Chief Mountain with Kristi

Me and Kristi at the TH

Kristi said she wanted to go hike a mountain, so I was excited to get her out on one.  I chose one of the easiest mountains above tree line; Chief Mountain.  This is a good place for beginners to get into the activity of hiking.  Chief Mountain is close to Denver; only about an hour from our place so the accessibility is really good.

Longs Peak

To get to the Chief Mountain TH get on I-70 westbound, take the Evergreen Parkway exit.  Drive the parkway till arriving at Squaw Pass Road; take a right and follow this road to the TH.  Once you make the long journey on Squaw Pass Road, there will be a private ski hill on the west side of the road.  Park in the pullout just above the lift and across the road you will see the TH for Chief Mountain.  I also have two other TR with more detailed directions if that is something that will help you.  Beware the road is under construction, so expect some delays.

Evans Group

When we arrived at the TH there was a good five or six cars already there.  It was just after 8am when we started up the trail.  From the TH to the summit is only about 1.5miles and a little under 1,000ft vertical.  There is a trail the entire way, so this is an easy class 1 trail.  We took our time on the ascent, there were multiple groups of people yo-yoing on up the trail.  Kristi did well and a little over an hour we had made our way to the top.  I even let her scramble up the final rock a little and I got the feeling she was enjoying it.

We hung out on top for a good 30 minutes.  The weather was perfect and we could see all the mountains around us.  We were lucky and even had some good views of Longs, which is a long, long ways away.  Kristi was now on her first Colorado summit and at just under 11,700ft, it is quite the way to do it.  It was great to get her up there, so hopefully she gets the bug that I’ve had for so many years now.

We cruised down the trail and were back to the car in about half hour.  There was a good amount of people heading up just as we were finishing, so I was glad we got an early start.  It was a fun relaxing hike, and for those of you that haven’t done it, you should give it a try.  This is also a excellent winter hike, which is how I first did it.  Get out and enjoy and congrats Kristi!

GPS Track

Date: 8/3/2013

Starting Elevation: 10,725ft

Chief Mountain Summit: 11,699ft

Total Gained Elevation: 974ft

Class: 1

Distance: 3.11 miles

Time: 1:45 moving, 00:40 stopped. 

Climbing Partner: Kristi

Picture Link: http://s282.photobucket.com/user/nickkarl72/library/Chief%20Mountain%20With%20Kristi