Summiting Square Top Mountain

Summer temps in Littleton continued to be pretty high and summiting Square Top Mountain had been on my mind. Do there need to be any more reasons to get out of town and enjoy the mountains on a Friday? I’d meandered around this mountain last winter and had wanted to summit it for a while. No time like the present.

Getting there

Fridays can be a disaster traveling on I-70 anytime of year. Fridays are also popular hiking days for the “working crowd” which I try to avoid. Still, I figured it would be worth a try if I got an early start.

I left the house around 6:00AM and didn’t run into any traffic anywhere on the way out to Guanella Pass. That was a pleasant surprise! As I approached the top of the pass, I realized everyone in Denver must have decided to hike Bierstadt today. OK, maybe not everyone, but the parking lot and most of the road had cars parked on the shoulder for people hiking this VERY popular 14er. I was really glad I wasn’t hiking that mountain today.

Bierstadt seems to be one of the most popular 14ers. Personally, I never saw the appeal. It is basically an open hike without any forests following a trail up a big hill to the top. Maybe I’m missing something? Feel free to add your opinion in the comments below.

Luckily the parking lot for the Square Top Mountain trailhead was pretty empty. The temp was about 52, such a relief from town. I parked, put on my hiking boots, and headed out.

Initial hike is mostly down

From my previous experience with this area, I knew I’d be hiking down before heading up. This always makes for a fun ending to a hike since there’s nothing like hitting an incline just before you get to the car. Today, this area was a little muddy but nothing too bad. I’ve been told that it’s best to go through the mud rather than try to avoid it. Avoiding it only destroys more habitat and makes the trails confusing. I did my best to follow this rule and play in the mud without ruining the trail. It was actually fun.

There were several birds that I was unable to photograph, including what looked to be a Pine Siskin. I had several opportunities to get a good shot of the Pine Siskin but didn’t click the shutter fast enough. Maybe I didn’t get enough coffee, or maybe I wanted the “perfect” shot…which never happens. The result, no shot.

I did get a picture from the meadow and shots of flowers. There were lots of yellow, white and purple flowers in the lower meadows.

After about a mile, the trail starts a gentle upward slope as it heads to the Square Top Lakes. Both lakes were free from ice which made me wish I’d brought my fly rod. Definitely on my day trip list for the future.

At the Square Top Lakes sign, the trail for summiting Square Top Mountain veers to the left and, after about .25 miles, the incline starts. Just before the incline, there is a sign marking the intersection with South Park Trail #600. That’s the trail where I experienced my failed snowshoeing attempt to get to these lakes!

Onward and upward

Once I passed the South Park Trail #600 sign, everything went directly up. The trail doesn’t have any switchbacks so it’s a good workout. I to keep the negative voice in my head quieter than on the Decalibron and concentrated on enjoying the hike. There were some great views along the way and the vertical climb wasn’t too bad. Eventually I staggered over a ridge line and could see the flat path to the summit in the distance.

Summiting Square Top Mountain

The walk across the final ridge to the summit was a simple stroll. The views from the top are amazing as with most summits. To the northwest, you can see the Grays and Torreys 14ers along with Argentine Peak (13,743′) and Ruby Mountain (13,277′). Look east and you’ll see the 14ers Bierstadt and Mt. Evans next to Mt. Spaulding (13,842′) and Gray Wolf Mountain (13,602′). Views south and southwest show the many amazing peaks forming the Continental Divide.

There was a helicopter ferrying what appeared to be electrical tower parts to the ridge below Argentine Peak. It’d been crisscrossing the area all morning. I ended up seeing it on the way out as it was loading near the Lower Cabin Creek Hydroelectric Reservoir (that rolls so easily off the tongue). Seems like a big thing to be building on that ridge line.

Enjoying the flowers on the way down

The hike down wasn’t nearly as bad as Mt. Bross earlier in the week. I didn’t even break out my hiking poles. It was a fast, relatively easy hike to get back to the meadows. There were several flowers I hadn’t photographed yet so I made sure to get them. I also strolled around the lower lake a bit to see if I could spot any trout. The lake was really pretty but I didn’t see any fish.

During the drive back to Georgetown, I stopped and took some video of falls flowing into South Clear Creek.

Falls on the drive back

What a perfect day and a great hike. The Guanella Pass area is a nearby, beautiful area to explore if you can avoid the crowds. I barely squeezed this in before the crowds arrived. On the way back, I saw westbound traffic backed up from before Floyd Hill to Downieville and it wasn’t even noon.