ColoradoCool Apparel featured hike: Mount Democrat
If you're looking to hit a Colorado 14er that's not too intense yet still has some awesome views and will make for a great half day, Mt. Democrat is an awesome choice. It is pretty common to hit Mt. Democrat, Mt. Cameron, Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Bross all in one as you can traverse from peak to peak without losing too much elevation, but as we had a few more inexperienced hikers in the group last weekend (6/24), we decided to keep it chill and just summit Mt. Democrat. (I know I know....pretty cupcakey cough cough Durant....but it was fun and relaxing) If your out hiking in the Colorado Mountains rockin some dope ColoradoCool Apparel....you're probably gonna have a good time.
If you have an SUV you can roll to the trailhead in, that would be ideal as the road from Alma up to the trailhead is a little bumpy, but it can be done in a sedan without much issue. You might have to park about a half mile down from the trailhead, but seeing how your there to hike up a mountain, hopefully that's not a major issue. You're launch point is going to be at Kite Lake Trailhead (whether your starting with Mt. Bross or Mt. Democrat) as the peaks run alongside eachother, surrounding Kite Lake in a sort of semicircle, and the trailheads come back together at the beginning/end, its pretty awesome. Heads up, if you don't see routes online starting with Bross, its because parts of Bross are private property and your technicialllyyyyy not supposed to hike parts of it, but a lot of people prefer starting with Bross. While on that subject, our Colorado 14er Trucker hat (seen above) blends in very nicely with the landscape, so if you want to live on the edge and hike through some private property, its an ideal piece of gear to have in the arsenal as camouflage.
Looking down at the trailhead, you can see the road coming up from Alma and the peaks rising up on either side, from this view Mt. Democrat on your right and Mt. Bross on your left. The hike up Mt. Democrat starts with a nice walk along the lake with a stream running along the trail, giving you a little time to adjust your awesome ColoradoCool apparel and take in the beautiful Colorado mountains before the uphill trek begins. The nice thing about hitting a Colorado Hike in late June is that there isn't much snow to deal with, on this early summer hike we didn't have any need for our microspikes. After walking along Kite Lake, you hit a pretty decent, steady incline and from then on your rising pretty steadily.
The stretch of trail from the trailhead to the ridge between Cameron and Democrat is well established and easy to follow. Its a beautiful hike that I thoroughly enjoyed while wearing my unbelievably comfortable ColoradoCool Landmark Hoodie and Bandana. Nothing ruins a great hike like some scratchy, cheap, pos clothing....and you'll get none of that rockin ColoradoCool Apparel. Smooth sailin son! Plus...scope those colors...damnn!!! You fall off the side of a mountain or something, your all sorts of jacked up, can't walk, thinking your a goner and BOOM!!! You're crew spots you instantly. RESCUED! All thanks to ColoradoCool Apparel.
The stretch between the ridge between Democrat and Cameron is where things get a little more technical. Saw some folks havin some fun boulderin, but you can walk along the rocks without much issue. The path gets lost a wee bit as it tends to in the bigger rocks, but its not a major issue. This is the most difficult part of the hike, so don't get too bummed when you get to the false summit, the hard work is done. Its an easy stroll from there to the last, short uphill stretch to the summit, you could probably even skip if you wanted to. You know your gonna want some photos up there, so make sure you got some dope ColoradoCool gear so you don't look like a chump in your new profile pic. Enjoy friends....stay ColoradoCool.
