Mount Audubon above Brainard Lake
Mount Audubon This peak had little to offer in the way of scenery but we hoped the short hike up it wouldn't tax us in the thin air. Everything seemed fine until a few dozen metres before the summit where we both developed slight headaches, the onset of altitude sickness. There was no summit cairn, just a few windbreaks built of rocks. On other summits we would find the same thing: windbreaks and no cairn. And like other summits in Colorado, we would encounter other hikers. There was little solitude to be found in these mountains. |
Mount Audubon above Brainard Lake
A broad but stony trail heads up the mountain.
The summit comes into view.
Ptarmigans
The saddle below the summit
Arctic gentian
Yellow bellied marmot
Easy scramble to the summit
Vestiges of a recent snowfall
On the summit by a ubiquitous wind break
On our descent we made our own trail. There is lots of room to maneuver!
View from the summit
Ward