Braving the crowds

[Canyon Dweller]

The past 3 years I have been having fun hiking all sorts of 12ers and 13ers in the Front Range. I've been enjoying the solitude and even meeting a few people on these peaks. For the most part I have been avoiding the Front Range 14ers because of the crowds. This last Saturday I finally decided to deal with the crowds and do a popular 14er. I decided on something that would be easy for my car to get to and not be a very long drive. Really only Bierstadt fits this description, So I went for it. I first had to mentally prepair myself for the amounts of people I would be seeing.

When I got to the parking area on top of Guenella Pass, at 7:45, it was already full, and parking was starting to be taken up along the road. I parked behind the car I was following up the whole way, got out and started on my way.

Heading down into the willows, I did not see to many people, but as I got to the other side and started heading up it became more and more apperent there were lots of people on this trail. The only thing I could compair it to was hiking Camelback or Piestwa Peak on the busiest day of the year. The higher I got the more people I saw. Every time I looked at the parking area, I saw more and more cars parked along the roadside.

I got to the top at 10:40 and I was amazed at the crowds on top. I decided to count how many people were up there and I counted about 40. I found myself a nice spot below the summit to sit, away from the crowds and eat my snacks. I peered through my binoculars to the summit of Mt Evans and saw there was less of a crowd up there. Strange since it has a paved road leading up to 14,130 feet.

Now came the hardest part of the hike, seeing how long I could hold my bladder on the way down. Too many people to think about pee-ing.
On my way down I pretty much belined it to the bottom, stopping only to take a photo here and there.

So I did it, I braved the crowds on a Front Range 14er. Back to the 13ers, where I can get more solitude.
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Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2

[IGO]

That's why I never hike Bright Angel or Whitney or Angels Landing. I don't need the trophys, never did. I like how birds sound.
Good for you.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[Sponge]

I can completely relate to this story! I feel that way everytime I hike a popular trail.

My wife and I hiked up Angels Landing in 2002, we took the first shuttle of the day and beat everyone to the top. We had the summit to ourselves for almost 30 min

That's the only way to do it!

[IGO]

I hike off trail the the vast majority of the time. I'd say that 85% of my hiking miles I never see another human being.
_________________
"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[Canyon Dweller]

I told myself that I would like to do 1 or 2 14ers a year. I figure I could handle a couple of crowded hikes. I too prefer to hike off trail. I ussually take a trail to a certain point, then get off and head my own direction. The weekend before, I took a fairly popular trail, then got off and headed up a ridge that lead me to a 13er. Once on the ridge I only saw one other person coming off the peak. I then decided to do a 12er and there was no evidence of anybody doing the peak.

What is Angels Landing?
_________________
Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2

[IGO]

Angels Landing is a 2000 foot tall knife edge in the middle of the valley in Zion
_________________
"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[PageRob]

My wife really wants to do Angel's Landing again. She says that the view from the top is one of the most beautiful things around. I've never been. We're starting to work towards it, though, but we're also training for a (GASP) rim-to-rim.
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Anywhere is within walking distance if you spend the time.

[FalconGTHO]

Regarding "off trail", isnt it "illegal", subject to fines, blah blah? And, regardless of that, isnt it also discouraged to protect the landscape?

[PageRob]

[IGO]

[FalconGTHO]

Right. Im familiar with that. "Dont Bust The Crust", etc. But, you mentioned going off trail, so I wondered how you make that work or otherwise, "get away" with it?

[azbackpackr]

Yeah, it depends totally upon the area. For example, in the White Mtns. it's perfectly okay to walk anywhere you are able to, unless there is a sign that says not to.

The minute they make a blanket law that you can't go off trail anywhere on Federal land I'm taking up knitting! But in some places that rule is a good one, of course, due to the cryptogamic soil, or whatever they're calling it these days.

[IGO]

[GringoDiablo]

Kinda odd! I like seeing people on the trails. It's fun to chat, meet people from all aro und the world. Share stories and adventures. Last hike met a father daughter team, the father went to the same Led Zepplin concert I went too in 1977.

[GringoDiablo]

Kinda odd! I like seeing people on the trails. It's fun to chat, meet people from all aro und the world. Share stories and adventures. Last hike met a father daughter team, the father went to the same Led Zepplin concert I went too in 1977.