Almagre Mountain (W0C/FR-023) SOTA Activation
One sleeping Coen, one perplexed Rex.
I have wanted to hike this summit since shortly after I moved to Colorado Springs in 2015. On this day I brought along my son, Coen, and our dog, Rex. We were on the road at 5:45 a.m. and made it to the trailhead (TH) by 7:30. I parked the car adjacent to a creek and across from the TH. On the other side of the creek were some campers and their horses who were in a makeshift pen along the creek. As the horses turned our way to see who was making noise in the early morning I could see the steam rising as they breathed. When I stepped out of the car I noticed frost on the grasses and some logs nearby. It was at that same moment I realized…I forgot to bring a jacket. There I stood, looking at the horses in flip flops and an athletic shirt feeling like a horse’s…something.
As I have mentioned before, on every hike I learn something. I had worked to go really lite with my pack this trip but it was not my intention to fail to bring at least one extra layer. Nevertheless, we donned our packs and headed uphill to get our blood flowing. The weather today was nearly perfect. There was a slight wind out of the north but by the time we summited the sun easily kept us warm as we found shelter behind some large boulders. It was cozy enough for Coen to fall asleep as I operated my radio for about an hour. Overall, this was another great hike with great views of Pikes Peak and surrounding mountains.
Getting There
From Colorado Springs there are two routes. Option 1) Take Old Stage Rd (which becomes Gold Camp Rd). This route is about 30 miles. Option 2) Take Hwy 24 through Woodland Park, turn south on Hwy 67, left to stay south on Hwy 81, then a left turn onto Gold Camp Rd. This route is about 60 miles. Although Option 1 is half the distance, depending on the condition of the gravel road it can be slow going. On this day, it took us 1.5 hours to get from our house to the TH taking Option 1. All the way I had to swerve and brake to avoid some cavernous holes in the road and dental work rattling washboard. On our way home we took the reverse way of option 2, stopped in Woodland Park for lunch, dealt with Sunday return traffic and still made it home in 2 hours. Gold Camp Rd is definitely a road any adventurous person should drive some day, but if you just want to get to this TH, go with option 2.
Once you reach service road 376, head north for about 3 miles and you will see the sign on the right for 379. If you run into the gate for the reservoir, you’ve gone too far. We parked at this junction and headed up (east) along the 4x4 trail. If you have a properly outfitted 4x4, go for it. I was not about to risk my wife’s Honda Pilot to get us a half mile uphill.
The Hike
From the car we hiked up service road 379 about half a mile until we reached the ridge and notice the road started going back downhill. That was our cue to turn north (NE) and go off-trail. After about a quarter mile we came to a clearing as we reached the top of a small hill. From here we could see the radio towers on top of Almagre. We then followed the spine down to the saddle and up, steeper and steeper along the west slope of the mountain. Above the treeline and towards the top the boulders get bigger but the going is pretty easy if you chose your route carefully. The return is the same but in reverse.
Webcam photo credits to W0RW, who talked us into the frame.
Coen, a boulder, and Pikes Peak in the background.
Coen showing Rex that a little Dab will do ya.
One tired SOTA dog, Rex, on summit.
CQ CQ CQ
The Ham Shack.
And as always, thank you chasers!
The day’s catch.
73 & Safe hiking.
de KH7AL