Monday morning didn’t start too promising, because we woke to rain and lightning. Consulting the weather, we saw that the area where we were going didn’t seem to forecast storms until later, and the radar looked okay, so we decided to try it. Thankfully, the storms moved away.

We took John’s truck to the trailhead (Kite Lake). When we got to the parking area, we could tell this was a popular hike by all the vehicles, tents, and people!

We hit the trail around 7:30 Central. It was a beautiful birthday morning, and we began our climb.

When we reached the ridge, there were two options: left was Democrat and right went to Cameron and Lincoln, so we went left since Mt. Democrat was our destination. We met a fair number of people and it’s fun to talk to them. Of course, you can tell the really fit ones, because when the path gets harder, some of us quit talking, while those who aren’t struggling can keep talking!

Even though the next area was a rock field, the path was generally easy to keep to, and if you strayed, you’d easily find the path again. We got to the false summit and could see the real summit–not far! 

We pressed forward and summited about 9:50 am. Hooray! It’s always a great feeling to reach the top.

Dad and Mom were a few minutes behind us so as they summited we sang Happy Birthday to Mom. The others already on top seemed to enjoy that, too, and some even joined us.

We took pictures, the younger 4 did 14 burpees, and then John, Anna, Jesse, Mary, and I decided to go for Cameron and Lincoln.

Dad and Mom would take their time on the summit and make a slower descent on Democrat. So, we “kids” rushed off.

When we reached the trail split off, we continued across the ridge toward Cameron. This was the hardest part of all, with steep, rocky sections.

As we continued toward Cameron, the wind became really strong, but the views were incredible! We reached Cameron about 11:22 am. It was the most unique 14er we’d seen yet with a very flat top. We grabbed more pictures, and layered up, as the wind whipped around us.

We started out for Lincoln, and it only took 15 minutes to summit! It was a pretty easy trek. 

There were many people up on the summit, which made getting our group picture super easy. In addition, since this was a loop, we consistently saw people we’d seen along the trek.

Lincoln’s summit was rocky, with jagged drop offs, but enough room for the group. The younger four did 14 burpees to celebrate, much to the cheering of the onlookers.

Then, we turned our focus to making the descent. We enjoyed chatting and making our way down to meet Dad and Mom.

“The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty;
the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith
he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished,
that it cannot be moved.”
Psalm 93:1