Pike National Forest
Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Democrat, Mt. Bross

These mountains are all 14ers that most folks can climb in a single outing. Starting from the Kite Lake Trailhead, all 3 peaks (plus the bump in the middle named Mt. Cameron) can be "bagged" in a single loop with very little back-tracking along the way. Total route: about 7 miles with 3,600' of elevation gain.

Elevations:

• Trail beginning: 12,000'
• High Point: 14,286' (Mt. Lincoln), 14,148' (Mt. Democrat), 14,172' (Mt. Bross), 14,238' (Mt. Cameron)
• Trail ending: 12,000'

Access: Kite Lake Road (Park County Road 8) is in the center of Alma (off of Colorado 9 between Fairplay and Hoosier Pass). The dirt road heads west right across the street from a store in town. Follow Kite Lake Road for 6 miles to the parking area on the east side of Kite Lake at 12,000'. The last mile gets considerably rougher so some folks leave their cars near a switchback about 0.6 miles below the lake. Kite Lake is below the cirque, surrounded by the 14ers.

Notes: From Kite Lake Trailhead, climb Democrat's east ridge (Democrat is the one on the left when you're looking up the hill), past the ruins of the Kentucky Belle Mine and up onto the 13,380' saddle between Cameron and Democrat. Then go 1/2 mile up Democrat's east ridge to the summit. Enjoy the view, snap some photos, return to the saddle.

From the saddle head east over (or around on the north side) Cameron and then on another 1/2 mile of easy hike on a well-worn trail to the summit of Lincoln. Enjoy the view, snap some shots, then head back to the wide saddle with Cameron (at 14,100').

From the saddle, you can go back over the top of Cameron or angle across the rock on the east side of Cameron's summit. Then head down to the 13,860' saddle with Bross and up that slope to Bross' summit. To get back to your car, head down Bross' west slope (but it's easiest, safest and "greenest" if you stay on the ridge and don't go out into the loose scree).

The danger with this route is this: once you commit to crossing Cameron, you are above the cliffs of the cirque and there is no easy retreat back to Kite Lake, except back to the Democrat-Cameron saddle, or beyond the Cameron-Bross saddle.

USGS Maps: Alma, Climax