Chicago Lakes Winter Hike

As per my post Saturday, I bailed out while on my way to ski, and turned back to try something different. That something different was a hike in the Mount Evans area.

Even though it's very close to Denver, I've only been to Mount Evans once before: I parked at Summit Lake and hiked over Mount Spaulding to the summit of Evans. In retrospect, it wasn't a very sporting summit hike compared to ones I've done more recently, even though it required clambering over a lot of boulders. It's only about 2 miles long and 1,400 feet up.

Chicago Lakes, on the other hand, was a more substantial distance, especially because of stretches with soft snow, and I was pretty tired by the time I had covered the 9.4 miles. With lots of stops for photos, it took around 5 hours. The hike began in the parking lot near the Mount Evans toll gate right off of CO 103. Here is the GPS track:


The Gear

The day started out windy, so I wanted to be prepared for the chilling effect wind can have, and brought a medium weight down top and waterproof/windproof shell. However, the wind ended up being pretty mild, so both were stowed away for most of the hike. I took my showshoes, in case there were drifts, but due to the traffic, the snow was sufficiently compacted so that I could walk with only my Kahtoola spikes, and I strapped the snowshoes to my backpack. My feet did punch through the snow crust a couple of times near the top, but that was it. I wouldn't have wanted to do the hike without spikes of some sort; the snow was slick in spots and there was ice over the path near streams. You could do it, but it's nicer to not have to worry about your footing.

The Trail

This trail is alpine forest between 10,000 and 11,000 feet elevation, then increasingly open alpine forest above that, with wide-open tundra next to the lakes at my turnaround point at 11,600 feet. In spite of the length, I found the hike engaging, and the forms created by snow and surrounding rugged mountainsides were interesting. This is a pretty typical stretch in the forested sections:


Rocky cliffs line the valley on the left as you ascend the section above the Idaho Springs reservoir.


On the right side of the trail in this section, forest fires cleared large sections of vegetation, creating an eerie landscape of bare tree trunks, with new growth only starting to fill in. The snow and the cold light of the overcast day added to its forbidding appearance:


The eponymous Chicago Lakes are at the very end of the trail, nestled against the rock walls of surrounding peaks. There are two lakes: Upper and Lower, and I only made it to the Lower Chicago Lake this time, since I was tired, running out of time, and the upper lake lies above a steep ridge.

The lower lake is on the left while looking up the trail, and appears in the center of the photo below, frozen and white. In the summer I would have descended to take some pictures across the lake, but in the winter it's just like a white sheet of paper, smooth and featureless.


In the center is the wall of rock below which the upper lakes lies:


An unnamed outcropping is on the right, rising over the basin. Looking on a map, this is really only the rocky end of a higher ridge, but it looks pretty imposing from this vantage point:


True to the rhythm of mountain weather, the overcast skies of midday gave way to blue skies again later in the afternoon. As I headed down, the sun started to shine, adding warmth to my descent:


Spanish Moss is something I used to associate with southern states like Mississippi, but there is sufficient moisture here in Colorado at 10,000 feet to cause the branches to be draped with it:


This section of forest, in the basin of Chicago Creek, is also where I found the deepest snow. Low afternoon sunlight introduced long shadows onto the snowy forest floor and onto the strange shapes of drifts on rocks, and it was almost sensory overload. I couldn't stop staring around me. Pillows of snow were everywhere, like great gobs of white icing. If you are tired this also may be the toughest part of the hike, since a number of switchbacks take you back up out of the valley, only to descend yet again to the trailhead. Looking back, you can catch a last glimpse of the high peaks:


I look forward to coming back to this trail for running in the summer, since it's not that far away from home, yet it affords high alpine views -- and difficulty. The fact that the trail has a relatively moderate incline would also make it a good spring warm-up run before the tougher outings of summer. I'd also like to come back and check out the bristlecone pines at the Mount Goliath Nature Area. Either way, there is ample opportunity for fun and photography.