Where we went: Chief Mountain
What went wrong: Unsure about the trail in a few spots
What we did right: Used the map and the GPS to get back on track
How you can avoid mistakes: The trail head is hard to find. Look for it just around the curve from the ski resort sign.
Chief Mountain has an elevation of 11,709', and is billed as a short, moderately difficult hike, but one which provides fantastic vistas. It's a bit farther drive from Denver, it took us about an hour to get there, plus there is construction now on Squaw Pass Road, which slowed things down a bit.
The lower part of the hike is through trees, on a trail that is wide, and a little rocky. The trail takes a right turn at the edge of the alpine meadow, which we somehow missed. Maybe we were looking at the scenery too hard, but before long it didn't feel like we were on a trail, so we had to backtrack and find the turn. The top portion of the hike is rocky, with a scramble to the top. It's windy up there, and a bit chilly, so you may want a jacket.
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| Parking strip along Squaw Pass Road. |
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| Trail head - not obvious, especially coming up from Evergreen. |
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| First climb from the road. |
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| Yes, this is it. |
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| Pass the 290 concrete marker. |
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| The lower part of the tail looks like this - shady and wide. |
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| Cross over Old Squaw Pass Road |
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| View along Old Squaw Pass Road |
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| A marker on the other side kept us on the right path. |
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| Chief mountain trail. |
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| Coming into the alpine meadow. This is a spot where we missed a turn. |
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| The trail takes a right at the edge of the meadow. |
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| Looks obvious now, but it wasn't at first glance. |
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| Beginning to see the view through the trees. |
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| Trail marker coming out of the trees. |
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| High alpine meadow |
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| The summit in sight. |
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| Following the wide rock path leads to the outcropping on the left. |
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| The trail switches back to the right and then forks. |
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| Take a left and climb through the notch at the top. |
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| Or continue to where the trail dies at the rocks, and climb here. |
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| Either way will get you to the top. |
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| Enjoy the 360 degree view. |
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| Retrace the trail to the parking strip. |
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| The trail on the other side of Old Squaw Pass Road on the descent. |
Would we hike this trail again? Yes.
