Chief Mountain Hike

Today we hiked the Chief Mountain Trail.  The drive up from Evergreen was gorgeous!

Hubble was loving the wind in his face!  We went from 70 degrees down to 47! 

  

To find the trail you take Evergreen Parkway/Hwy 74 to Colorado 103/Squaw Pass Road towards Mt. Evans/Echo Lake.  After turning onto Squaw Pass Road, drive 12(ish) miles til you reach Echo Mtn Ski Resort.  The trail head is about 0.6 miles past the ski resort entrance.  Parking on the right, trail head on the left side of the road.  When you park, you'll see a ski lift downhill from the pull-off.

  Here's Jason and Hubble at the trail head.

Distance: 3 miles roundtrip and add another 0.2 for climbing the rocks at the top
Elevation Gain: 900-1,100 feet 

Highest elevation: 11,710 feet.

 The views on the way up and at the summit were BEAUTIFUL!  We had a very clear day so you could see Pikes Peak (zoom couldn't quite get it on the camera) and Mt Evans to the South, and Longs Peak to the North.

Hubble was almost falling off the mountain at this point.  He kept sliding further down the rock! He's a little to curious for his own good.

 

You might be able to see Longs Peak behind us?  Not exactly sure which one that is.. but I know its in that direction :) 

 

Mt Evans behind us 

 

Squaw Pass Road & Mt Evans

 

Lounging at the Summit

 

Woohoo we made it! 11,710 feet!  Next stop... 14er!

Beautiful day for a hike!  I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone.  It's a little bit of a drive up, but then only about 3 miles hiking round trip!  We stopped at the top for awhile for some Backpacker Bars and to enjoy the view, so our trip took about 2 1/2 hrs for us. 

Yesterday I shared the recipe for the Backpacker Bars - we enjoyed these at the summit, hiding behind the rocks to block the wind.  They were a great snack for the trip!

Tonight we went over to some friends for dinner that also live in Highlands Ranch.  They treated us to yummy Chicken Enchiladas & Southwestern Salad and asked us only to bring dessert so I whipped up a nice fall treat.  It was a little sweet- so I would recommend cutting the sugars back a little bit on the apples.  Served with french vanilla ice cream- mmmmm.... I guess I am ready for fall!

Recipe: Fall in to Fall Apple Crisp

Filling 3 large apples, peeled, coarsely chopped (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine, cut into small pieces

Topping
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

• 1 Heat oven to 300°F. Spray bottom and sides of 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, toss filling ingredients. Spread mixture in baking dish.
• 2 In same large bowl, stir cookie mix and melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling.
• 3 Bake 40 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with pecans. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.