Estes Cone (WINTER)
1.
Date: February 13, 2022 (Sun)Trip Report #: 521Partner: solo2.
Date: January 20, 2024 (Sat)Trip Report #: 667Partner: soloRoute (2022): Snow-covered trail from Lily Lake Trailhead (~6.8 miles round trip, ~2100 ft gain/loss, snowy)
Route (2024): Snow-covered trail from Longs Peak Trailhead (~6.6 miles round trip, ~1600 ft gain/loss, snowy)
A good winter fitness windy day hike just outside of Estes Park.
Trip Report #1 (February 2022)
(wintertime snowy hike up to Estes Cone, from Lily Lake Trailhead)
Estes Cone is an impressive hill next to Longs Peak whose very top reaches just above treeline, allowing for great views of Longs Peak across the way and and the Rocky Mountain National Park skyline. There are two ways to the top: 6.8 miles + 2100 ft gain from Lily Lake Trailhead or 6.6 miles + 1600 ft gain from the Longs Peak Trailhead. Either way, there is a rough scramble up the last 0.6 miles. Going via Lily Lake provides a slightly better workout, so that's the way I went on this day.
It was indeed a nice workout, since I had to cut steps through the windblown snow the entire way. I wore snowshoes until the rocky summit. The hike stays in the trees until the very top, so it was a good choice for a windy day—the sunny skies and gleaming mountains made me wish a few times that I had chosen a more mountainous objective, but when I got to the summit and experienced the "dog's head out the window of a car moving at 60mph" feeling I knew I had made a good choice for the day's hike. I did not see anyone else the entire hike.
Round trip time was 4 hours and 15 minutes, which is longer than I would have expected for a 6.8 mile hike. Wallowing up the final 0.6 mile (800 ft gain) took quite a bit of time. But I chocked it up to good exercise.
Below is a sampling of photos from my day out.
Trip Report #2 (January 2024)
(wintertime snowy hike up to Estes Cone, from Longs Peak Trailhead)
It began as an overcast winter Saturday. Nate and I scrapped our climbing plans. But I wanted to get out and get some exercise. Estes Cone sounded like a good objective. This time, I decided to approach Estes Cone from Longs Peak Trailhead, since I had not used this route on my previous winter hike ot the top of Estes Cone.
Round trip time was 3 hours and 45 minutes, which included a relaxing stop on the summit (where conditions were unusually calm with temperatures above freezing) to enjoy some lunch with a view. A giant wave cloud hovered over me the entire time, but the gleaming white peaks to the west (like Hallett and Flattop) teased me and made we wish I had chosen a slightly different objective for what had turned out to be a rather calm and warmish winter day. But despite my slight annoyance of my choice of objective, I enjoyed my hike and the solitude this area provided.
Below is a sampling of photos from my hike.
