Colorado 14ers: DeCaLiBron (Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross) Hike Trail Guide

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*Please note that as of July 2023 access to the summit via this route is now considered trespassing unless you sign an e-waiver located on QR codes near the TH.
I hiked the Decalibron (Mt Democrat, Mt Cameron, Mt Lincoln and Mt Bross - all 14ers) for the second time during early November 2019. Since the road was closed, the hike was about 9 miles RT. Typically, the Decalibron is 7.25 miles RT from Kite Lake.
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Опубликовано:

1 дек 2019

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Комментарии : 75

@TheVirtualSherpa Год назад

As of July 2023, the hike is ONCE again back open to the public so long as you scan the waiver and e-sign it at the TH. If you do not, you will be considered trespassing.

@Homefreeliving 11 месяцев назад

Thank you!!!

@TheVirtualSherpa 2 года назад

As of 8/19/21 hike is back open to the public. Please do not summit Mt Bross or know that you are trespassing. Please pick up after yourself and your dog and stay on the trail or this hike is likely to close again.

@richardtyrrell3314 2 года назад

Awesome videos!!! I recently moved to CO and have set a goal to do all the 14ers. Your videos have really help me decide which ones to start out with and to prepare for each one. I hiked Quandary on the 3rd January a week after I arrived in CO. Amazing experience! Decalibron this week. Thanks for the great advice!

@edsaid757 2 года назад

Thanks man. Using this today.

@deathbycolor 3 года назад

These videos have really helped me plan my hikes this year. 6 down, 52 left. Thanks for making them.

@surfcruzer 2 года назад

ur videos r gold

@LiboltAdventures 4 года назад

Man looked like a beautiful hike. Great video.

@TheVirtualSherpa 4 года назад

Thanks, appreciate it. Outside of the winds, it was a beautiful day.

@olabashanda 3 года назад

It’s really great you answer questions on here. loving your content. I wonder how many people do Lincoln alone like I did

@LifeAtHighAltitude 2 года назад

I will be watching for a weather window in August to fly out there and do these 4, longs and Evans and sawtooth ridge in a 7 or 8 day time frame. Thanks for all the insight

@deepas4749 3 года назад

Great views and info! Just did the 14ers for the first time yesterday. Flew in from Houston the day before and the elevation in the hike was quite challenging. Went up Bross, then headed to Lincoln, and came down Cameron. Didn't have the energy to pull through for democrat. Maybe next time in the actual order :) Wish to have seen this video before my hike- a little too late.

@beyondhorizons9758 4 года назад

Incredible and very informative video - live in Colorado for 15 years but only done one 14er, Pikes Peak on bike - always wanted to do more and I think I just found 4 I'll start with in spring/summer - thanks for great info, keep it up ! - subscribed

@TheVirtualSherpa 4 года назад

vn2000 awesome glad the vids are useful!

@TheVirtualSherpa 3 года назад

As of May 1, 2021 - these mountains are officially closed to the public. No estimated time of reopening but its going to be a temporary closure. This is private land and the owners are sick of trespassing and trash issues. Mt Bross, Mt Lincoln & Mt Democrat are partially privately owned mountains. Land owners have granted access to Lincoln & Democrat, but since multiple groups own the summit of Bross and do not agree on allowing to be open, the summit of Bross has not been open to the public for 20+ years: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BbGzOao367A.html&t

@paulb1140 Год назад

I'm super late to this video (which is great by the way), but I thought with Bross it wasn't that some of the partial owners *don't* allow summiting, I thought it was that some of the partial owners *hadn't responded* to whether they would allow it or not. In other words, some said yes, no one said no, and one (or more) just didn't say yes or no (or couldn't even be located).

@TheVirtualSherpa Год назад

@@paulb1140 it’s as clear as mud up there. Think you are right but the fact remains that it’s legally closed to the public.

@edwardlobb931 4 года назад

Colorado peaks can be really stark.

@jamesnasium4035 3 года назад

Thanks for the video. This summer my son named Lincoln and I will attempt Cameron and Lincoln, skipping Democrat, and then go back down the way we came, avoiding that sketchy stuff at the end of your video.

@MagicMatt 3 года назад

Thank you for video. Live in Arkansas (low elevation) and wanting to hike in may.

@tylerdavis7600 4 года назад

Great video, I hiked the loop back in the summer. The worst part was the descent from Bross, really loose stuff and steep for the route I took down, my knees were screaming!

@TheVirtualSherpa 4 года назад

Man, I hear ya - Bross is the one of the worst trails I have ever been on in Colorado. Hadn't been on the trail in about 4 years and it has improved 0% since my initial hike.

@JamieEnglish 2 года назад

I love this video! Me and some buddies are going to hike this in June this year. What do you recommend to wear in terms of layers?

@SEKing725 Год назад

As of yesterday, 8/9/22, I have completed each one of these! I had to split Democrat off and do that one last week, but I did the other 3!

@cobbler88 Год назад

I went up today. For as good as that trail is going up Democrat, you might as well just climb over rock straight up the side. I'm not sure whether there were more rocks on the trail or in the road leading up to the trailhead. 🤣

@kavinski762 3 года назад

im 11 and i climbed it yesterday and it was so fun (edit : i did cameron and lincoln)

@stzhou881001 4 года назад

Nice vid as always! Seems like class 2 at most the whole way? Pretty good bang for the buck to bag 4 14ers and not that long/strenuous it looks like.

@TheVirtualSherpa 4 года назад

For sure - def the best bang for your buck if you are into knocking out all the 14ers. The ridge on Lincoln is class 2, but its really just a couple of rock hops, nothing major at all.

@KB-cw5tt 11 месяцев назад

Got the hat and stickers! Awesome! Quick question, could a sport touring motorcycle make it to the trail head? I'll be in Colorado next week again but on motorcycle and would like to do this loop while I can

@TheVirtualSherpa 11 месяцев назад

Appreciate the order, thank you! I don't drive a motorcycle so not entirely sure, but I imagine you SHOULD be okay for 99% of the drive in. Worst case you have to park a little lower and walk up.

@Synathidy 3 года назад

LOL at the ticked off pike squeaking at you at 6:23.

@vincephelan8722 3 года назад

Appreciate your videos. You briefly mention dogs at the end of the video. During summer/fall conditions, what's your opinion on dog appropriateness? Looks like a lot of small sharp scree increasing risk of cutting the dogs pads. Thanks

@TheVirtualSherpa 3 года назад

Depends on your dog - personally would feel comfortable taking Juno on these but she’s very used to the mountains. Nothing technical about this, just a little rough trail but most dogs should be fine.

@itdidnotworkmichael 4 года назад

Great video! What’s that orange/yellow jacket you wear?

@TheVirtualSherpa 4 года назад

Thanks! - Its from a company called Cloud Veil that I got for like $20 bucks on Steep & Cheap a while back. Link in the video description, its a great site to find cheap outdoor goods.

@5555andymac 3 года назад

Hey man, any comment about the av danger on this route? Looking at a map with slope-angle shading it seems like if you stick to the ridge up bross, there's nothing that would cause much concern assuming the caic rating is ok

@TheVirtualSherpa 3 года назад

Yeah, for the most part this route is relatively lower risk if you are staying to the main trail. This area gets so windblown that those will be your biggest issues with avis, but in a lot of parts (at least right now) its so barren that its not even a factor. Bross is def the biggest risk factor as it does typically see more snow on that side and even if you stick to the ridge, its so connected to avi prone terrain above that is something to be careful of.

@deltauniformtangocharlieho2795 Год назад

I couldn't make the math work when you said Cameron lacked the 300 feet of prominence from the saddle between it and Democrat and at the same time the saddle was 13000 feet of elevation when both Cameron and Democrat exceed 14000 feet (wouldn't that make Cameron have at least 1000 feet of prominence?). Now I may be misunderstanding but from what I've read it is Lincoln that makes Cameron a "subpeak" as there is less than 300 feet of gain between the ridge joining Cameron to Lincoln. Yes, I am nerding out on these little technical details. Love this channel!

@TheVirtualSherpa Год назад

To be honest - I think it’s quite a silly rule but that’s how the mountains are surveyed here in Colorado. So not sure if it’s a sub of Democrat or Lincoln though - believe it’s Democrat.

@njosborne5540 3 года назад

Going to stay in town in Alma. Drive to trailhead about 20 min or less? Great video, as always.

@matthewvandergrift9403 3 года назад

Not sure if you already went, but I was there two days ago and it took me about 20 minutes to get from Alma to within 1.5 miles of the trailhead. The road has gotten a bit better over the last week, but I'd still recommend a 4wd with higher clearance or parking further down the road.

@njosborne5540 3 года назад

@@matthewvandergrift9403 Thank you.

@ericgilmore9734 4 года назад

So a question. Did you do this on Dec 1st? uplaod date. Just kinda looking at what exact time. Thank you

@TheVirtualSherpa 4 года назад

Sometime in early November, the date is in the full write up in the description. Conditions will vary from year to year but pretty similar to what you will see in December.

@russlanders6518 2 года назад

I watched your ranking video as well and I would like to do one this year . I’m not a fan of heights . Is there one that you aren’t on a steep ledge ? I don’t freak out I just don’t like it 😂

@TheVirtualSherpa 2 года назад

This one is pretty mellow in terms of exposure (steep edges). You should be good - or check out bierstadt - even less on that one.

@russlanders6518 2 года назад

Thanks so much !!

@scottysumner5946 4 года назад

Love your videos! Is Mt Cameron named after the same guy as Camerons cone?

@TheVirtualSherpa 4 года назад

There is a bit of mystery around the name, but based on its position next to Mt Lincoln, people think its named after Simon Cameron (same guy for Cameron Cone and Cameron Pass here).

@scottysumner5946 4 года назад

@@TheVirtualSherpaI'm new to the area and trying to learn the peaks and some history on them! Your videos are very helpful and entertaining! Keep up the good work!

@TheVirtualSherpa 4 года назад

@@scottysumner5946 awesome, glad you enjoy them. I can try to pepper in some historical facts about future hikes.

@scottysumner5946 4 года назад

@@TheVirtualSherpa that would be awesome! I'm new to the area but I'm trying to prepare for my first 14ers probably over the summer.

@TheVirtualSherpa 4 года назад

@@scottysumner5946 awesome, good luck - the channel and website should have plenty of resources to help with the hike!

@alenkag6129 3 года назад

Super video! I applauded for $5.00 👏👏

@TheVirtualSherpa 3 года назад

🙏🏽

@mileshenson4923 4 года назад

Are you planning to hike all of the Centennial Peaks?

@TheVirtualSherpa 4 года назад

Miles Henson not the highest priority right now but since I only have 40 or so left, I’m sure I will knock them out eventually.

@doyouevennaturebro4593 3 года назад

How do you think it’ll be going in the opposite direction? Seems like everyone hates coming down Bross.

@TheVirtualSherpa 3 года назад

I’d honestly recommend it - coming down Democrat would be much better 👍🏽

@doyouevennaturebro4593 3 года назад

The Virtual Sherpa Sweet, I think that’s what I’ll do.

@doyouevennaturebro4593 3 года назад

The Virtual Sherpa Did it today. Actually didn’t mind coming down Bross too much. It was kinda fun skiing the scree.

@Valaran1 Год назад

I just attempted Democrat yesterday, and near the top (roughly 13,900) there's a steep section that's nothing but very loose dirt. I actually ate shit twice within 10 feet and bailed on the entire attempt. I wonder if it's just years of erosion from thousands of hikers, or if I could've found a slightly off-trail route to get around it. But either way it was absolutely terrible.

@TheVirtualSherpa Год назад

Sorry to hear that - likely a good chance of both. I know they are slowly trying to do lots of trail work on Dem, but still a lot of room for improvement on that trail.

@lilyp.229 3 года назад

Would I be able to climb this in December?

@TheVirtualSherpa 3 года назад

Conditions should be fairly similar to what you see here, perhaps more snow depending on when in December you hike. The main difference would be the starting point. I show where I had to start (away from the normal TH) in this video and that will probably be the same or farther depending on snow level. This route is generally safe from avalanches, but I would still highly encourage you to check the forecast from CAIC and have basic Avi knowledge as well. Hope this helps!

@MarkMinistries 3 года назад

What time of year?

@cobbler88 Год назад

I'm kind of saddened and torn. I went up today (8/16/22). I get that it's more of a winter hike, but I'm afraid this was just a dog sh!t experience overall. The road in is now absolutely horrible. You CAN do the roughly 9 miles from Alma in a sedan. You'll just be praying to God the rocks and road don't destroy it. It's okay for a few miles (the usual ripples), but gets markedly worse the closer you get to the trailhead. Even in an SUV you're white-knuckling it and bouncing the last few miles. The trail up Democrat itself is basically a rock-filled ankle buster once you get past the initial stretch from the parking lot. You might as well just hike straight up the side, as much good as the trail now does. That's only a slight exaggeration. You are fighting rocks the entire way up the trail. I don't need perfectly curated trails, but they need to meet hikers half way on these things. We shouldn't have to spend the entire track staring down at our feet. It just had the feel that no one is really maintaining things out there anymore. There weren't any envelopes for fee collection. Just a note apologizing and asking for the fee, which I did pay. Don't be dicks, people. I'm going to assume the ongoing ownership/usage issues are impacting the grooming of the area. I've done a few others plus Mount Whitney. It shouldn't be a cake walk by any means. If you don't feel it, it's not worth doing. But Democrat and Cameron just seem to require a lot more work for hikers than should be necessary. Take care.

@TheVirtualSherpa Год назад

Objectively these are some of the worst 14ers in the state for all the reasons you mentioned + the mountains themselves just being boring. Check out some others, you will likely have a much better experience.

@cobbler88 Год назад

@@TheVirtualSherpa I think at this point - living at much lower elevations than even the roughly 3500 I grew up with in the Black Hills - I probably need to change the type of 14er I look for as well, and start accepting longer approaches through valleys and whatnot and not really hitting the rocky portion until much closer to the end, even if the end becomes slightly more technical. It's a little much to battle the trail AND acclimatization. I think it's easy to get caught up in a 5.5-to-7-mile loop being a quicker hit, when a 9-miler may end up taking the same time and be easier on the body. You're just not going to knock out multiple peaks as often that way. I was actually thinking Wetterhorn and Matterhorn next year, maybe parking in the 2WD area and walking the extra stretch. I don't hear good things about that road either, but those appear to be more like the type of 14ers I should shift toward. I'll still always have to battle the elevation though. Have you summited Mount Whitney? I did that few years back and it seems like almost the perfect combination of scenic and vertical. And I had to drive through Death Valley the night before I started, so the total elevation change may have approached 15000.

@TheVirtualSherpa Год назад

Think you nailed it with your thought process around the longer stuff. Tbh - really any 14er in the state will likely be better than those 4. The rocky trails part? Ehh pretty consistent across most - but trail quality on those 4 is absolutely awful due to the land owners refusing help from public / gov groups. Haven’t done Whitney but hopefully in the cards this year.

@cobbler88 Год назад

@@TheVirtualSherpa At this point you may have to show up at the Lone Pine station and hope for a cancellation. When I did it a few Septembers ago, it had a permit lottery that I believe ended mid-April. But I was doing multi-day. I believe there may have been drawings every day for one-day permits. And I believe those permit holders were not required to have bear canisters, although those were available to rent at the station pretty cheap. I did Pikes a few years ago, via Crags/Devil's Playground. Other than the construction blocking views from the summit, I think my main disappointment was the trail down in the grassy areas, thinking, "They couldn't route this thing BETWEEN these big-ass rocks?" 🤣 I think I'll hit a local granite climbing area in the Black Hills this weekend. I bought a Petzl for that Colorado trip and I'll be damned if I'm ending this month without scuffing it up.

@htownallday281 3 года назад

So theoretically, I can ascend towards Democrat, and at the saddle, instead of going left towards the Democrat summit -- I can go right and just skip Democrat and heads towards Cameron. That will make the hike a fair bit easier, correct? I figure that'll save me about 1000ft of elevation gain, and I can still bag 3 peaks. I've done 14ers, but I've never been above 13k for a prolonged period of time. With asthma, I'd rather be safe and just skip Democrat and come back and do it solo another time.

@TheVirtualSherpa 3 года назад

Yup, 100% can do that. The climb to Cameron is tough too but the other two are layups if you can get up to that point.

@htownallday281 3 года назад

@@TheVirtualSherpa Thanks. Would you recommend ascending via bross or the standard route if I'm skipping democrat?

@_nextadventure_ 3 года назад

I love your videos! When I go hike up a mountain I check your channel to see if you have a video before I even use google. I’m brand new to RU-vid as I’m posting videos and was wondering if you would like to collaborate and do a video together? I’m really big into mountaineering