Mt. Bierstadt is located at the south-west end of the Sawtooth Ridge, which connects to Mount Evans on the north end. The conventional trailhead is located atop Guanella Pass, which can be reached either from Georgetown (along I-70), or outside of Grant (along US 285). I drove up from Georgetown, and it is a really scenic drive, climbing along waterfalls, huge groves of aspens, and a really huge power plant (the price of progress, but at least the wilderness around it was intact). The top of Guanella Pass has several trails leading off it, and the main Bierstadt trail is off to the east, and can be distinguished from the other trails due to the Mt. Bierstadt register next to it (duh!).

Now, the trailhead is at about 11,700 feet, and although it's just above treeline, there is plenty of vegetation to contend with. In fact, the Guanella Pass Willows (yeah, I think it deserves a title) are a total pain in the butt. The trail is well worn, but the willows grow from a couple feet to well over my head (hey, I'm 6'2"!) for about a mile and or so. And, despite the fact that it might be the middle of summer or fall, the area can still be very boggy - watch out for large tracts of mudholes along the trail (but don't cut your own trail - not only is it cruel to the ecosystem, you might find yourself stuck fast in several feet of mud)! .

So anyway, having made a late (12:15pm) start, I slogged through the willows while most everyone else was on their way down. There weren't nearly as many folks here as at Grays & Torreys...I'd say I ran into about 40 people on this trek.

At about the mile and a half mark, the willows fade out into grasses and other smaller plants, and the trail turns sharply upwards. You know how lots of trails follow switchbacks along their mountains? Not this one. The trail essentially goes straight up the side of the mountain to the ridge beneath the summit. Now, this ordinarily wouldn't be any big deal, but I'd just hiked two 14er's earlier in the day, so my quads and calves were screaming at me after about a quarter mile of this. It took a lot of effort to make it to the top of that ridge, where things level off and the vegetation finally gives way to dirt and a little loose rubble.

The rest of the trek to the summit (about 1/3 mile) is a boulder-hopping trek, which I found to be a pleasant respite from the steep climb. I hit the summit about 2:45. The view across the Sawtooth was impressive, and the observatory on Evans' summit seemed close enough to touch. After signing the register and throwing a dirty look at all the cars climbing up Mount Evans (weenies), I headed on down. The weather had been gather all morning, and even though I was pretty sure the rains would hold off, I didn't want to chance it. The trip down the steep slope was almost more than my quads could take, but all was forgiven as my truck appeared out of the willows, and I happily plopped down bonelessly for a snack before heading home - tired, but knowing it was worth it, at least for me. A great Saturday - and it wasn't even 4pm yet!