9/27/03 – Mount Warren & Rogers Peak – Southwest Slopes

3.7 miles, 1245'


Erin and I got our mountain fix last weekend, despite my brother, Nick, and his wife, Jackie, being in town. We decided to take them on a drive near Denver, since their visit was so perfectly timed to peak autumn aspen viewing. We picked them up at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, and Erin drove us up to Kenosha Pass. I had never seen so many people at the pass, but the reasons were quite clear. The aspens all around us were glowing, and the view into South Park was gorgeous.

After that, we turned around and drove back to Grant to begin the drive over Guanella Pass, which seems to be rougher on the Grant side since last year. The aspens were beautiful here, too, but the vast numbers of other drivers on the road were almost more than I could stand. I suppose this is what we get for choosing aspen viewing opportunities close to Denver. We took a brief break at the pass before descending to Georgetown. After a quick lunch at Tommyknockers in Idaho Springs, we drove up the Mount Evans road, my first time up this Denver-area staple. The views of the stands of aspen on Independence Mountain, the long ridge that separates Clear Creek and Georgetown from West Chicago Creek, were spectacular, with many of them already changing to oranges and reds.

Once we reached the Summit Lake area, not having been there before, we actually parked short of the lake in a separate small parking area near a couple of tarns. The road was closed at the lake anyway, so it was no big deal. We parted ways with Nick and Jackie and Erin and I hiked up Mount Warren's gentle slopes. Summit Lake is immediately under this modest mountain, so it only took us 15 minutes to attain its summit. Then we took off for the 1.5-mile walk over to Rogers Peak. All our hiking was over gentle but rocky grassy slopes. We made it to Rogers after another 30 minutes, and sat down for a few pictures of aspens and the beautiful Chicago Lakes cirque under Mount Spalding. It's worth noting that after leaving the lake area, we didn't see another person making the easy trek to either of these summits. I have a feeling they usually can afford solitude even though they're adjacent to the Evans road.

It took another 45 minutes to hike back to Summit Lake, where Nick and Jackie, chilled by the alpine air, were now waiting for us in Erin's 4Runner. One strange incident to report occurred atop Mount Warren on the way back. As I came around a boulder, a white-tailed jackrabbit darted out from under it, taking some noisy bounds downslope and startling the shit out of me! I've never seen a jackrabbit above 13,000', and it looked gargantuan compared to the typical rabbit-related alpine denizen, the pika.

After descending the Evans road, we crossed back into Idaho Springs and used the Oh My God Road to reach Central City and Black Hawk. Nick wanted to see the casino towns, and once there, he promptly won $20 off a nickel slot machine. After returning to Denver, we ate dinner at Siamese Plate and had drinks at Rhumba.

The next day, Erin and I furthered satisfied our addiction by going to the Flatirons with Kurt Traskos. Sean Conner had referred me to a cool climb near the Royal Arch. The climb goes through a remarkable feature, the Tangen Tunnel, and then situates you amongst the Flatirons, giving you a unique view of the Arch and surroundings in a special, little-visited area of the Flatirons. You can even use fourth-class slabs and a bushwhack to reach the summit of Green Mountain, but we found the correct route up the slabs too late in the day. We'll be back!