The Congo Line
July 12th Peak #1 of the Colorado Six Pack of Peaks Challenges. Wow, what a morning this was. I had read that the parking lot fills up fast, so get there before 0500. Especially on weekends. I was ahead of schedule this morning, so I arrived right around 0400. I was shocked to see the lot was almost full already. There may have been about 3 or 4 spots left in the lot and there were several cars parked along the road already.
I prepped my gear and began my hike up right around 0420. This hike begins right around 11,600 feet in elevation. Right away, I couldn’t help but notice there was a steady stream of headlamps coming up as I made my way through the first few miles. It reminded me of doing the “Fools Traverse” in the San Gabriels.
Mile 1 was a very easy stroll through a wide cut in the low-lying bushes and even had several long “boardwalk” bridges to keep you from getting your feet wet. There was no ascending for the first .8 miles. Instead, you descend about 135 feet in elevation.
The next 1.2 miles climbed up 764 feet in elevation. Not too difficult, but for some reason I found myself out of breath at about 12,600 feet. After taking a few moments to catch my breath I continued on and gained another 871 feet in elevation for mile 3. The next .87 miles to the summit climbed another 935 feet in elevation. Most of that during the final .4 mile rock scramble to the summit at 14,065 feet in elevation.
The trail was very easy to follow, and cairns lined the boulder field all the way to the summit. At the summit the weather was perfect. Clear skies and very little wind. The views, of course, were awesome. I think the biggest issue I had was the amount of people that were up there. I stayed a few minutes and then quickly headed down.
ON my descent, there was a constant stream of hikers coming up. And looking down it was like a Congo Line on their way to the summit. So, glad I was ahead of schedule earlier in the morning and that I didn’t have to deal with the huge crowds making their way to the summit.
Finished this hike with 7.7 miles and 2718 feet in elevation gain. My first Colorado 14er at 14,065 feet.
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