Had a very blonde hiking moment today and ended up hiking the wrong trail. Oops. It has been a long week (this is putting it mildly, very mildly) between house issues, car issues, appliance issues, and wrapping up one of two audits at work…so I’ll give myself a little break here on this as my brain may not be fully functioning right now.
I had initially intended to go snowboarding today but ended up sleeping in until around 9:30. I haven’t been sleeping all that well lately and the stress of this week made sleep even more scarce than usual. With the late wake up time I decided to get some things done around the house and go hiking after lunch. I didn’t really want to do a lot of research and wanted to keep it within about an hour or so away and this is why chief mountain came to mind almost immediately. I last did this hike on Christmas Day with both my dogs and it was a great hike. But when we were about 10 minutes from the summit, it was snowing pretty intensely and we didn’t get to see the views. You know your girl loves herself some views so I figured I’d take the ladies up today for round two.
As you can see this post is titled Squaw and not Chief Mountain. The two trail heads are very near each other and I ended up parking next to the Squaw Mountain trail head. Oops. There isn‘t an actual parking lot, so parking can be pretty limited, although there was plenty today given it was a weekday.
We had already started up the trail before I popped AllTrails up again and realized that we were most definitely not where I had intended to be. Even though it wasn’t all that far away to get to the Chief Mountain trailhead, I had always wanted to do Squaw Mountain and it only tacked on another mile. Apparently the universe decided today was the day and I was not in any kind of state to argue with her today. Happy accident, I suppose.
AllTrails lists Squaw Mountain as easy and I would say that’s pretty accurate. Everything gets a little more difficult in the snow but I imagine in the summer this would be a very easy hike. It was really nice, we only ran into two other groups the whole time we were hiking until we reached the lookout. Other than that, we had the trail completely to ourselves which I LOVED. The trail itself is a mix between shaded and open areas and has some pretty amazing views along nearly the whole way. Like, step out of the car and onto the trail immediate views, which is never a bad thing.
I hiked the trail in spikes but it would’ve been manageable with just boots. It was unseasonably warm once again and I ended up taking my jacket off at certain points. Gotta love Colorado weather. The only downside to the hike was when we reached the fire tower it was occupied so we were unable to go up there and explore. It’s inhabitants were being really, really loud, which was a little irksome (hi, I’m in my thirties and officially elderly status). Because of “those damn kids”, we tried to finish the rest of the trail that veers to the left, but no trail was to be found. Without snowshoes this wasnt even an option, so we found a nice area below the lookout to hang out and have our snacks.
Through my light research I found that the lookout measures 14 by 14 ft. and has some pretty crazy views 360 views. It does not have running water but apparently has heat, a refrigerator, furniture, an electric stove and even an incinerating toilet outside (omg, WHAT?).
The lookout is actually reservable at https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234792 for $80, but reservations are booked and seem to be highly in demand. I have been meaning to get better about doing research on reservations for summer camping and think today was to serve as my gentle reminder. The world works in mysterious ways, y’all.
And, back to the trail. AllTrails had the trail at 4.1 miles with 862 feet of elevation gain, but I ended up clocking in around 5 miles. We stuck to the trail the whole time so I’m guessing it was just a bit longer than what’s listed. On the way back down it started getting a lot colder so me and the ladies trail ran our way on back to the car. Or as much of a trail run as you can do wearing spikes, but it still definitely got our hearts pumping. Overall, this was a nice little afternoon hike and I have two very happy and tired dogs on my hands. Until next time, happy hiking ❤️✌🏼🥾.
Comments