Mount Audubon

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

I hiked Mount Audubon today. It is a “peak” in Indian Peaks Wilderness, a pristine mountain area west of Boulder and south of Rocky Mountain National Park. I put peak in quotes because the summit is pretty flat. It does not rise to a peak, as you can see from photo, though the last half mile is a sharp scramble. According to All Trails, the hike is 7.4 miles, and the elevation gain is about 2600’. A sign at the trailhead say it is four miles one way. It has an elevation of 13,229’.

Access to Indian Peaks in this area is through Brainard Lake National Recreation Area. The entrance road is just west of Ward, Colorado, off Highway 72. Reservations are required for timed entry. I had checked on Saturday (Recreation.gov) and there was one “ticket” left for entry between 5-8AM on Monday. I took it! I arrived at the gate around 7:45, parked at Mitchell Trailhead, and I was on my way hiking at 8:30.

The first mile or so is through pine forest. Much of this part of the trail is on packed dirt populated sparsely with roots and rocks. It climbs moderately. Around the start of second mile, the trail takes a sharp right turn, to the north, at which point there is an increase in slope. About halfway though this second mile, the trees are fewer in number, and they have stunted growth. Soon the trees are replaced by short, evergreen bushes that have been whipped into funny shapes by the wind. Around the end of the second mile, the trees have disappeared. There are only a few evergreen bushes scattered among rocky soil of tundra landscape. Basically, the trail is now above tree line. It turns southwest at this point, winding back and forth as it climbs through a variety of features. Some parts of the trail have dirt with small stones. Some parts are dirt with stones the size of a soccer ball or basketball. Some parts are completely covered with stone, passing across boulder fields. The final half mile or so is the hardest, very steep and hard to follow. The final hundred yards or so are across a climbing section of boulders. There is no clear path through this section. It is generally an exercise of navigation over large boulders.

I figured it would take me about four hours, doing thirty-minute miles. It took me about seventy-five minutes longer than that. Part of this time discrepancy was due to my stopping to take photos and enjoy the spectacular views.

I could tell within the first 30 minutes that the altitude would be a factor in my day. I arrived in Colorado the previous day, so I did not have time to acclimate. For the effort I was doing, my breathing was more labored than normal. I would not set any speed records. No problem, it was a beautiful day, nearly perfect for a hike in the high country close to the Continental Divide, which passes through a range about one mile west of Audubon.

I did not see many other hikers. Seven people, early starters, passed me on their way down from the summit. Three people passed me on my way up. I passed five people who were going up as I descended, fifteen other hikers in all over five-and-a-half-hour period.

I stayed on the summit for about fifteen minutes talking with two of the people who had passed me. They went by me on that very last section of steep, unmarked boulder trail. They were from Denver, a guy named Tom and his teenage son Simon.

The trail had a good selection of mountain wildflowers. It is amazing to see such beauty blooming at the higher altitudes. There were plenty of Marmots and Pikas sunning themselves on rocks, then darting beneath them as I approached.

The weather was great. There were mostly blue skies for the first hour. Clouds began to form after that, but they did not look threatening. Overall, the entire hike had substantially more sunshine than not. The temperature at the start was around 50 degrees. I started out with a long sleeve t-shirt with short sleeve on the outside and Bergelene tights with shorts over them. Around 45 minutes in, I changed into just the short sleeve T and the shorts. Once above tree line, it became somewhat windy in some places. Around three miles in I put the long sleeve short back on, and before I started the last steep half-mile, I put on my fleece jacket. On the peak it fluctuated between a strong westerly wind and being almost calm. There was a rock shelter where we sat and talked and then took some photos for each other.

This was a hard hike, despite its reputation as one of the easier ascents in the Indian Peaks region. The combination of steepness, rocky terrain, and altitude kicked my butt. But it also felt great. It took me three hours to reach the top, then about two hours fifteen minutes to arrive back at the car. I stopped more frequently on the ascent to take photos. The hike down really beat up my legs.

There was a beautiful white butterfly with black markings at one point along the trail. Such visits are inspiring. All in all, a good day.