We left Denver at 5 a.m. and the trip started out somewhat ominously with a flat tire on the way up. Allen changed it Old Man Parker style ("A Christmas Story") minus the flying lug nuts and expletives and we were quickly on our way.
At the trailhead to Evans and Bierstadt
The hike started off at a chilly 35 degrees, but we quickly warmed up in the sun
The first several miles were flat hiking through the marsh and willows. It ended up being a lot of bushwhacking and the going was slow, but we made it through.
We then got the the extremely steep portion of the hike where we bouldered up for about another mile.
A friendly marmot on the trail
The views were beautiful with peaks surrounding the whole area.
After trudging through a lot of snow and more bouldering, I finally made it to the summit at 14,264 feet. Mount Evans is one of the two 14er peaks where a road goes (almost) to the top, and is actually the highest paved road in the country. It takes a little away from the feeling of accomplishment when there are hordes of overweight people drinking beers at the top, but I knew I had hiked it and that was good enough for me.
Most of the group decided to drive down with a co-worker who met us at the top. Three of us hiked down and the descent was much, much, MUCH faster - let's just say some of the dead weight ended up driving down.
It was another great hike and as always harder than I had anticipated. I think the snow added a lot to the strenuousness of the hike, but made it more of an adventure. That's 8 down and a whole lot more to go.
