the wind. Between Cameron and Bross the wind was blowing hard enough to push me off course a bit. |