La Plata Peak Hike, Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, Twin Lakes, Colorado
The hike went from where I’m standing to take this picture to the top of the mountain with the snow on it in the middle of the photo
This was one of my favorite 14ers that I’ve hiked to date simply because of how beautiful the views were. You were looking at Independence Pass in one direction, Twin Lakes in another, a majority of the Collegiate range in another, and over towards Crested Butte & Aspen in the final direction.
I started my day off pretty early since it was a 14er, and I wanted to make sure I was on my way back down by late morning to avoid any thunderstorms and lightning. The trailhead was also pretty small and so there isn’t a ton of parking for this hike.
I set out from the parking lot and the first mile didn’t have much vertical gain to it, which I knew meant the next 3+ to the top would be pretty darn steep since it’s just over 4.5 miles to the top. The second mile started gaining elevation, but it still wasn’t as steep as expected, so I knew the final 2.5 miles were going to feel like a stair master. I was right. As soon as I hit tree line and could see the ridge I was about to go up, I could tell it was going to be a steep few miles. That said, they were also a beautiful few miles. The wildflowers were in full bloom and there were 360 degree views from the ridge the whole time. At no point was the hike harder than a Class 2 hike.
I made it to the top in good time and found a quiet spot to eat my lunch. The wind speed at the top must have been over 60 mph that day so I didn’t linger for too long. (I had been expecting high winds - the forecast for even down in the valley was 40 mph wind gusts that day). Since this hike is an out and back, once I was done eating, I just headed back out the way I came. I had my trekking poles with me that day which I’d highly recommend for the way down…they certainly helped save my knees that day. I made it back to the car without incident and with a big smile on my face. Sometimes just what you need is a solo day in the mountains.
