Mt Democrat: My 1st 14er

October 4, 2020:

When I started to get into hiking this year, I made a goal of climbing at least one 14er before winter. Keep in mind, hiking at anything above 10,000 was challenging, especially at the beginning of the summer, until I built up some endurance at higher altitudes. Denver sits at 5,280 feet and it took me at least 3-4 months to get (mostly) acclimated, coming from sea level. When I first moved to Denver, going up and down my 2 flights of stairs to get into my condo winded me!

I made plans to meet at the trailhead at 6am with a couple other girls. When people tell me that my adventures look "fun" sometimes I laugh. It's a classic case of "instagram vs. reality" - when I have to get up at 4am to get to a trailhead, fun isn't the word I would use lol. The dirt road to the trailhead is bumpy and dusty, but it's not too terrible. You can make it most of the way in a sedan and parking a little further down. I was totally fine going the whole way up in my 4Runner. On my way to the trailhead, I saw a couple moose! (I would post a photo, but honestly, they look like black blobs on the screen).

We got to the trailhead and started off! We walked past the lake and made our way up the mountain. There is a large scree field that you had to climb up, that lasts the whole way. It was pretty chilly when we started and I was glad I had layers - including gloves and a stocking cap. By the time we reached the summit, the weather was perfect! It was sunny, there was no wind (which was shocking), and we had a great time hanging out at the summit for almost an hour, with hardly anyone else there. It was definitely a challenging hike, but not as bad as some people make 14ers out to be. That being said, this is one of the "easier" 14ers to hike and there are much more challenging ones out there!

Our original plan was to summit the Decalibron (all 4 peaks) but we were too tired to make our way up the other 3. Going down is always easier, but I was exhausted by the time I made it back to my car. I'm glad I accomplished my goal of one 14er this season, but I don't think I'll be joining the 14er finisher club any time soon! I might do a couple each year, but to me, lower elevation hikes with alpine lakes, waterfalls, and trees, are much more appealing.

All Trails Stats: 3.8 miles / 2034 feet elevation gain / ranked: hard

All Trails Link with Reviews: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/kite-lake-to-mt-democrat-trail

Personal Stats: unfortunately, I didn't save them, but I remember it was a much longer hike than 3.8 miles (All Trails isn't the most accurate).

Parking: the parking lot was very full, even by 6am, and there's a $5 fee (cash only).