The Decalibron is the name given to the attempt to bag the three (Mt. Democrat, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Bros) 14ers closely bundled around Kite Lake near Alma Colorado. It also includes the opportunity to bag Mt. Cameron, which is not considered a “true” 14er because it does not rise up enough on its own from the saddle between Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Bros. This year the Decalibron was opened back up after the US Forest service came to an agreement with the mine owners allowing access to the public. I had wanted to do this for a few years but it had been closed previously. None of my mountain friends wanted or could go along this time so I decided to go solo and check it out in August.

I had all my gear packed and ready to go and left work in Boulder a couple hours early to get to Kite Lake Campground by dusk. Drove up I70 to the Breckenridge exit, then route 9 past Breck to Alma. Traffic co-operated and I happened to stop to ask for “where’s the turn off to Kite Lake?” at a coffee shop that was right at the turn off, and soon enough I was there. There are paid campsites at Kite Lake right at the end of the road and I took a quick survey to see if I would use one. There are all close in to the parking, which is good or bad depending on your point of view. I was on my own and did not want company or the chance of noisy neighbors So I paid for my day-use parking, left the slip in the box and packed up my gear to head up with the idea I could plant my shelter up near where the alpine terrain ended and get a mile or two off the route.
Being August the high valley was in full glory, carpeted with all manner of lush flora and flowers in bloom. The weather was just right – clear but with mixed clouds, not clearly showing what was coming which is how an adventure should go. After making my way up a mile or so as if I was going up Mt. Democrat, I turned off the trail and followed a small stream till the alpine terrain ended at the scree fields below Mt Democrat. In the shelter of some large boulders I pitched my Sierra Designs Assailant shelter and settled in for a restful night. A series of thunderstorms rolled through but I felt secure down in my boulder field and the lightening sounded not-too-close.
When my alarm went off around 4am it was raining lightly, so I decided to stay warm and cozy for another hour to see if it would lift. I saw some headlamps making there way up from the lot but I didn’t want to deal with the wet since it looked like the clouds were lifting away. Sure enough, in another hour it was barely sprinkling so I looked over my gear and decided the strategy for the day. Super light was going to work. My understanding was that in 6 hours or continuous hiking could complete the circuit so after drinking a liter of water I filtered one more liter and brought that with no water filter thinking there would be no opportunity to filter more. I did not even bring a small pack. Being the liter of water fit in my breast pocket. Some power bars, small camera, GPS, trekking poles, headlamp, and my North Face layers, and paper map with the route info completed my gear. I had never attempted a multiple 14er route so light. I could see a few sets of headlamps on the route I was going to take which was to go up Democrat first, then double back to the saddle between Democrat and Lincoln/Cameron, up Cameron, then Lincoln, then across the backside to Bross dropping down at the first opportunity to my high camp leaving my pack and the rest of my gear in my shelter.

The trail was easy to follow and I found myself gaining on the first party ahead of me. They were carrying large packs and I was not so encumbered so I passed them before the first saddle. The dawn light lit up Democrat with its red hues and the sky continued to clear. The first party up Democrat that morning passed me coming down from the summit and spoke of the fine sunrise they had witnessed on its summit. Closing in on the summit it was incredible to see the former high mine/ shelter just a few hundred feet off the summit of Democrat. Completely obliterated by multiple lightening strikes one can only imagine what it was like for those intrepid miners up around 14,000 feet. At the summit I asked another visitor to take a snap as the sun started its rise. I didn’t stay long and started bounding my way back down to the saddle.

On my way down I saw more headlamp parties making there way, clearly there were many others who had been wanting to try this as well and were taking advantage of the good weather. I passed another group on my way up Cameron, which raised enough up from the saddle that I felt it was worthy of being a mountain in its own right by the standard it actually is not. From Cameron’s’ summit you can see Lincoln and Bross with Lincoln being the more distinctive of the two. My Bross is smooth and rounded while Lincoln has some jaggedness to it. Just before the summit of Lincoln I passed the last group that had been in from of me. They also were burdened by larger packs and I was down to a half liter of water as the only real weight I was carrying. I also realized that as long as the weather held my super light approach was indeed wise for I had not seen any opportunity to filter more water so it would have been a waste to carry a filter.
From Lincoln the trail to Mt Bross crosses the backside of the ridge between, and it’s a gradual nice hike. The truly bizarre thing was that I came across a pickup truck that some idiot had driven from one of the Mt. Bross access roads as if the thought they could drive it across this scree-trail to? The top of My Lincoln? Who knows, it was stuck in the scree, off the main trail, just about ready to roll. Idiots. I though about how many hikers who pass the abandoned vehicle would consider giving it a shove to see it roll down to complete and utter ruin, but that would only take more of a toll on this incredible place. I only hope the fool was fined appropriately and make the laughing stock. Mt Bross is the most indistinct 14er I have been on and the mining toll on its form has been heavy. It was a challenge to find the summit marker and I didn’t stay longer than a minute or two on top.
I continued North East from the summit of Mt. Bross with the hopes that I could descend one of the scree fields and manage a short cut back to my camp for a post Decalibron Brunch. I got to survey a few chutes and decided on a route down that looked promising from up top. I boot-skied some late summer snowfields and then scree-skied down down down and made really good time down to the valley below without turning an ankle or taking a fall. I found myself back at my camp before noon very pleased with the route and plan. After a nice long relaxing lunch I packed my gear, hiked back to my Jeep, and drove back toward Boulder dreaming of the next trip to the high country I love.

Mount Belford (14,197 ft), Mount Oxford (14,153 ft) & Missouri Peak (14,067 ft) are all 14ers accessible from the Missouri Gulch Trail head. I was hoping for bagging two out of the three which of these three usually means Belford and Missouri. This time I made a plan to hike in and camp just above tree line, rather than go super light at dawn at the trailhead. My friend Jay came along and we drove straight to the trail head without any trouble. The trail gains steeply all the way till tree line thins out. I think in total the trip elevation gain and length was (Trailhead to camp & Belford & alt route back); 4,200 feet, 9 miles.
It was a super-fine weekend so we did see some other campers/hikers. Lots of short switchbacks going up the gulch. Around dusk a mile and a little more in it flattened out a bit with some ok sites to camp right off the trail. Funny how one group looked at us and asked “if your looking for campsites further up, there really aren’t any… you’d be better off taking this other spot we almost took (but obviously rejected) back over there…” Why is it that people go out of their way to hoist their experience on you as if theirs is the one that counts?
I countered “We will be fine, I’m sure we will find something we will like…”. Sure enough, another half mile or so up we found an absolutely gorgeous site. We noticed what looked like a game trail around the junipers, and seeing how there were some flat areas we checked it out. We found a couple of sweet spots hidden from the trail and passing hikers by dense Juniper-like shrubs situated overlooking Missouri Gulch and its stream. For sure discovering your own sweet camp spot as its turning dark is so much better than following on someone else’s direction. Nice fire, sounds of the water, starlit sky, slept like a rock. The sierra designs assailant tent was perfect, anything bigger wouldn’t have fit on the duff bedding. In the AM we saw a few early birds hike past but we took out time to cook and chill. My hopes for a multi-peak bagging day were dashed by the revelation that Jay needed to be back in such time that prevented us from going after some extra peaks and hiking back out int he dark, still it was a gorgeous day high up in the mountains. The trail is flatter up in this stretch until you take the left turn to go up Belford which was our choice. It steeply rises up a shoulder all the way to the top, probably equal to walking the stairwell up the Empire State Building. Awesome views and inviting vistas open up including seeing the other main routes up Missouri and Oxford. Knowing we didnt really have enough time to check some of that out was especially painful from the summit of Belford, while gazing across a seemingly short 1.5 mile connecting saddle-ridge to Oxford. We took an alternate route back down off the top toward Missouri hooking back up with the Gulch trail where you could continue on to Missouri’s summit.
Great weather, good friends and the great outdoors will a 14er thrown in… nice!

Longs Peak is a solitary fourteener rising dramatically over the high plains of eastern Colorado, a beacon for pioneers and a dominant local landmark. Longs Peak is a craggy monster with several enormous vertical cliffs, set among the sea of 13,000 foot peaks that make up Rocky Mountain National Park.
The northeastern aspects include the Diamond, an almost sheer 1700 foot face that is the premier big wall in America outside of Yosemite. The west slopes fall away steeply, too, with lots of talus-filled gullies. Oddly, the summit is a large, flat expanse of about a couple acres, like the top of a tree stump falling away steeply on all sides.
Indians are alleged to have trapped eagles on the summit, but the first non-natives to climb Longs Peak were led by one-armed John Wesley Powell, more famous for his boat trip down the Grand Canyon.

Getting There
The start of the route is on Colorado Route 7, south of Estes Park, the main tourist town for Rocky Mountain National Park. There is camping at the trailhead which is clearly marked on Rt 7.

The Keyhole Route
The Keyhole or Standard Route was our choice. This was Joe’s first fourteener and the classic route up Longs is a great choice. He can see Long’s from his house and often thought of climbing it, so lets go.
All other routes on Longs are technical rock climbs, including the former standard route whose steel cables have been removed. The Diamond offers routes of the highest standard, and it is where many members of the 1963 American Everest expedition, including Tom Hornbein, honed their skills.
Rather than hump camp gear to the boulder field we opted to go light and leave the trailhead at 1-2am. We met at the Millsite and made our way to the tail head leaving just like we wanted to a shade after 1:30.
The path climbed up through a quiet moonless forest, over water a few times for a few miles. We worked our way up toward Mt Lady Washington as we cleared tree line. At the fork in the trail where you can head to Chasm lake (and there is a vault toilet) we got our first awesome view of the Peak and the sheer Diamond. We didn’t pause long and made good time as we switch backed north up to the “boulder field”. Our plan to carry only a couple of liters of water each and a filter paid off just right. We took water high up the boulder field after passing those who camped the night and were working out their breakfasts. The trekking poles got put away as we then made out way for the distinctive Keyhole formation , a huge overhanging rock projection on the peak’s north ridge.
Scampering over the Keyhole to the stunning Glacier gorge view on the other side is one of the great moments on Longs standard route.
From there we scrambled from bulls-eye paint blaze to paint blaze traversing across a steep and rocky slope. The trough was clear of snow and we met a few folks already coming down before 7am! The top of the trough is another great moment where you get to see the other side of Longs with some good exposure past a couple airy corners before the steeply angled slabs named the “home stretch” that lead to the summit. It is a long and crowded 8 miles and 4850 vertical feet from the trailhead, but a popular and spectacular hike/climb nevertheless.
I took a side jaunt up the side of the trough which had long smooth steep slabs reaching to the summit. I followed a crack system up a bit til I needed to turn around. Our path up and back is in the GPS image in the photo gallery.