Janet Urquart of the Aspen Times recently wrote about the hike up Mount Garfield. Under the headline,"On the Trail: The Accessible Heights of Mount Garfield," Urquart described her experience:
"GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A 6,765-foot peak. Now that’s my idea of mountain climbing.
"Not only could I actually breathe as I took in the views from the summit, but the hike up didn’t require a pre-dawn start, a multitude of provisions or nerves of steel, the way some of Colorado’s fabled fourteeners do.
"That’s not to say Mount Garfield, that prominent butte to the west of Palisade in far western Colorado, is a walk in the park. The hike covers 2,000 feet spaced over 2 miles, so it’s pretty much a grunt all the way to the top, though an obnoxiously fit 25-year-old who passed a friend and me near the summit last weekend said he ran up in 30 minutes. It took us about an hour and 25 minutes, stopping to snap photos, admire the view, rest our legs, etc.
"The trail climbs steeply almost from the get-go, accessing the peak via one of those sloping fins at its base that look like hardened piles of oozing concrete. The trail follows the spine of one of these piles until it meets the rock and dirt that make up much of the mountain.
"Clearly visible from Interstate 70 as it skirts Grand Junction (the base of the mountain is right next to the freeway), Garfield looks like nothing but rock. The trail actually passes through some protected, grassy meadows farther up, though they’re invisible from below."
You can read the rest of the article here.
"GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A 6,765-foot peak. Now that’s my idea of mountain climbing.
"Not only could I actually breathe as I took in the views from the summit, but the hike up didn’t require a pre-dawn start, a multitude of provisions or nerves of steel, the way some of Colorado’s fabled fourteeners do.
"That’s not to say Mount Garfield, that prominent butte to the west of Palisade in far western Colorado, is a walk in the park. The hike covers 2,000 feet spaced over 2 miles, so it’s pretty much a grunt all the way to the top, though an obnoxiously fit 25-year-old who passed a friend and me near the summit last weekend said he ran up in 30 minutes. It took us about an hour and 25 minutes, stopping to snap photos, admire the view, rest our legs, etc.
"The trail climbs steeply almost from the get-go, accessing the peak via one of those sloping fins at its base that look like hardened piles of oozing concrete. The trail follows the spine of one of these piles until it meets the rock and dirt that make up much of the mountain.
"Clearly visible from Interstate 70 as it skirts Grand Junction (the base of the mountain is right next to the freeway), Garfield looks like nothing but rock. The trail actually passes through some protected, grassy meadows farther up, though they’re invisible from below."
You can read the rest of the article here.
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