Indian Lookout Mountain (6,533), Eagle Cliff Mountain (8,906), & Emerald Mountain (9,234) by Brian Schultz Thursday July 20, 2023

Indian Lookout Mountain:
Roundtrip mileage: 2 miles roundtrip
Elevation gain: 1,100'
Start to finish: 2 hour 30 minutes

The stormy weather forecast wasn't looking very favorable for climbing higher elevation peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park so I mulled over Plan B while driving in from out of state. I decided to climb these three peaks and would just wait out any storms that popped up. Indian Lookout Mountain is west of Lyons and the approach begins from a parking lot off Highway 7. I began at 11:00 AM and bushwhacked up the south slopes, cautiously stepping around lots of cacti. The south side of the summit has cliffs but I found a weakness to gain the ridge, with some class 3 moves for about 50 feet, before stepping on the relatively flat top. Lots of fun for a low elevation peak! I got back to the truck just before it started raining.

Eagle Cliff Mountain:
Round trip mileage: 1.9 miles roundtrip from Moraine Park Museum
Elevation gain: 900'
Start to finish: 1 hour 40 minutes

It rained steadily as I drove US 36 to Estes Park and the Moraine Park Visitor Center. The rain quit as I started from the parking lot at 3:10 PM. There are lots of trails around the visitor center and I took a trail bearing east, hiking past the steep side of the peak until I was north of the summit. I left the trail and bushwhacked to the saddle between the west and east summits. A few class 2+ moves were needed to top out on the higher east summit (photo 1, photo 2) and after a few minutes on it, I made the quick jaunt to the west summit. Three people were on the east summit when I was on the west one but they never saw me and I didn't see them at all on the descent. This was another fun little peak.

Emerald Mountain:
Roundtrip mileage: 1.9 miles from Highway 66
Elevation gain: 1,000'
Start to finish: 2 hours 5 minutes

I drove southwest on Highway 66 in Estes Park to the camp entrance at the end of the road, and parked in a parking area marked no overnight parking (permit required). I began at 5:35 PM on the road leading into the camp area and shortly arrived at a gate. The road (photo 1, photo 2) continues straight ahead and then parallels the reservoir for a short distance before it continues around the other side of it. As the road turned left, I hiked straight ahead to a fence, and up to another old road just above the fence. I followed it to the left, continued past a signed junction to another trail junction (unmarked) and turned here onto an excellent trail. This led past a false summit and then to the true summit. I overtook a couple moving slowly and stayed only a few minutes on top. I was back to my truck at 7:10.