Buckskin to Democrats Southeast Ridge

-and the rest of the DeCaLiBron loop-

The DeCaLiBron loop was my finisher back in 2019 and I had not climbed any of it's peaks since. I decided it was time to revisit an old friend. I had yet to climb these in the summer and I still needed to connect a 13er to them for which Buckskin was the obvious choice. I had done Buckskin once before, as well, along with Loveland Mountain on a snowy day back in 2020.

The plan for this climb was to hit Buckskin first and then find a way up the south side of Democrat so I wouldn't have to return to Kite Lake. There were 3 choices I was considering for my ascent of Democrat following Buckskin: the south ridge, south face or the southeast ridge and they all looked like good possibilities.

Day of Climb: Monday September 1, 2025

Peaks: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross and Buckskin

Trailhead: Kite Lake

Mileage and Elevation Gain: Approximately 10 miles with 4588 feet of gain

I arrived at the Kite Lake trailhead around 6:30 am and snagged one of the last remaining spots in the parking lot. By 7 I was hiking up the Lake Emma trail towards Buckskin which starts right near the outhouse. Once in the upper basin I veered off trail through a marshy area south towards the northeast slope of Buckskin.

At the south end of the basin the real climbing quickly began as it steepened almost immediately. I passed under some powerlines and continued straight up towards the ridge over a tundra/talus mix. Occasionally, there was a faint climbers trail, but mostly it was just choice your own adventure. I saw several ptarmigans and many small groups of what looked like Brown-capped Rosy Finches feeding on grasses and weeds. It was about 1,400 vertical feet of climbing to the ridge.

I reached the southeast summit of Buckskin shortly after gaining the ridge. This, I didn't think was the true summit though? So, I continued along the ridge crest over rocky terrain a short distance to reach the northwest summit. I believe this was the true summit according to several sources although they did appear almost identical in height.

Now it was route decision time for Democrat. I had had a good look at all 3 routes I was contemplating while climbing Buckskin and was leaning towards the southeast ridge with the south slope as a backup. The south ridge looked way too complicated and time consuming.

Still, I decided to head down Buckskins north ridge to complete the tour of Buckskin. It probably would've been quicker and more enjoyable though to retrace my steps back the way I came, but this ridge looked more interesting and so down the steep talus I went. It wasn't bad though and eventually the talus petered out onto a grassy bench. I then followed the powerlines back to the northeast slopes of Buckskin and finally a speedy return back down to the basin.

It was then smooth sailing across the basin and up to Lake Emma. This is a beautiful lake and would make for a nice hike all by itself. At the lake, I circled counterclockwise to the northeast side aiming towards a lower section of Democrats southeast ridge. This took me up a pair of talus gullies which eventually led, much to my relief, to a conveniently placed ramp allowing me easy access to Democrats southeast ridge.

The ramp put me directly onto Democrats southeast ridge and a sea of talus lay ahead. It was steep too, but I could see no difficulties ahead and that made me happy. Up to this point, I still wasn't sure how well the ridge would actually go having found very little beta. It was nice to see my planned route come together nicely.

The climb up the ridge went pretty well. It was wide and the talus was for the most part stable. It was no more than class 2+ although there was probably a couple spots you could make a class 3 move if you really wanted to for no reason. As the ridge slowly curved northward it thankfully mellowed out and became more of a slope. It was then just a long grind to Democrats upper ridge where I merged with the standard trail and quickly found myself standing on the summit. I was now seeing lots of climbers and I hadn't see any since leaving Kite Lake. I think a few were a little surprised to see someone coming up from the south.

I was happy to be on my second summit of the day already and really enjoyed this route to Democrat from Buckskin. It went easier than I had thought it might and would definitely recommend. It was a nice way to avoid the crowds on the standard DeCaLiBron trail for at least a little bit. I think taking this southeast ridge directly from Kite Lake would potentially make it the shortest route on Democrat.

The weather was perfect so I enjoyed the summit for 15 minutes or so before moving on. I still had the rest of the DeCaLiBron to complete. It went fairly quick though and after the down climb to the Democrat-Cameron saddle I barely saw anyone over the rest of the loop. It was another great day in the mountains and I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting these peak. Thanks for reading!