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Introduction
Trail Rating
What to Bring Everything! Wear good boots and layer your clothes. You will need a sweat-wicking layer underneath, a warmer layer over it, and a rain-proof jacket over it all. Put on a hat, wear your sunglasses and put on your sunscreen. You may need gloves if you start out early. In your pack, take as much water as you can comfortably carry - at the very least two 1-quart jugs. Carry high-energy food: I suggest nuts, raisins, granola bars, apple slices, and dried fruit. I carry a small lidded container of peanut butter to dip the fruit and apples in. Candy bars and cookies are good for the sugar content, but don't count on them for the entire calorie intake. You will definitely be hungry on this trip. What you should know about your dog doing a Fourteener - don't do this with a young dog, and don't do this with a dog that exercises infrequently. Don't do this with a small dog, either. Small dogs cannot handle the altitude or the distance and you will end up carrying them. Fourteeners are for healthy, strong, adult dogs. On a lighter note, to be in fashion this fourteener season, your dog must have a pack of their own. Typically, the pack is to carry their water and water bowl and snacks, but we pass very, very few dogs without a pack. See the picture of our dog at the top of Mt. Lincoln.
How to Get There From Colorado Springs, take Highway 24 west to Highway 9 and turn right on Highway 9. Travel to a small town called Alma. As you come into Alma, look for the Post Office in the center of town. Across the road from the Post Office, find a dirt road next to the Alma Fire House and Mining Museum. You may find a sign to Kite Lake and you may not. Take this dirt road past several houses and you will find a sign that identifies the road as Park County 8. Drive the almost 6 miles to the Kite Lake Campground. The last switchback on the dirt road is very rough, but passable with a high clearance vehicle.
The copyright of the article The Democrat, Lincoln, and Bross Series in Hiking in Colorado is owned by . Permission to republish The Democrat, Lincoln, and Bross Series in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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