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Front Range (CO) > Cameron Cone > Climber's Log|
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| hiflier41 | A tough but rewarding summit  Date Climbed: Nov 4, 2008 | |
| My friend and I hiked Cameron via the Elgleman Canyon/Northeast Slope yesterday. It was tough, and we didn't see a soul after leaving the Barr trail. We stopped quite a bit and the round trip took us 8 hours. The views from the summit were spectacular. We had to do a little bushwacking on the way up, but were able to maintain the trail the whole way down. We were tripped up on the way up by taking the frist trail we came to after crossing the cog tracks. Be sure to cross the tracks in the right spot, climb the canyon slope, and turn right on the SECOND obvious trail you come to, about 100 vertical feet above the tracks. The GPS waypoints were very helpful. | ||
| Posted Nov 5, 2008 1:36 pm | ||
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| ksherwood | Re: Well, at least I made it: a cautionary tale. | |
| Note to anyone ending up in the same ravine between Gog and Eagle Mt.... it's famous in CP for Mountain Lions. My neighbor's dog won't even go into it. | ||
| Posted Aug 6, 2008 12:30 pm | ||
| ksherwood | Southeast Flank - Possible bypass of Crystal Park Date Climbed: Aug 5, 2008 | |
| We climbed this yesterday in some pretty strong wind and rain which obscured the views but made for a great challenge... the Cone is definately a well-fortified peak and I agree with everyone about being able to route-find, regardless of your approach. You could spend hours climbing up and down for vantage points if you don't have a topo map. I live in Crystal Park so I was able to climb from there, HOWEVER, I did not climb from the forest service roads on the north side as mentioned in previous posts. I approached from the gentle valley at about 9,800 on the southeast side and then up the southern face. This is slightly longer but very pretty and I believe it is accessible from Section 16 via the Jones Park route. It is all forest service unless you follow the north-flowing creek DOWN the steep drainage, then you are entering Crystal Park (and will end up on on my deck, so don't do it :). If you're willing to bushwhack and climb instead of following the canyons and valleys, you could probably cut several miles off your trip, but it is a workout and should not be attempted by anyone but experienced hikers/backpackers. Watch out for the angry yellowjackets that build their nests on the forest floor. There is also a black bear (family?) that lives in this valley so make sure you make plenty of noise to warn them of your approach. Great hike! Plan to hike from my house one day through the Lions Den to Cripple Creek. | ||
| Posted Aug 6, 2008 12:25 pm | ||
| BeginnerClimber | Found the trail the whole way Date Climbed: Jun 1, 2008 | |
| Alright, here's the rule of the land up on Cameron Cone: STAY ON THE TRAIL! Go about 50 feet, look for the trail. If you can't find it, go back to where you were, and look harder. Cameron Cone is steep, you're going to booger up your hands and legs scrambling through the brush on the very thin trail, and you'll slip and fall quite a bit. However, if you get off trail, your day will be miserable. Another point: take your GPS and enter the points posted here on this site. They're a HUGE help. Did it solo with my dog, and even though the mountain was VERY CHALLENGING, it was a great time. Much better than my 24 July 2005 hike where my friend and I were complete newbies. Also, I love hikes off the Barr Trail "superhighway" where you don't see anyone for hours. Great time. OK I CAN MAKE IT MUCH EASIER FOR YOU!!! IF YOU NEED MORE GPS COORDINATES, I HAVE ABOUT 80 WAYPOINTS. JUST PM ME! | |
| Posted Jul 1, 2008 10:50 am | ||
| ElliottDavis | Well, at least I made it: a cautionary tale. Date Climbed: Jan 27, 2008 | |
| Sigh. Some days you're a star and there are also other days. For all that it's close to town and not very high, this mountain has a few difficulties that can encourage the latter sort of day if you do what I did. Which you shouldn't. 12:40PM start; picked the wrong "trail" from the railroad tracks and scrambled along the side of Engelman Canyon; lost the trail to Gog & Magog and scrambled along the side of Engelman Canyon soem more; got tempted by what looked like mellow contours up towards Eagle Mtn and skipped the Gog & Magog route - footing wasn't great with no trail (duh); knee-deep windpacked snow on the ridge above Crystal Park; then a change of fortunes - found wind-scoured slopes above the ridge for easy walking, found the NE slopes trail; then the trail petered out; dogs got afraid occasionally scrambling up steep rocks and snow; left them for a few minutes to find the summit, and on reflection, I'll never leave them like that again because they were quite scared to be abandoned. Summited a bit before sunset and started zooming down; snow very handy for this. Losing the light, missed the Gog & Magog ridge (you might think it would be impossible to miss, but twilight changed things quite a bit) and went down about halfway between Gog and Eagle Mtn - into large rocks and dense brush that one typically finds in the bottom of a ravine. Pick any three lessons you like from this (mis)adventure. Oh, and I left my phone at home so I couldn't tell my wife that we'd be late getting back. On the plus side, went up and back in 6:40, so I felt studly, considering the conditions. So I'm a blundering stud - oh, brother. =P | |
| Posted Feb 1, 2008 3:40 pm | ||
| cftbq | via Jones Park Date Climbed: Jul 22, 2007 | |
| Did a bunch of bushwhacking and route finding to get to this summit from the south. A beautiful, sunny day! | |
| Posted Jul 22, 2007 6:06 pm | ||
| pittbrownie | Cameron Cone Date Climbed: Apr 8, 2006 | |
| My first peak! Much easier going up then down. | |
| Posted Apr 9, 2006 2:18 am | ||
| Mike Mc | Route Climbed: Englemann Canyon/Southeast Slope Date Climbed: November 26, 2005 | |
| This is really a fun hike. I had some trouble finding the trail on the way up, but I found it on the way down. There is a great trail going the whole way - if you can find it! The mountain is steeper and more eroded than it appears from a distance. | |
| Posted Nov 28, 2005 1:43 am | ||
| csmcgranahan | Route Climbed: Englemann Canyon / Southeast Slope Date Climbed: November 12, 2005 | |
| This was a tough one as advertised. Beautiful day other than the gusts on Magog Ridge that brought me to my knees a few times. I was definitely glad that I brought my GPS - made the descent much easier. Cameron Cone definitely has unique views. | |
| Posted Nov 12, 2005 6:46 pm | ||
| bullfrog77 | Route Climbed: Jones Park via Garfield and Arthur to Cameron. Date Climbed: September 15, 2005 | |
| Two of us chose this route because of 3 summit views in a day. Take Seven Bridges out to Jones Park, then North up the creek to the remnants of Louds Cabin. With the aid of a good topo you should notice that you have to hike North up the creek bed until you reach the saddle between Mt. Garfield and Arthur (about 10,572ft). climb to the top of Arthur where you'll be able to see Cameron to the North. Hike North along the ridge (stay as high as you can) then drop down to a small draw that is the SouthWest base of Cameron. From the top of Cam we bushwacked down into Dark Canyon, walked the Cog down into Manitou, had a beer and then took the city bus back into town. ($1.25 per person) Total length 11.2 miles. Total Elevation/Loss 7000+. Have fun!!! You'll be HUNGRY at the end. Leave No Trace. | ||
| Posted Sep 18, 2005 1:16 pm | ||
| davebobk47 | Route Climbed: Englemann Canyon/Southeast Slope Date Climbed: July 24, 2005 | |
| This was not an easy trip, be warned. The trail is somewhat difficult to follow and the last 2 miles is basically like the Incline without the railroad ties. Coming down my hiking partner and I lost the trail and ended up bushwacking most of the way down, a very unpleasant experience on such steep terrain. The nice part was that we did not see a single other hiker the entire time. | |
| Posted Jul 27, 2005 10:52 am | ||
| BeginnerClimber | Route Climbed: Englemann Canyon / Southeast Slope Date Climbed: 24 July 2005 | |
| A friend and I decided to "bag" Cameron Cone after a group of co-workers (including one of us) hiked up PIkes Peak the week prior. While the trail was small, we took printouts of the Englemann Canyon / Southeast Slope and pictures along with us, and they worked like a charm! We were the only ones on the mountain! I just didn't realize that the last 1000-1500 ft before the summit would be so steep! When we were at the crux of the summit, my friend climbed the Class 3 rockband on the north side while I took the easier South and East side. But then the trouble began. We lost the trail quickly coming down and ended up about a mile off target, almost running into houses on Eagle Mountain. After making our way to the Magog and Gog rocks, we lost the trail again. Being beginners, we decided to make our way down the mountain without a trail. Then we got split up. After a few close calls, such as sliding down the pea gravel only to come up quickly on a steep drop, only to have to climb back up. However, we both made it down, but SLOWER than the time up. I've got about a million scratches on me, and my clothes got ripped up. If you're a beginner like us, use EXTREME CAUTION in climbing this mountain, and by all means, find and stay on the trail. If you think Pikes Peak was hard, don't even think about this mountain. | |
| Posted Jul 24, 2005 11:45 pm | ||
| rek769 | Route Climbed: from Crystal Park subdivision Date Climbed: 25 JUN 2005 | |
| OK...I cheated...I had access to the Cone from the Crystal Park subdivision which lies on a shelf below the cone. A steep jaunt up an old forest service road tied into a well marked trail (ribbons and cairns) until I got within 300 yards of the summit. From there it was a pretty tough scramble up to the summit. Not a bluebird day...more like a grey warbler...but excellent views of the city to the east and Pikes Peak to the west. Signed the log, scurried down hoping to beat the afternoon rain...You can also do this hike from the Barr trailhead but it does add many miles to the trek. If you know someone who lives in Crystal Park it's worth a bribe to have them show you the route from there. | ||
| Posted Jun 25, 2005 3:15 pm | ||
| shanrickv | Route Climbed: Engleman Canyon/Southeast Ridge Date Climbed: June 15, 2005 | |
| Finally! On my third try. I was turned around by snow and ice last Novemeber on two occasions, so it was very satisfying to stand on top of this rock. This is one tough hill that was harder than most of the Colorado 14ers that I have done. I can see it from my back deck and on my daily drive to work, so now I can stop shaking a fist at her. Bring a topo, compass and preferably a GPS. Route finding is key for this peak, although the trail above Magog and Gog is well marked with colored ribbons and many cairns. | |
| Posted Jun 15, 2005 6:35 pm | ||
| skippermcgoo | Route Climbed: Engleman Canyon / Northeast Slope Date Climbed: September 11, 2004 | |
| Although not one of the more popular peaks in the front range, Cameron Cone had been calling my name for sometime. It was late Saturday morning when I reached the summit, and there wasn't a cloud for miles. Pikes Peak in all its glory was beginning to feel the breath of Fall, as many of the aspen leaves had changed to gold, and the only sound that could be heard were a few birds chirping here and there. Finally, for anyone looking for amazing views Cameron Cone is a great spot! | ||
| Posted Oct 16, 2004 11:15 pm | ||
| mmoerk | Route Climbed: Englemann Canyon / Southeast slope Date Climbed: October 10, 2004 | |
| As promised, I came back to climb Cameron's Cone again, this time on a gorgeous fall day. Beautiful views! Well worth the effort, and more than likely you'll be the only person climbing the mountain that day (or even that week). | |
| Posted Oct 12, 2004 1:48 am | ||
| mmoerk | Route Climbed: Engleman Canyon / Northeast Slope Date Climbed: July 24, 2004 | |
| I've been wanting to climb this mountain for some time now. Today was an overcast day with alternating fog and rain. I never even saw the mountain until I was basically on the summit. From the summit I had a great 360-degree view of... clouds. And nothing else. But it was great to make it up the mountain anyway, and I'll head back up on a nice sunny day. | |
| Posted Jul 25, 2004 12:28 am | ||
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