Hiking Colorado - Mt. Sniktau, Cupid Peak, Grizzly Peak

#hiking #colorado #rockymountains #coloradohiking
This hike takes place on Saturday July 1st, 2023 in the heart of beautiful Colorado.
I hiked Three Colorado 13ers (Peaks higher than 13,000 Feet)
Mt. Sniktau 13,234', Cupid Peak 13,117', and Grizzly Peak 13,427'.
My stats for the day were -
8 Miles with 3,284' ft of elevation gain. Moving time was roughly 4 Hours and 15 Minutes.
I started at the paved parking lot at the top of Loveland Pass at 5:15 AM on Saturday July 1st. There were already a handful or cars, yet I was able to snag a spot in the top lot. There are multiple overflow lots down the South side of the pass.
The hike starts heading Eastward up the ridge where you then can choose to head left to Sniktau, or right to Cupid and Grizzly. I headed left where I stayed on the ridge, up and over the false summit to my first goal of the day at Mt. Sniktau. The views were fantastic with the sun just rising for a chilly and windy morning.
From there I backtracked along the ridge to initial trail I ascended, then continued on heading South toward Cupid and Grizzly Peak. The trail stays on the ridge passing the true summit of Cupid on the West side. I stopped at the summit of Cupid to admire the views for a few minutes and the headed on to the final destination for the day.
The route from Cupid to Grizzly was pretty straight forward except one section where the snow was covering the trail. This forced me to climb over some decent size boulders an down to regain the trail. This wasn't difficult and you can see the trail below to make sure you don't get lost. This section could be rated Class 2 (Class 2+) yet exposure is minimal.
From there you continue South over another ridge bump to then descend a couple hundred feet before arriving at the base of Grizzly and the final route ahead. Heading up Grizzly was definitely the steepest section of the trail and was pretty tough. The dirt is pretty loose and the way down one must be careful.
Once at the summit of Grizzly Peak I cracked a Half Acre Daisy Cutter Pale Ale and enjoyed the views around me. Grays and Torreys (Popular 14ers) were off to the West and had many people on their summits. I was fortunate enough to have the summit to myself for nearly 20 minutes.
From there you head back down the steep, loose trail down Grizzly, back up the demoralizing bump on the ridge. Once past Cupid you can stay the ridge and descend back to Loveland Pass the way you came, or take a small bypass skipping all the unnecessary elevation.
I took the bypass and enjoyed a Colorful Lager (New to Colorado!!) Check out Colorfulbev on Instagram and Facebook! They are a 100% Women owned venture based in Denver Colorado cranking out some delicious light Lager!
From there I hiked back to car to finish the hike. I made it back to the trailhead just before Noon to find all three parking lots packed!
Overall it was a great hike, bagging Three 13ers over a reasonably short distance with not too much elevation gain. I recommend this hike to anyone wanting to gain some experience on the mountains with an easy accessible trailhead to get to.
Thanks for checking out the video, and safe trails!!
Gear List -
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[@danielmccue4292]

Really enjoy your videos....thanks for posting and I am looking forward to you continuing your Colorado Trail videos.

[@tangenttrails]

Excellent!🙌

[@TheWayOutdoors]

Thank you 🙌