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.:Getting to the trailhead:. The Kite Lake trailhead is just a couple hours from Denver. The best route is SW on US 285 to the town of Fairplay (about 80 miles from Denver). From Fairplay, turn right at the light onto CO 9 and drive 6 miles to Alma. Watch you speed - local law enforcement and CSP like to trap around Fairplay and Alma. Near the center of Alma, look for the signed left turn onto Kite Lake Rd. Drive very slowly through a block or so residential area (watch for stray dogs, especially), and then it's on to Kite Lake, 6 miles up the road. The last mile or so is rough and rutted, and a 4x4 is a good idea. There are parking turnouts where it gets rough if you need 'em. Do NOT park on marked private property! Also of note, the Kite Lake trailhead has become a US Forest Service fee area, and day-parking runs $3, with overnight camping at $7. The money is used to maintain the facilities at Kite Lake, including a restroom and camping sites. Small price to pay.
.:The trail:. .:Trip Report:. This was the first excursion of the 1996 season, coming on the 8th of June, which turned out to be early in the climbing season, snow-wise. The common trailhead for these three mountains can be found at Kite Lake, which is about 6 miles west of Alma on Park County 8. I stopped in Alma to verify my directions at the Texaco in town. The man behind the counter...well, he was quite a scary-looking character, to be sure Anyway, the day started out about 7:45, when I came across a couple of guys who had beached their Volkswagon Jetta on a snowdrift, trying to get up the access road to Kite Lake. A tow rope solved that little problem, and I managed to get started about 8:30. Since the road was snowed out, I started about a mile below Kite Lake. From the traffic, I'd say there were about a dozen other folks climbing, too. The route runs to the east (right) of Kite Lake, and then up to the saddle between Democrat and Cameron. This was one of the trickier parts of the day, since the abundant snowfields made the ascent difficult, and I was armed with just a good hiking staff (yeah, I know, should've brought the ice axe...). After struggling to the saddle, the ridge to the left took me to the top of Democrat, where about 4 skiers were clearly having a blast. I signed the register, had some grub, and took in the view of the Sawatch Range to the west. After 15 minutes, it was on to Cameron and Lincoln! ...continued on the Lincoln trip report... |
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