Mt. Audubon - 13,223'

MY STATS:
Mileage: 7.8
Gain: 2808'
Total RT time: 5 hours, 34 minutes

Why Write a Trip Report About Audubon?

There are so many beautiful places in Colorado. (Call me Captain Obvious.) But as a child of the Pacific Northwest, my heart has seemed to find a home in the Indian Peaks Wilderness (IPW). While the peaks are distinctly Colorado, the forests, animals, rain, and lakes provide some semblance of the spirit of the Pacific Northwest in a way I've yet to find elsewhere in Colorado. Given my love for high peaks, it makes sense that my numerous trips into the IPW now start to include its 12ers/13ers. I had it in my mind that Audubon would not likely be an interesting hike, and while that holds true from a route perspective, everything else was surprising and wonderful. It was unpopulated, conditions varied a bit, views were stellar, and just the right amount of moody weather presented.

The Reservation System

The Brainard Lake Recreation Area is now under a reservation system of which I am 100% supportive; the area has previously been trampled uncontrollably. I found the system to be really easy to use! It means typically having to plan ahead; however, with it being late in the season, I nabbed a spot at the Mitchell Lake lot at the last minute. (Bonus: timed entry means your time sitting in a long line at the entrance is much decreased!)

Reservations can be made by visiting https://www.recreation.gov. (This information accurate as of 01/06/2022.)

I Went With Two Plans in Mind

Plan A: Audubon only, out and back.
Plan B: loop it - standard route to Audubon, traverse to Paiute, down to Little Blue, scramble to Blue, Mitchell trail back to car.

The Hike

It was a chilly morning, and at 7 a.m., I was only the 2nd vehicle to the lot. Most folks today would be headed to Lakes Mitchell or Blue; I would be headed to Audubon via the Beaver Creek Trail No. 911 on the north end of the parking lot.

The trail through the forest was easy to follow. I hiked and ate breakfast as I went along (salami, cheese, and crackers, if you must know) and enjoyed the gradual "glowening". You know, when the morning light is just right, golden, and brings out all the best colors around you from trees to rocks to nearby peaks and maybe even luscious locks of red hair. (Argh. I was alone, so nobody can attest to this!)

Key landmarks soon came into view as I gained elevation, such as, Brainard Lake, Mt. Toll, Kiowa, and even Navajo Glacier. A bit of snow had fallen during the week, but so far I didn't see much evidence of it.

Then coming out of the trees, the landscape "just might feel like singing autumn song". Hello, fall colors! I was surprised to see them considering the cold snap that had just occurred. The day was warming up now, and my layering/de-layering dance was well underway. The sky was blue, and I was happy as a clam (specifically the one spared a chowdery fate).

Around 11,400' is the junction with Beaver Creek, so I swung left and aimed for the gentle slopes of Audubon. If I'm being totally honest, from here until 12,700', I was thankful for distracting views and the ability to sink deeply into my own thoughts. The rough, rocky trail seemed to drag on forever! While I appreciate how accessible Audubon is for people who maybe haven't had - or who want - a relatively safe alpine experience, the amount of trail erosion is shocking compared to the photos in the .com route description (which I believe is from 2014).

It can be tempting to want to hike on the grass for ease vs. trekking the rocky path, but resist the urge so as not to contribute to the damage.

Is it bad if I summarize the route between 11,400' and 12,700' as "unremarkable with no noteworthy features"? (Asking for a friend.) The trail is easy to follow, cairns exist where a few turns need to be made. There is no guesswork. What I will say is that it is pleasantly gradual with great views!

The switchbacks aren't bad, and then you just keep on heading west, gradually gaining elevation.

Pro tip: once you clear the "hump" and start feeling like you're on a very wide ridge, don't forget to turn your head far to the right and take in stellar views of Longs, Meeker, and Pagoda! For some reason, I'd blanked on the fact that I could expect this, so I was in awe when this majesty came into view.

Scrambling to the Summit

Well, I love a good scramble, so let me tell you I was so happy for the rocky path to end and to have about 500' of scramble in front of me!

The thing is, right around 12,700' there's a cairn. If you turn left at it, it leads you to what some would rightfully call the social path of least resistance to the summit. There is no formal trail at all, so you may as well seek the social trail that has formed, and it is genuinely a path, not a scramble. If you're like me - for better or for worse - you'll forget you read about said cairn, accidentally miss it even though it's huge, and just keep trekking happily along thinking you're just going to turn and find your own way up. The cairn is actually useful, though, and if you prefer a path vs. a scramble, the cairn is your friend. Let me show you the pictures I took on my way down of where the cairn is and what it looks like.

Ok, back to me. I missed the cairn, so what happened next? The views where the rocky trail ended were great, and that's where I found myself going, "Ah! Time to turn left and scramble!" A couple other lady hikers had caught up having also missed the cairn. They were a little confused and uncertain about how to approach the scramble, and my meager advice to them was something along the lines of, "The summit is that way [pointing], so just head up any way you want in that direction." I picked out a line with talus and medium boulders, and away I went. They picked a different line based on spotting some cairns.

"You're ignoring more cairns, Mary??" Yes, but for good reason! Should you end up doing as I did, it's not like navigating the scramble is rocket science. You know where the summit is, and there's no trickery on this section of the peak. HOWEVER. I remembered reading that there are cairns everywhere on the scramble. This is true. There are so many that they don't make sense, and unfortunately, I don't think this dawned on the sweet lady hikers for a while. I could hear their dialogue most of the time as they went from cairn to cairn, sometimes confused about which cairn, and ultimately dead-ended numerous times.

Ok, back to me! "I don't remember ordering a glas of ver." *ba dum tiss* ("Where do you come up with this stuff??" I don't know. It just happens!) Verglas was everywhere; the freeze/thaw activity had been healthy. Being more toward the northwest aspect didn't help; my route ended up being a touch spicy strictly because of the verglas. Out of an abundance of caution, I was darn slow and often maintaining 3 points of contact for stability. I arrived to the summit without injury, but admittedly I cringed at the thought of going back down. I put that thought out of my mind for the moment and instead took in the breathtaking views!

Decision Time: Plan A or Plan B?

Weather was rolling in pretty swiftly, it seemed, and one particular cloud bank gave me visions of snow and white-out conditions. I also now knew for sure some decent freeze/thaw had taken place which would make the scramble from Little Blue to Blue pretty interesting. (To me, the scramble is kind of hearty - albeit in a fun way - even without the threat of ice.) Oh, and I was solo. Pretty straightforward no-go on plan B. So I spent a few minutes taking in the rapidly changing mood. Longs became obscured by clouds, the sky darkened. Exciting! But before the clouds could wrap me in their cloak of no-more-visibility-for-you, I ditched the summit.

Winding Down

I opted to aim more southern-aspect-ish upon leaving the summit so as to hopefully not deal with as much verglas, and whaddya know, I found the social trail that leads to - yes, you guessed it - the cairn I missed at 12,700'. As mentioned before, the social trail is more dirt, less talus. There was practically no ice to deal with which was a relief.

With the change in mood (the weather's, not mine!), shadows were cast, and more rustic fall colors appeared. The summit of Audubon became obscured, and I felt validated in my decision not to proceed with plan B.

Near treeline, I realized I'd forgotten my other plan of recording a special video on the summit for my dad since it was his 74th birthday that day! He's often my safety contact, having dubbed himself "Comm. Central", and wears his 14ers.com t-shirt with pride around Ohio. I paused at treeline to record the video, but I fear not remembering to take it on the summit cost me the coveted Daughter of the Year Award.

There's a shack next to the Mitchell Lake trailhead, and sometimes there are volunteers in the shack. Highly recommend stopping in for a chat! The volunteer this day was a most delightful older gentleman with vast hiking and climbing experience in the IPW, so we ended up chatting for at least 25 minutes.

As I drove past Brainard Lake on my way out, a young man walking along the road stuck out his thumb for a ride since he'd parked down in the winter lot. I drove him down and learned he'd summitted Paiute, stating the ice on the scramble up from Blue was there but not too bad. He had a good, safe day, and so did I. Success all around!

Closing Thoughts

Audubon is a worthy trek; gentle, embedded in a beautiful wilderness, and surrounded by a treasure vault of views and more peaks I need to climb. (Which one will be next, I wonder?)

I enjoyed the aspen groves as I left the area, knowing that autumn up high was quickly coming to an end. As Robert Frost said, "Nothing gold can stay." But that which is gold remains forever in a photo, so I "leaf" you with the picture below.

As with all things beautifully outdoors, please practice Leave No Trace principles, but by all means take photos and leave a trip report. Happy hiking to you all!