Laverne's Perspective!
My Thoughts...
For this adventure we went to the Chief Mountain Trail between Idaho Springs and Evergreen. You can access it from either town and the drive is lovely I might add. I found it on the Alltrails app (I frequently use it to find hikes, I highly recommend giving it a download).
Alltrails gave it an easy rating and the photos people posted on it had some uphill, classic hike lookin’ shots and some shots where it would flatten out a bit for a nice quick break from the incline. So my momma and I decided to hit the trail (literally) with Laverne and even Petie since Alltrails made it seem so easy.
Lies. I wouldn’t consider it hard by any means but it was not at all what we had mentally prepared for and a little too hard for Miss Pete. It was uphill on rocky terrain the whole time. None of these nice break things we saw on Alltrails.
Alltrails gave it an easy rating and the photos people posted on it had some uphill, classic hike lookin’ shots and some shots where it would flatten out a bit for a nice quick break from the incline. So my momma and I decided to hit the trail (literally) with Laverne and even Petie since Alltrails made it seem so easy.
Lies. I wouldn’t consider it hard by any means but it was not at all what we had mentally prepared for and a little too hard for Miss Pete. It was uphill on rocky terrain the whole time. None of these nice break things we saw on Alltrails.
We didn’t quite make it to the top that was only a mile and a half from the trailhead; we did the first mile and skipped the last half-mile. This was for several reasons. Both dogs (and us) no less Petie where tired, and we didn’t want her poor 8 year old self to keel over and die, the terrain of the hike was pretty tough and I was worried about their paws (if you have them booties it might be wise, if not they’ll probably survive, just a thought), the place we turned back at already had a spectacular view so we were more than content, and last if I went much longer with out lunch I was gonna get hangry. If you know hangry Katie, you would have turned back too.
So we may have bailed a tad early, but I still feel we experienced the hike. And may I say, it’s one of my new favorite hikes.
I would consider it more easy to moderate depending on your fitness level. It’s your classic uphill, rocky, rooty, mountainy hike with trees and naturey goodness all around you. Wow. I just made up a whole bunch of words and Word was not happy about it.
So we may have bailed a tad early, but I still feel we experienced the hike. And may I say, it’s one of my new favorite hikes.
I would consider it more easy to moderate depending on your fitness level. It’s your classic uphill, rocky, rooty, mountainy hike with trees and naturey goodness all around you. Wow. I just made up a whole bunch of words and Word was not happy about it.
Speaking of rocky terrain, that reminds me; if you have weak ankles you may want to wear hiking boots. You could easily roll an ankle on that type of terrain if you’re not used to it.
To top it off, the views were amazing. The views on a hike are always the most important aspect for me and Chief Mountain delivered.
Because it’s a tad more in the mountains, make sure you pregame the water and keep drinking during the hike as well. Some natives are stupid and think only tourists need to drink lots of water when they head west. False. Just drink the water, its not worth hiking with a headache.
The popularity wasn’t too bad either, we saw maybe 4-5 other hikers/small groups and everyone was particularly friendly. That was on a weekday so weekends may be a tad busier as you would imagine.
My only other note is you park right off the road on Squaw Pass, so make sure you leash your dog at the very least on the road, peeps drive fast on that road.
I really don’t have too much else to say as I feel the pictures and video speak for themselves other than, I love this hike!
To top it off, the views were amazing. The views on a hike are always the most important aspect for me and Chief Mountain delivered.
Because it’s a tad more in the mountains, make sure you pregame the water and keep drinking during the hike as well. Some natives are stupid and think only tourists need to drink lots of water when they head west. False. Just drink the water, its not worth hiking with a headache.
The popularity wasn’t too bad either, we saw maybe 4-5 other hikers/small groups and everyone was particularly friendly. That was on a weekday so weekends may be a tad busier as you would imagine.
My only other note is you park right off the road on Squaw Pass, so make sure you leash your dog at the very least on the road, peeps drive fast on that road.
I really don’t have too much else to say as I feel the pictures and video speak for themselves other than, I love this hike!
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