On Sunday, Dennis & I attempted to hike up Mt. Julian from Milner Pass. The hike starts out at the pass, and for the first 20-30 minutes follows a fairly steep incline until one passes above treeline. Once above the trees, one is on an exposed ridge.
It is a very nice & mild hike, with astounding views of the Never Summer Range. We probably hiked about 11 miles, but we’re not sure where we stopped. It’s very confusing when you are caught in the middle of a thunderstorm!
We only saw a handful of people all day long, and I think this is one of my favorite places to hike within RMNP. As we trekked along, we passed a few peaks (Mt. Ida after about 4 miles, and later Chief Cheley), but we decided to stay on the trail and Go For Julian!
Off in the distance, I could see a blanket of white approaching. But, it was slow-like molasses-and so not very threatening…
Boy was I wrong, because about 3 hours later we were in for quite a storm.
Our hike back was a mix of Gusts, Hail, Thunder, and Freezing Rain. We both got soaked, the water trickling down my pants into my boots! (I forgot my gators…oops!). My windbreaker held out, so at least my torso was ~dry.
We reached the Subi, drenched and freezing. I turned on the heat and just sat there for about 15 minutes chivering. As we slowly rid ourselves of our sopping layers, a group of tourists jumped out of their minivan and started hiking. In cutoff-jeans and wifebeaters…it only took them 15 minutes to come back. I’m surprised they lasted that long (in 42 degree rain!).
Tags: Hiking, RMNP, Thunderstorm