Colorado 2011 Day 5: Mt. Audubon

Day 5: Mt. Audubon (13,233 feet), Long Lake, Indian Peaks Wilderness

Miles hiked: 8.0

As of Wednesday afternoon, I wasn’t sure of my Thursday hiking plan. I knew I wanted to visit the Indian Peaks Wilderness, an area due west of Boulder that features a series of high-elevation lakes surrounded by jagged, rocky mountains. I just wasn’t certain of how much I wanted to hike.

The reason? Eliot and I had Friday pegged as 14er day. We had cemented our plan to hike Grays and Torreys peaks, two of Colorado’s 54 tallest peaks.

Did I want to take things easy the day before and just hike the flat 2 miles into Lake Isabelle, which, supposedly, provides incredible views of the peaks towering above its waters?

Or should I be more ambitious and hike up Mt. Audubon, which at 13,233 feet would be mark my highest point achieved hiking to date — just taller than Yosemite’s Mount Dana, which I ascended at the beginning of July.

By Wednesday evening, my mind was made up. I can’t recall exactly what influenced me to do the more ambitious, taxing climb, but I’m pretty sure it was a combination of my realization during Wednesday’s Boulder hike that the end result makes every hike worth doing and continually being inspired by “Halfway to Heaven.”

Whatever the reason, I got up early Thursday morning excited to visit a new area of Colorado’s vast wilderness, ready to embark on a new adventure.

The winding, hilly drive took me less than an hour, and pretty soon I was out of the Lexus SUV, past the sign warning of recent mountain lion activity, and on a series of switchbacks at the base of Audubon.

From the hike’s beginning, the wind made its presence felt, and when I emerged from the trees a mere mile into the trek, I didn’t waste much time before layering up.

My journey was spread out before me like a satellite map. I faced a long, winding, gradual ascent on a rocky path to reach the north side of the mountain, from where I would, as my book described, climb steeply to gain the exposed summit.

I’ve always felt that it’s easier to do a hike when out in the open with visibility, however on this particular hike, the mountain didn’t seem to be getting closer despite my efforts. My pace was slowed, a bit, by biting 40-50 mph winds that were gusting at me. And with the high elevation, breathing was more difficult.

Still, it was impossible not to enjoy the scenery. Against the backdrop of clear skies, dozens of snow-crested peaks, including Longs Peak highlighting Rocky Mountain National Park, spread out to the north and northwest.

Then, moving left, there was the rounded Audubon.

And just to the southwest of my destination were the jagged, pointy mountains that highlighted the Indian Peaks Wilderness.

Eventually I reached the northern side of the summit cone and then slowly climbed steeply over rocks of all sizes, following cairns, to gain the summit. The wind hadn’t died down at all, but on top there were little rock dugouts that were perfect for sitting in to gain relief from the gusts.

I spent a half hour on the summit, admiring the expansive views, eating a typically delicious mountain lunch of cheese and rice crackers, and chatting with a hiker, probably in his 60s, who did most of the talking (I wasn’t stopping him).

The friendly fellow gave me a breakdown of the 14ers, told me that Grays Peak — one of Friday’s summits — was his favorite 14er, and, generally, exuded a tremendous enthusiasm for the mountains that I found was the case with almost all the hikers I met on this trip.

When I told him Grays and Torreys peaks would be my first 14ers, he asked me how long I was in the area for, and said that since I had a day after that hike, I should go knock off one or two more on Saturday!

While that wasn’t in the plans, I appreciated and admired the man’s ambition. Colorado is just swarming with outdoors enthusiasts who extend the limits of what flatlanders like myself think the body is capable of accomplishing. It’s refreshing to be around such people.

For the skies being clear, I was a bit surprised I only saw the man and one other hiking party on the mountain. But I wasn’t complaining. It’s pretty special to have such an incredible place basically all to yourself.

After a quick descent, I visited Long Lake in the afternoon, soaking my feet in the ice-cold water, observing some fly fisherman, and staring out at the pointy peaks in the distance. It was the ideal way to unwind from the hike, refresh the legs, and get prepared for the biggest hiking day.

14ers day.