Cameron Peak 8/10
3300' EVG 12.4mi
Cameron Peak is a prominent mountain in the Medicine Bow Range, highly visible from Chambers Lake and CO 14. Along with David Johnson for the day, we started at the Blue Lake Trailhead at approximately 6am(39 degrees!) and made quick time out of the car, covering the first 3 miles of logging road and trail in an hour. The trail was a bit soggy from morning dew and the many small streams crossing the trail helped build up the underbrush in the otherwise uneventful stretch between crossings of Fall Creek. In the last mile to Blue Lake the forest thinned out into small wet meadows, and sooner than expected we reached the overlook down to Blue Lake. When I hiked this section last year en route to Clark Peak it took significantly longer to get to the lake; knowing the trail the second time around sure helps.
Contouring and dropping towards the lake's inlet, the trail then began to climb to the top of Blue Lake Pass which offers good views into the West Branch of the Laramie River drainage and the peaks above. From here we took a short break and surveyed the 1100' climb ahead. Following pretty obvious stretches of trail(whether once human or wildlife, I'm not sure which) through the krummholz and to the low treeline. From there, the trail became unnecessary as we climbed up to the saddle between the summit and PT 12054. The wind was strong above treeline and only got worse as we made the final jaunt to the summit.
The summit has a large cairn and great views in all directions, some of the best I've seen in the county(much of which you can see). Clark Peak dominates to the west along with the points south including UN 12386 and Montgomery Pass. Farther south the northern half of the Never Summer Range could be seen, most impressively Mount Richtofen and Lulu Mountain. Many of the peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park were laid out to see, from the Specimens to Mount Julian and down to the high 13ers near Longs Peak. The backside of the Mummies was also prominent, along with the Crowns. To the northeast were the Bald Mountains and Deadman Lookout and the Laramie River valley. Northwest were the many peaks of the Medicine Bow, which we both pulled the maps out to identify. Island Lake was quite visible at the head of the drainage.
On the way down we stopped at PT 12054 and got a look back to the summit of Cameron before heading down back to the pass. As we descended back towards the lake we saw the first pair of the 36 people we'd see of the busy Saturday. Halfway down the trail was a group of young blue grouse and their mother. We enjoyed perfect weather all day unlike many other parts of the state and returned to the trailhead at 12:20.
Cameron Peak is a prominent mountain in the Medicine Bow Range, highly visible from Chambers Lake and CO 14. Along with David Johnson for the day, we started at the Blue Lake Trailhead at approximately 6am(39 degrees!) and made quick time out of the car, covering the first 3 miles of logging road and trail in an hour. The trail was a bit soggy from morning dew and the many small streams crossing the trail helped build up the underbrush in the otherwise uneventful stretch between crossings of Fall Creek. In the last mile to Blue Lake the forest thinned out into small wet meadows, and sooner than expected we reached the overlook down to Blue Lake. When I hiked this section last year en route to Clark Peak it took significantly longer to get to the lake; knowing the trail the second time around sure helps.
Contouring and dropping towards the lake's inlet, the trail then began to climb to the top of Blue Lake Pass which offers good views into the West Branch of the Laramie River drainage and the peaks above. From here we took a short break and surveyed the 1100' climb ahead. Following pretty obvious stretches of trail(whether once human or wildlife, I'm not sure which) through the krummholz and to the low treeline. From there, the trail became unnecessary as we climbed up to the saddle between the summit and PT 12054. The wind was strong above treeline and only got worse as we made the final jaunt to the summit.
The summit has a large cairn and great views in all directions, some of the best I've seen in the county(much of which you can see). Clark Peak dominates to the west along with the points south including UN 12386 and Montgomery Pass. Farther south the northern half of the Never Summer Range could be seen, most impressively Mount Richtofen and Lulu Mountain. Many of the peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park were laid out to see, from the Specimens to Mount Julian and down to the high 13ers near Longs Peak. The backside of the Mummies was also prominent, along with the Crowns. To the northeast were the Bald Mountains and Deadman Lookout and the Laramie River valley. Northwest were the many peaks of the Medicine Bow, which we both pulled the maps out to identify. Island Lake was quite visible at the head of the drainage.
On the way down we stopped at PT 12054 and got a look back to the summit of Cameron before heading down back to the pass. As we descended back towards the lake we saw the first pair of the 36 people we'd see of the busy Saturday. Halfway down the trail was a group of young blue grouse and their mother. We enjoyed perfect weather all day unlike many other parts of the state and returned to the trailhead at 12:20.
