Mt Spaulding (13,842) & Mt Evans (14,264) by Brian Schultz Monday July 14, 1997
With the great weather I've had the past few days I considered going for Mt of the Holy Cross to finish up this trip, especially with my legs in terrific hiking condition. But I changed my mind and went for Mt Evans because last year in September the road was closed and I missed my chance then. I drove up early and parked at Summit Lake to take the Northwest Ridge route. A group had their skis with and hoped to ski down from the area beyond Mt Spaulding. I left at 8:25 on the right side of Summit Lake and followed the ridge up to Mt Spaulding, taking a short rest and signing the register. I stayed high on the ridge and followed it around, stopping at various points to look down at the lake and beyond. This route actually was a fun scramble although short in distance. I arrived on Mt Evans at 10:40 to a throng of people who drove the road and hiked up from the parking area. The weather was warm and sunny on the summit and I stayed for and hour talking with others and Pete the ranger. I descended the short northeast ridge and got back to the car at 12:25.
An easy way to get to the summit. This scenic circular route was loads of fun.
Total hike time- 4 hours (including 1 hour on the summit)
These past ten days were very rewarding with success every day, hiking over 86 miles and adding ten peaks to my list.