5/31/97 - Donner Pass via Miller Fork, near Glen Haven, Colorado

Class 1 Hiking, Elevation at Donner Pass, ~10,040ft (~2,540 foot gain); ~6.0 miles each way

Hikers:

• Ernie Petrocine, Estes Park, Colorado
• Mike Molloy, Estes Park, Colorado

We hit the trail at about 2pm. Temps were about 72F.

Outside the Park, this is a great hike to get away from the crowds (and as a bonus, you can bring your dog).

In the whole 12 mile hike we didn't see anyone at all.

Took a water filter with us and got a lot of our water from the streams along the way.

As is often the case, Mike brought too much and Ernie brought too little <G>.

We found that the combination of a handheld GPS and an altimeter helped us figure out where we were, as the quads in the area didn't seem to reflect all the trails/junctions we were on.

We both misjudged the distance and the elevation gain. Thought we'd never get there!

Got back to the car at about 8:45pm (almost dark).

Mike crossing Miller Fork. The first half of the hike was "wet" in that we hiked near this stream.

After we'd climbed awhile, we were rewarded with this great view of The Retreat near Glen Haven.

Ernie takes in the view south. We had wonderful views of Twin Sisters, Longs, and some of the other mountains in RMNP.

See all the people? Neither did we. In 6+ hours of hiking, we didn't see a single person (or a married one for that matter). We're also pretty sure that we were the first people up the pass, judging from trail signs.

Mike near the top of Donner Pass, undoubtedly thinking, "Aren't we there yet?!" There was very little snow left at 10,000 ft.

Ernie at the Pass. We're considering a hike starting from the Glen Haven area and heading all the way over into the Box Prairie area.