Square Top Lakes Trail, Guanella Pass, Clear Creek County
Parking: Main parking at Guanella Pass Summit Area. Park in the upper lot for access to this trail. (Nasty bathrooms available.)
Distance: 3 miles? 4 miles? 4.2 miles? You decide. The elevation gain is up for grabs too. I read everything from 200 ft (HA!) to 1000 ft. gains.
Difficulty: This was moderate for us adults, but difficult for the kids, especially since it was their first high-altitude hike.
Wildlife: wildflowers are growing like crazy up here, but the only wild animal we saw was a lone pika.
Day hiked: June 26, 2012
We were camping at Guanella Pass, so I picked this hike since it was nearby, and ended at two lakes, which I knew would interest the boys. With a starting elevation of 11,669 feet, I knew it would be challenging, but figured we were up for it. WRONG! The boys had incredibly bad attitudes and were fighting about everything before we even got out of the car. Once we were on the trail, they fought over who would be leader and then one would scream if, GOD FORBID, the other brother stepped a foot in front of him. We were not off to a good start.
At this elevation, the trail is entirely above tree-line. The trail had beautiful views (the 14,000 foot Mount Bierstadt was looming over us the entire hike) and thousands of wildflowers. But the first part of this trail was almost entirely uphill. At this altitude, that was really tough on the kids. Chris and I could have done this without a problem, but we could see the boys were getting worn out and struggling to continue.
Chris had been mapping our hike on his iPhone and we decided to stop for lunch at around 1.7 miles. We figured we had to be close. We had just finished a particularly tough uphill climb, and other than a short ridge above us, it didn’t seem like there was much more uphill climbing.
WRONG AGAIN! Some hikers on their way down stopped to talk to us and let us know that they had decided not to push through to the lake because just over the ridge you dipped low into a valley and would have to continue back up that valley and then do it again in another valley. While the boys finished their lunch, I climbed up to the ridge to take a look myself. Sure enough, the trail dropped down into a valley and then rounded back up on the other side. No sign of the lakes at all and we knew the boys didn’t have two more uphill climbs in them.
Chris and I made the parental decision that it was time to turn around. The return trek to the parking lot was quick and easy. The boys were in better spirits on the way down, so at least the mood was lighter! It was also a good thing we left when we did, because as soon as we got to the trailhead, thunder boomed and it began raining on us.
So, even though we didn’t make it to the Square Top Lakes, the boys did manage to hike at 3.4 miles at high altitude, and half of that was at a steady incline! Not too bad for 7 and 5-year olds! We are certainly proud of them! And while I was a little disappointed with their attitudes (ahem…I’m talking to you in particular, Henry!), when we asked them what their favorite parts of our camping trip were, they both said hiking, so that’s something. (Hiking did not come in first place. “Marshmallows!” were the enthusiastic first choice of both boys.)
Kids Hike Colorado 