Trip Report:
It had been almost a year since my last trip to Colorado, and I was excited to return and do some more hiking. Last year I hiked up Mt. Zirkel, so this time I decided to try Big Agnes, the next highest peak in the area.
We began at the Slavonia trailhead (8,400’) and hiked about 4 miles to Mica Lake (10,400’). Interesting portions of this part of the hike included a waterfall, a section of forest partially burned in a fire 2 years ago, and a stream crossing where we elected to remove our boots and wade through the knee-deep water. There are great views of the surrounding mountains once you reach Mica Lake.
From Mica Lake, we decided to take a short detour up a jagged ridge to the south of Big Agnes. (The person I was hiking with, Nick, had been up this section before.) We hiked about 1 mile east to a point almost directly below the highest point of the jagged ridge. We then had to go around to the right (south) to avoid the cliffs that were in front of us. After climbing through some trees up a steep grassy section, we reached the ridge crest but were still about 500-600 vertical feet from our first goal, the highest point of the jagged ridge. The first time Nick hiked this route, he traversed around to the northeast and continued up an unpleasant, scree-filled gully. This time, however, we found a route that was much more fun. We went up through a large crack between two sections of solid rock. This was probably to most difficult stretch of the hike, requiring the use of foot and hand holds to get through some sections. From the top of the crack, it was a short hike to the high point of the ridge at 11,600’.
It was a great day, and the views were spectacular. We stopped for lunch here, and then continued our hike north along the ridge to the summit of Big Agnes (12,080’). We stayed just to the left of the ridge crest on our way up. This route included some scrambling and allowed us to enjoy the views of the steep drop offs on the right hand side of the ridge.
I’m not sure where the official summit of Big Agnes is located. We went up to some large white slabs of rock that jutted up into the air, but we also saw another point a short distance to the north that looked like it was about the same altitude. After taking a few pictures and enjoying the view, we headed straight down the southwest slope of Big Agnes. We crossed a large snowfield at the bottom and eventually rejoined the trail from Mica Lake. Another great day in Colorado!
To view the pictures
of my hike click on the link below:
