COLORADO 14er! Mount Princeton Hike (Altitude 14,197 Feet)
August 1, 2004
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Mount Princeton!
Click here for good directions to the trailhead. You may park at the bottom, but I suggest driving up to the Radio Towers and beginning your hike somewhere in that vicinity. As you'll
note in the bottom two photos, the road continues to the left but the trail will
veer up steeply to the right. There should be two cairns to mark the spot. If your car can't make it,
drive up as much as you can, park and begin your hike. You can drive and park all the way to the trailhead off the road,
but above the radio towers, you will really need a high clearance vehicle to make it. I parked just
below the radio towers and with my luck, I didn't notice the trail
and walked all the way to the end of the road at Bristlecone Park. I started scrambling up the false peak before realizing I was way off, wasting valuable energy and adding about 45 minutes to my hike.
Don't make the same mistake I did! ;)
Scroll all the way to the bottom to see those photos. |
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Look at my muffler! I drove a tad too fast on a bumpy part and look what happened. It's okay! :) |
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It was really beautiful to be hiking with a great view of the sun rising to the east. |
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An example of a vehicle driving on Mount Princeton Road. It's a very narrow thruway. |
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Check out this funky-looking plant. Does anyone know what this is called? |
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Upward we go! ;) |
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Looking back, there are some really nice views. |
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This is one impressive mountain!
Here are my other Colorado 14ers:
Pikes Peak
Mt. Democrat - Mt. Lincoln - Mt. Bross
Mt. Sherman |
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You know what? These cairns, along with my water bottles, were my best friends on this hike! :) |
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I gotta tell you, I don't think this pictorial is as
good as my Mt. Democrat - Mt. Lincoln - Mt. Bross hike,
but this one was much more rewarding and challenging for me personally. It was the toughest hike of my life up to this point! |
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See the people? At this point,
the trail kind of disintegrates and you're on your own with scrambling up to the ridge on the left before the final uphill grunt. |
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Looking back down at the trail ... Wow! ;) |
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Once you hit the ridge, enjoy the views of Mount Antero and the surrounding range, because then you'll have ... |
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... one last final grunt to the top! |
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Two token pictures of me! |
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The view from Mt. Princeton Summit!
TOP LEFT: Looking southeast, towards the trail and unknown peak. (Bristlecone Park behind that peak.)
TOP RIGHT: Looking east into a steep valley.
SECOND: Looking northeast, with the Buffalo Peaks in the background and Buena Vista in the Arkansas Valley.
THIRD: Looking to the north, Mount Yale and others in the Collegiate Range.
FOURTH: Looking west, towards the Continental Divide. The peak in the foreground is unknown to me, but you came from direction to hike Mt. Princeton via Grouse Canyon.
FIFTH DOWN PHOTOS: Looking south, a couple of shots of Mount Antero and surrounding mountains. You'll get an impressive view of that range from up here! Below in that valley is St. Elmo, a ghost town.
BOTTOM: Looking southwest, towards a whole bunch of 13ers, including Mount Mamma, Grizzly Mountain, Boulder Mountain, Pomeroy Mountain and Mount Aetna. |
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I sat in the rock cove for 15 minutes to rest and enjoy the view. It was quite painful getting up there, but so worth it! |
