Trail Report: Mt. Audubon; Indian Peaks Wilderness, Brainard Lake Rec Area

Date: August 21, 2011

Starting Time: 6:15 a.m.

Starting Temp: 50

Ending Time: 11 a.m.

Miles Total: 7.6 (3.8 each way)

Elevation Gain: 2725 ft (approx)

Getting There:  Highway 72 to Brainard Lake Road. Go west for approximately 3 miles. Pay at the kiosk or the pay station (if the kiosk isn't open yet). Go 3 miles on the paved road and follow the signs to the Mitchell Lake Trailhead parking lot. From here, use the Beaver Creek Trailhead from the Mitchell Lake Trailhead parking lot.


Mt. Audubon

Ah, Mount Audubon. We meet again.
When last I tried to hike your innocuous Mitchell Lake Trail, I slogged through snow as deep as three feet, post-holing to my crotch for stretches of nearly a mile, multiple times, with few respites between. I lost the bite valve to my pack and water spewed from my Kelty like a garden hose, soaking me to the bone. And yet I hiked on, across tundra frozen as solid and unforgiving as a Manhattan sidewalk. I scrambled up riprap and talus until my fingerprints were sanded clean. I gritted my teeth. I cursed. I shook my fist at you. And then I turned back less than half a mile from the summit with feet on the verge of frostbite, my energy and morale sapped, still facing about six miles over the same terrain I'd just crossed, back to the truck.

All told, between twelve and fourteen miles of sloggy, slushy, snowy trail that with every step took just a little of my spirit. I'm certain that, by trying to summit, I lost three years of life span. You mocked me, Mount Audubon. You mocked me!

That was April 2010. Today was a little different story.

OK. So Audubon is far from the most intimidating peak in the Front Range. But can you blame me for coming with some strong rhetoric for a hike that left me limping and complaining because of my unpreparedness and shortsightedness in the Spring? That April hike was the most exhausting physical enterprise I have ever endured. Period. I wasn't just in physical pain after that hike (I wasn't quite sure if I was going to be able to drive home). I was, well, pissed.

Today, however, was quite the opposite. The Yin to that hike's Yang. The Sun to that hike's Moon. The Dude to that hike's Walter.

I picked up my friend and hiking pal Christopher at 5 a.m. Yeah. You heard me. 5 A. (freaking) M. and we left Longmont shortly thereafter. After a pitchblack ride up the 7 and 27, we got to Brainard Lake Rec Area at a little before 6 and proceeded past the new fee kiosk (very nice, and very closed) on to the pay station. And What Do You Know? We arrive at the fee station at virtually the same time the rangers do. A quick review of the menu showed that the rec area asks for a $9 entry fee. Cash and check only. Now, I don't think I'm giving anything away here, but I don't carry cash. I'm married, not a pizza guy. So is Chris. Thus, pockets out and looking quite the sad sacks, I explained (and these are my exact words) that "We lack something of the funds." The ranger lady just kind of shrugged and said, "Just give us what you got." I put in my five bones, sealed the envelope, and we moved on.

Now, I should stress here that this is not an encouragement for you to bilk our forest service people (or anybody, for that matter) out of their due. The money that you spend touring some of America's vast and wonderful locales goes into making sure that those same places are there for YOUR kids when they visit. So spend 'em if you got 'em.



You get to the Lake Mitchell trailhead and the starting point for Mt. Audubon by going around Brainard Lake and up a short stretch. The trailhead is a well maintained locale and is very busy on the weekends. So come early.



It was a little deceiving in the early going about how much trail traffic we could expect. There were very few cars in the lot, and most of those looked like they belonged to overnighters. No worries, though. What would be would be. Shrugging into small hydration packs (going light and fast today), we hit the trail and were well underway by 6:15, two minutes before the scheduled sunrise.

The Mitchell Lake trail to Mt. Audubon is a well-groomed, well-maintained, well-traveled trail. I can say that now, because I've now had a chance to SEE it. When last I was here, this first, early section of the trail was still buried in winter snow and just touched by spring melt (and I'd already hiked three miles to get here). Packed sand make for easy going on the trail. Tall, magnificent lodgepole pines and spruce provide quite a bit of shade, too. This first section goes on for a little less than two miles or so before switching back and rounding out around the crest of a hill and entering the "tundra" section.

Let me stress that this section of the trail from the trailhead to the Beaver Creek trail junction is pretty low key. Even beyond the marker, it's pretty easy going for another mile. The altitude can sap the lungs, but this is a groomed, well-maintained trail with very little exposure. Once past this section, there are great views of the Front Range--including Longs and Meeker--even before ascending the last, talus-strewn section of the hike. The talus section can get a little difficult to navigate, but there are quite a few trail markers and cairns to guide you. We got off track a couple of times, but by this point, it's fair to say that it's going to require a little rockhopping, trail or no. Once topside, there are a few windbreaks to hunker down in.

 

Windbreak at the Summit

After a short break and a snack, we hustled straight down the talus and shaved a little time off our descent. We were pretty conscious to select a path that was bare rock rather than lichen covered. And, once back on the trail we made it back down to the parking lot in a little over 90 minutes by watch. We passed a lot more hikers on the way back, and I'm glad we got going early for this venture.

Top it off with lunch and a couple of glasses of suds at Oskar's in Lyons, and all in all, a pretty nice day in the mountains.

Blue Lakes, seen from the Trail on the Way Back