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Peak(s):  Mt. Blue Sky  -  14,268 feet
"West Evans" - 14,257 feet
Rogers Peak  -  13,361 feet
Mt. Warren  -  13,314 feet
Mt. Spalding  -  13,863 feet
Gray Wolf Mountain  -  13,604 feet
Goliath Peak - 12216
Date Posted:  07/20/2014
Date Climbed:   07/19/2014
Author:  goingup
 The Hottest Goat Porn You'll Ever See......   

I have a problem. I am addicted to long days above 13k. I wanted something close to home, long, and fun. This loop was a great choice! My father's name is Warren and my uncle's name is Roger (they're brothers), I thought it was cute these two mountains sit side by side and I miss my dad every day so here's my latest........(I promise, hot goat on goat action ahead).



18.7 miles
6,300 feet of upness
Solo
Echo Lake TH


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Clockwise.


I got to Echo Lake around 4 p.m. on Friday and settled the low rider in the parking lot between the Echo Lake Lodge and the campground (at the junction of 103 and Mount Evans Rd.) I had some time on my hands so I did what I do best, explored. I hiked down and around Echo Lake, interrupted a massive dragon fly orgy, reviewed some general chemistry concepts (bonding and lewis structures...here I come organic chem), did yoga, ate dinner, made a friend (Mike) who was going for Evans, drank tea, and watched a beautiful sunset. Lights out around 9 p.m. and I was the only car in the parking lot.

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Echo Lake

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A hard chill session.

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Sunsets are okay.


I decided I would run Mount Evans road to the Goliath Peak arena and break towards the summit when the mood struck. I was on the road by 5 a.m. making good time. The mood struck around 3.4 miles when I broke southwest and ran the ridge to the summit. It was a little before 6 a.m.

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So are sunrises.


The wind was fierce and unforgiving, my hands and face were totally numb as I looked onwards to Rogers Peak which appeared to be light years away. I followed the ridge off of Goliath, crossed the road and then slogged up and over fifty false summit before I finally reached Mr. Rogers. Suddenly I realized I was not alone as an apparition appeared. His name was Steve. Our words were brief as I could tell he was on a mission.

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Rogers is somewhere out there.



Pano from Rogers (All the players can be seen, Mount Warren straight ahead, from left to right, Mount Evans, West Evans, Mount Spalding, Gray Wolf)

The terrain was all talus and tundra and pretty lax. I rolled on over to Mount Warren. His summit is shy so I hit all the bumps along the way. From here, my original plan was to drop down to Summit Lake, head up Mount Spalding, and then do an out and back to Evans via the west ridge. Now I was staring Evans in the face and questioning my common sense. To run an out and back of the west ridge would be totally inefficient so I opted to make it a loop and summit Evans first via the northeast face.

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This is what the terrain looked like for most of the day.


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Mount Evans and Summit Lake from the descent of Mount Warren.


I dropped down to Summit Lake and used an actual restroom which I am not going to lie, was really nice. I refueled and once again ran up the road towards the base of Evans northeast face.

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Summit Lake.

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Start of Evans northeast slopes.

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Looking back at Warren and Rogers.


Some hot slogging action took place. I think I had to gain around 1,400 feet in a fairly short stint. Eventually I found a trail and continued up to the parking lot at the summit where....................this happened............

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I named him "Angel Turd King of the Mountain"

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Here comes the rival gang...it is time for a salt off.

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The Hunchback of Goater Dame

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The babies had no idea what was happening.


Rated PG-13 (If the video is all weird and elongated just click on it once and it should set it straight, not sure what happened.)



With the goat carnage behind me I scrambled the 200 feet to the summit of Mount Evans. There was talk of goat vs. dog battles. It was neat to do Evans from a different route (my first time was via the Sawtooth). Perspective.

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Party on the summit

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A head band mountain mullet.


From Evans I ran out the west ridge to West Evans which provides stunning views. As I traversed I saw Steve out in the distance. Our paths crossed once again and we chatted. I came to find out he was doing all the mountains in the area, like ALL the mountains; all of mine PLUS Epaulet, Rosalie, Bierstadt, and the Sawtooth. Something like 25+ miles with 12k gain and this was his second time doing it (first time was a success). Can the real vert monster please stand up? Freakin' awesome Steve!!!! The scrambling on the west ridge did not exceed class 2+ and I stayed ridge proper until the bitter end.


Pano from West Evans

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A look back at Evans west ridge from another high point.

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Mount Bierstadt and The Sawtooth


Next I headed north towards Mount Spalding on a trail which was a nice change. Suddenly I became a cowboy and fiercely sprinted to the summit inducing severe leg and lung burn resulting in a mandatory fifteen minute rest, eat chocolate, and gawk at Evans northface. This is an absolutely stunning mountain. I did not realize its mountaineering potential until I examined its cliffs and couloirs from the summit of Spalding. I believe it was a little before 10 a.m.


Pano from Spalding (Rogers, Warren, Summit Lake, Evans, West Evans, Bierstadt)

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The sexy northface of Evans...look at all those cliffs and couloirs.


From Spalding I headed north-ever-so-west-ish towards my last objective of the day Gray Wolf Mountain. It was more talus and tundra to a beautiful expansive broad saddle heavily guarded by nasty cliffs to the east. How was this massif formed? It is such a captivating area. I know you geological engineers are out there, give me the goodies on these hunks of rock. From the Spalding/Wolf saddle I had about 700 feet of gain. It is really straight forward but I took an asinine way to get there.

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Gnarl cliffs.

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Gray Wolf ahead.

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The biggest saddle I have ever been in.

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Summit of Gray Wolf.


I really was not sure how I would get off of Gray Wolf. There were option, I like options, I also like to make situational decisions. Both the east and west side of the summit are spectacularly cliffed out so I used an obvious ramp (hugging the right side) to drop down to a saddle with 12,831'. I thought I would run this ridge to tree line and find the Idaho Springs Reservoir where I could pick up the Chicago Lakes trail back to Echo Lake but I also wanted to check out the Chicago Lakes. Two lakes down in the basin caught my eye and with a little investigative work I discovered they were unnamed and hanging above the Chicago Lakes. The descent whilst steep appeared very doable and it was soooooo worth it.

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Descending Gray Wolf, looking behind, possibly the best available view of Evans.


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Looking east, down at the unnamed lakes.

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Descention...


This was hands down one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. Magnificent grey walls framed a green basin full of every imaginable wildflower, the wind whispered ever so lightly, marmots played, pica spoke, butterflies twirled about, the water was as clean and clear as my mind. This is why I climb mountains, moments of complete perfection. And this is why I solo mountains because while I love the company of others there is no substitute for that raw relationship that exists between myself and nature.



Nature was happy here and so was I. I went up and over a hill and came across another beautiful alpine lake. This area was pristine and I soon came to find out why. Acting as a barrier between the Chicago Lakes and this mystery basin was a nasty bushwhack. Massive boulders intertwined with willows and bristle cone pines. It took some amount of navigating. There were areas I thought I was stepping on ground and my leg would drop in to an endless hole.

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The next lake...

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The bottom alpine lake. The others were hanging above this one.


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In the basin above Chicago Lakes, had to drop down about 500 feet from the lower unnamed lake.

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Bushwack with a view...

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I found the Chicago Lakes trail and began running out. Chicago Lakes was not to shabby but nothing compared to the love I felt in the solitude of the magical mystery basin. The Chicago Lakes trail is pretty flat until in junctions with the Echo Lake trail and begins to climb for an eternity (all the way back to Echo Lake).

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Chicago Lakes

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Burn zone.

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Burn zone wildflowers.


I got back to my car around 1, picked a flower, and put it at the memorial for the father and son who lost their lives in the Echo Lake area over the winter. I took a moment and said a few words for their family. May they rest in peace.

On the way home I stopped at Corwina Park and had the nicest stream soak of my life. The water was the perfect temperature to mitigate inflammation, I fell asleep and was woken up by a fly fishermen.

This was hands down one of my favorite outings. I gotta say, Mount Evans wilderness has a lot to offer. Spectacular!



"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you , and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn." ~~ John Muir



Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38


Comments or Questions
Steve Nicholls
User
Nice Report
7/20/2014 11:01pm
I can't tell you how surprised I was to see someone else climbing mighty Mt. Goliath. The day turned out to be a great success. Best part? A total of 4 raindrops all day long.

Back in 2006 I came up with the ridiculous idea of doing all of the Evans satellites in day. I called it the Mt. Evans traverse. An e-mail or two later it showed up in a newly revised guide book as the ”Evans Egis.”

8 years later I decided to give it another shot. Couldn't have asked for a better day. The major difference was how many people I ran across. First time no one, nada, zip. This time, you on Goliath, two more solo hikers crossing Epaulet, shared the summit of Rosalie with another guy. We both said ”what the hell are you doing here.” A couple of crazies doing some overhanging cliff wall at the base of Bierstadt's east ridge and a backpacker seeing the same guys just shaking his head.

Tried a new variation: Instead of dropping all the way down and around off of Rosalie I headed up and over the shoulder of Epaulet down a grassy slope to the base of the east ridge. My hope was the willow crossing nightmare down lower lower could be avoided. False. Just as bad. Nevertheless, a better route if you want to take the east ridge back up. I wanted to stick with the original south ridge. Traversed above the lake to the ridge. The backside of Bierstadt is a way far away lonely feeling.

Saw a few more people on Bierstadt. The Sawtooth went smoothly. Skirting Spalding on the way back made Gray Wolf more of a challenge, especially crossing the soaked basin (Note to self, bring extra socks). I followed the ridge all the way and dropped to valley through the burn zone, which proved tedious at the end of a long day. I like the idea of dropping down earlier as you did, I was just scared of more willow fighting.

Ended up just less than hour faster than the first time., GPS said 26.5 miles and 10.5K vertical. And Gerry, if you happen upon this, I did your stupid push ups in the parking lot.


brooked
Enjoyed!
7/20/2014 11:09pm
Fabulous trip report. Planning to do Evans, Spaulding, and W. Evans from Summit Lake next weekend with our 13yo daughter. Is there an outhouse at Summit Lake trailhead? Another report said there was not.

Also, any tips on locating which peak is W. Evans without scaling the whole ridge? We'd prefer to just walk up to it from trail below but have read that it is not easily identifiable from other 3 peaks on west ridge.


goingup
User
@SteveNicholls
7/20/2014 11:15pm
One day I will most certainly tackle this. Surprisingly enough dropping down early like I did was incredibly beautiful. There was a nasty 500 foot descending bushwhack but only a very very short stint of willows to deal with.
So glad you had an awesome day!!!

@brooked There were several restrooms at summit lake. Nice ones too.
I believe West Evans is the closest high point to Evans.


LePhantom
User
You Ran Those Trails ?!?
7/21/2014 12:00am
Another great TR!

While hitching a ride back to the jump off point (at the Colorado Trail junction) after completing the s/e approach to Columbia last Thursday, our (oh-so-kind!) driver and I compared notes on our favorite 14.com TR-writers. You came highly recommended by the driver! I offered up ”blazintoes” in exchange. You are both recommended for the Nobel!

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to document your adventures. You should know that you have quite a following! And, I would highly recommend that you connect with ”blazingtoes”. You and she would make a great team!

By-the-way, have you ever thought about participating in the Mt Evans Ascent? I've run it three or four times and it was always a blast. It runs along the road from Echo Lake to the top. The race is run in early June and the number of runners are limited (by the relevant authorities) -- so, if you're interested, sigh up early. Given your penchant for jogging the trails, I'd definitely recommend that you sign up for this well administered and managed(great aid stations and post-race grub) and very popular one-of-a-kind event.

PS: Organic Chem and Yoga?!? Absolutely! The keys to the universe can be found in college level courses in microbiology, nuclear physics and cosmology. Only after completing these studies should any self-proclaimed priest, rabbis, mullahs, swamis, etc. be allowed to preach from the alters of their faiths. And, of course, a few years in the wilderness would definitely help their credibility!


goingup
User
@LePhantom
7/21/2014 12:08am
Thank you so much!!!
I enjoy writing these reports....

I run what I can, power hike when I need to, and crawl if I must. I still struggle to run above 13,500 feet but I am working on it. And when I am off trail, running can be difficult as I do not want to trample or heavily damage tundra.

I am done with physics courses for the moment but in the fall I am taking both O Chem I and microbiology...so excited!!!

I know about the Mount Evans Ascent but I am not super in to racing. I have run 2 half marathons and one full marathon and I have my first ultra marathon coming up in Aspen. I am terrible at ”training” and I am currently injured. Racing is not so much for me. I simply love wild adventure in the mountains.


Jay521
User
Yikes....
7/21/2014 1:47am
...And this is why I solo mountains because while I love the company of others there is no substitute for that raw relationship that exists between myself and nature.”

That - in a nutshell is why I prefer solo treks myself. I have spent a lot of time in the MEWA and dearly love it. I am so pleased that you found some of the same spots I have enjoyed.

And - as always, Kay - your trip reports are awesome. And you kick butt! I took me several hikes over a couple years to cover what you did in a day.

Keep it up girl! You ROCK!


High_On_Thin_Air
User
well done!
7/21/2014 1:55am
What a nice report. Impressive numbers, I don't know if I could hang on something like that. Your panos are always the best!
Stoked for Chicago Basin!!


d_baker
Animal Porn
7/21/2014 2:22am
I don't see any goat action in this report. VOMIT needs to show you what real goat porn is.

I haven't seen goats gettin' action, but I have seen some squirrels doing something with their nuts....

>


goingup
User
.......
7/21/2014 3:08am
Jay~~~ I really do love the MEWA. My experience on Rosalie was equally as nice. It is a really beautiful area.

Nathan~~~ me and my oracle uterus are ready!

Darin~~ Did you turn your sound up...the noises, oh the noises!!!


rajz06
User
Not...
7/21/2014 3:35am
...sure about the goat porn, but everything from your choice of traverses to your storytelling and your pictures is simply epic!


goingup
User
@rajz06
7/21/2014 4:14am
First, thank you

And second I should have probably talked more about the goats. Evans had a major grapple incident and an employee laid too much salt up at the summit area. I don't even know what that castle looking thing is but all the salt brought like several different goat herds together. There were SO many of them and they were fighting and humping, it was total carnage..


FireOnTheMountain
User
sweet vert
7/21/2014 2:59pm
Chi may not be big enough for the vert monster


SurfNTurf
User
TRs
7/21/2014 3:00pm
Kay, thanks again for sharing. I'd ask to tag along one of these days but I don't think I could keep up. You've become one of the best TR writers on this site, keep the hits coming!


FlatLander89
User
You're...
7/21/2014 3:17pm
A peak bagging machine! Awesome write up, definitely helped get my Monday morning rolling .

Photo #8 is way cool and perfectly depicts the beauty of this awesome state. This pic may work its way onto my background if you don't mind..?


goingup
User
..............
7/21/2014 3:28pm
Abe~ Just looking to have a good old mountain party.

Jeff~ Thank you, but I am of no match for your hilariousness. When ever I get sad I go read your Sherman TR.

@FlatLander89 ~~ I do not mind at all sir.


SurfNTurf
User
Also
7/21/2014 3:40pm
I'm sorry I ran away before our turn at karaoke. I got stage fright.


goingup
User
Hahahaha
7/21/2014 3:52pm
No worries....
You seemed pretty scared and wouldn't stop farting so ....


12ersRule
User
12ers are as good or better than 13ers...
7/21/2014 7:03pm
That is all.


mtsuji
User
Great
7/22/2014 5:38am
Title for the report! Also, it was a good read, thanks for posting!


dillonsarnelli
User
only 7 peaks?
7/22/2014 1:51pm
As always, nice report Kay!


Brian C
User
I was expecting this...
7/22/2014 2:44pm


polaris
User
Impressive and Clever
7/22/2014 8:43pm
Your writing style and photography made me read your report twice and thank you for that. I love your energy and perspective as well.

Nice

Michael



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