Chicago Lakes

This was an ambitious but very fun plan that didn't really come together... but you know, the universe provides and things turn out the way they were supposed to. In the end, there was no shortage of joy!

A month or so ago, I secured a parking permit/entry permit for Mt Blue Sky's Summit Lake trailhead. This 14-er is one of just a couple that had a road to the top, but for Scott and I, the adventure was going to be parking a few miles back down and hiking to the top. Extra special perhaps because the road and trailhead had been closed since 2024 - under construction - getting a little facelift, so I had not ticked it off last year. 

The permit was for 5-7am entry on June 25th. The plan was to arrive at Echo Lake early on the 24th, hike to Chicago Lakes, disperse camp overnight and hit Mt Blue Sky the next morning.

Chicago Lakes Hike

Perfect! We packed and left on time at crack'o'dawn and were on the trail by about 7:15am. It was quiet. Only 3 cars parked. Only a couple of people on the trail and none appeared to be going all the way up.

Check it out; Beautiful weather, wildflowers, this here hare, a very friendly marmot and changing scenery all the way to the top. Its a moderately hard hike. 

A bit up and down (mostly up) and a wee bit on the cool gusty side at the summit where we picnicked behind a large wind-stopping rock.

 We had company... a hungry little companion with a craving for granola bars and trail mix. His little monkey paws and twinkly eyes made me go "Awww!"

He was soon upstaged by the arrival of the goat gang. They were shedding and they had babies in tow so that's kinda hard to compete with when you are a common ground squirrel with few actual tricks in your playbook.

The way back down was easier of course and even with stops for "meese" (yes!) it was quicker too. The last push uphill to Echo Lake was nowhere near as bad as I remembered it from 2025.

Dispersed Camping:

Along Hefferman Gulch Rd there are a handful of stunning campsites in the forest. We pitched the tent, blew up the mattress and marveled at our good fortune to be all alone there. It was time for burgers and fries in Idaho Springs. Mmm... pretty darn yummy!

By 7:30pm there was a game of Phase Ten going back at camp. Did I win? I don't remember, but probably not. LOL

And at 8:30pm, snuggled up in the tent, the pitter patter of rain sounded wonderful. 

Hmmm. Pitter-patter was a fleeting description. Torrential is what superseded it. All. Night. Long.

I guess we were alone because all the other campers checked the forecast?!

At 5:30am, when the alarm went off, in the mostly dry tent, we both felt the most relaxing course of action was to stay in bed - the slightly deflated airbed was becoming hilarious and kept us off the ground only if both remained firmly on it, so unanimous commitment to the cause was required.

Mt Blue Sky would be there next time and there was no urgent need to hike in the rain for a view of nothing but clouds.

At 8:30am, we used a slight slow down in precipitation to quickly dress and take down camp. All the wet things got thrown into the truck and the new plan was a meandering trip home via Evergreen while eating banana bread and drinking milk.

And here is where the universe rewarded our relaxed attitudes and rolling with the weather; 10 minutes into the drive, low and beyold, mama moose and her teeny baby on the side of the road at a very convenient pull-out! Camera-candy for this gal! Scott was, as usual, so patient as I took my mandatory 100 pictures of wildlife before we could move along. Mama moose was super-chilled as cars and cameras came and went along the road.  Ahhhhh... bliss.

The best laid plans should often be upstaged/replaced by funny incidents, surprise weather, wildlife encounters and scenic drives with your favorite person, IMHO.

Huron Peak - the pleasure and the pain!

Want a little peak inside my head? To pull back the curtain and see the wizard?  Be careful what you wish for! 

The truth is that on any given day my wee mind could be either oozing with confidence, positivity, faith and hope... or trying to come up for air as it threatens to drown itself in self doubt and other dark thoughts. I say this knowing that I'm not alone here.

This week was a good one. I felt ok with skipping a few hiking days in lieu of stationary bike (quad) training and was happily reflecting on how well my body did with 3 days of hiking last weekend.  I lined up a 14-er hike for Monday with Chris, whom you might remember I met while hiking Grays and Torreys. And even after I dropped a heavy weight on the EHL tendon that connects my big toe to the ankle, was feeling very optimistic that the excruciating pain when I flexed, would soon dissipate and in no way conflict with a steep uphill trek for 4+ hours! After all, I had about 36 hours to heal, adapt or get used to what was surely not a lot of damage.

To be fair (and I say it with immense gratitude) I wasn't all that wrong. 

On Sunday afternoon I used said foot to accelerate all way up to Chaffee County and down the same Cty Rd 390 that had led me to the Missouri Gulch Trailhead (Mt Belford) a few weeks ago. This time I went further into the hinterland another 6 miles. The road got narrower and rougher!

After the first 4WD sign, I tested my growing off-road skills in ways that seemed ... cruel and unnecessary. I still hadn't found Chris though. His last message (before cell signal became non-existent for both of us) was "I'll drive as far as I can on the 4WD road and find a campsite". That pretty much meant I hadn't driven far enough  - yet the road was getting scary and at times I wondered if I had driven onto the actual hiking trail beyond the road itself. When the 4runner pitched up, I couldn't see the condition of the road in front of me, when the 4-runner pitched steeply down, ALL I could see was the next boulder or berm in the road - and I knew I had to give it some power to make it up and over again! Lord help me! I was sure I'd never be able to turn around and this 2-way trail did NOT have room for passing oncoming traffic . At some point I decided to just park and walk. 5 mins later I found Chris and felt confident enough to go back and get the car. 

There is no footage to ever do it justice, but I did set the camera on the dash for a few moments:

We camped in the woods near a roaring stream, under tall trees and a clear starry night. The campfire crackled and as it got darker, the temperature dropped. Snug in my sleeping bag around 9pm, I was delighted to pull out and use, for the first time, a little heating pad that plugged into my Jackery portable power station.  It was truly dark and truly quiet up here.

5:20am and that was my alarm going off! I had time to dress, gobble down a snack, take another Diamox and gather myself, then we were off to the trailhead. Yessiree... driving another mile up the diabolical trail but this time in the dark - for extra points! (I believe this was the first time my 4-runner truly thanked me for setting it free to be it's true, off-roady self. He was practically calling "yee-haw" as we bounced over the lumps and through the stream!)

Ok, long post but I'm getting there. 

Chris and I found the LAST TWO parking spots at Lake Anne (Huron Peak) Trailhead. It was 6am! And with that... the hike began.

I felt the hike up the gulch through the forest was about perfect. Challenging but beautiful, shaded and smelling all woodsy.

At treeline, it emptied us out onto a rocky tundra, complete with (not great smelling) reflecting pool.

From here, every step became steep and increasingly rocky. The view of the switchbacks leading basically up a 45 degree incline was intimidating and yet one foot in front of the other seemed to work to get me there. Along the way conversations with pikas picking bouquets and the rising sun made it really hard to feel sorry for myself, despite the slog.

Chris forged ahead and I met him at the top. The beautiful, breathtaking, top! 

Feeling on top of the world about sums it up. My legs were doing great and the ibuprofen was definitely a good choice to mask nagging tendon pain. After a half a protein bar and a decent swig of water, we began the trek down. 

Scrambling up the push to the summit was easier than delicately picking my way down. With just over a month before I leave for Africa, I was accutely aware that a face plant or twisted ankle would have dire consequences for my best laid plans and I intentionally became the most careful person on Huron! 

The trailhead popped out of nowhere, half empty already, just before 1pm. That's a 6.5 hour hike taking in 7 miles and 3600' of altitude gain. Not too shabby for Dallice. And a great way to spend Labor Day!

Did I70 surprise me with a delay-free, drama free drive home? No. No it did not! But by 5pm I was eating melty cheesey pizza at home with Mark and for this I'm very grateful.

Final thoughts:

The foot survived just fine with a little help from my old friend, Ibuprofen. It's good to test mental strength and commitment under less than ideal circumstances too. Today I came one step closer to being prepared for the mental challenge that Kili is SURE to rain down upon me!

Huron just became 14-er #12 for me since early July 2025! Where there is a will, there is a way.