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Here's a quick video from the trip.
Sorry, couldn't embed from vimeo
Headed up to Crag's Campground on Monday morning, but had to stop for gas and the Donut Mill for nourishment, so I didn't set off on the trailhead until 7:20am. The "forecast" was for storms to roll in around 1pm so I knew I was cutting it close, but decided to give it a go. There was just one other car in the parking lot so it looked like I would have some solitude (summit notwithstanding).
There were quite a few wildflowers in the clearings above the forest.
Looking back at some crags around 11,500ft.
Marley midstride - ears fully extended
By 8:20 the sun was really blinding, so I was thankful I brought my sunglasses. I set a good pace to the saddle and was really impressed by the view. I contemplated heading to Devil's Playground first but figured I could hit it on the way down if the weather held.
The summit is still a good ways away...
Its a pretty fantastic approach - it'd be even better if the road weren't there though.
Looking south down the western drainage
The final couple miles are relatively benign, well-cairned, and full of blowing dust from all the passing cars. I reached the broad summit around 10:50, still feeling pretty good. I talked to a trio from Barr Trail that was roaming around the area looking for an "official summit". We all agreed on a small pile of rocks and claimed victory for the day.
Why drive when you can hike?
Looking toward Cripple Creek/Victor
By now there were a ton of clouds forming out east on the plains, but to the west there were very few. The ceiling was also quite low and creating some interesting cloud movements as they collided with the Peak. I tried to capture some of it but couldn't really do it justice. I headed back down after some high altitude donuts and bagged Little Pikes and Devils Playground. Total roundtrip time was just over 6 hours, which I was pleasantly surprised by.
Thanks for posting this report. Great job on the pics.
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