For my second hike of this trip out to Colorado I chose an easier summit, Mt. Bierstadt, and a later starting time of 6:00 am (partly because I had to drive an hour from the campground to it). This was another class 1 route, with a lot of scrambling over boulders near the summit, but nothing too crazy. The most unique thing about this 14'er was the massive and paved parking lot, which was already overflowing by the time I showed up at 6am.
The trail was very crowded already, but that's what you get for choosing a peak that is really close to a major city and has a paved road all the way to the parking lot. Makes it an easy day-hike for the locals.
It was a nice flat trail for the first hour or so, through prairies filled with bushes, along small lakes and streams. There was even a board walk for the first little bit so that you wouldn't disturb the local vegetation, and to make it easier to cross the many streams. I really enjoyed the start to this trail, it was very idyllic and I took lots of photos of it.
Once the trail reached the base of the mountain, it turned into switchbacks all the way to the boulders near the top. The total elevation gain was somewhere in the 2,000's, and by 10:30 am I was already at the top. Wow, such an easy climb!
I made some friends at the top, but the peak started to get crowded fast as more and more people showed up, so I didn't stay long. There was some minor scrambling on the way down, and wayfinding was a little rough but I generally follow other people in this situation. It was an easy and fast descent back to the car, and a good thing too because it was starting to get really hot out.
I really enjoyed this hike, and the area. The Colorado plains and skies, the colors are just amazing.
