DeCaLiBron

• Date of hike: August 1st, 2020

• Location: Kite Lake Trailhead – 11 miles northwest of Fairplay and about 2 hours 15 minutes from Denver

• Rough Mileage/Vert: 7.75 miles loop & ~3,700 ft gain 

• Our time: About 6 hours

“Decalibron” is the loop around the four 14ers Mounts Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross. We arrived at the trailhead around 7:00 am, a little late for us, and had to park a mile from the trailhead. Up until the last mile before the trailhead, the road is fairly easy (in our Subaru Impreza). After that, you’ll probably want a high clearance vehicle. Make sure you grab an envelope on the way up to pay the $5.00 parking fee. There’s also the option to camp at Kite Lake at the trailhead, although it seems to be very busy on weekends so don’t expect a blissful secluded camp experience. 

We hiked the loop counter clockwise (starting with Mt. Bross). This makes for a very steep ascent, but in our opinion, a steep ascent is a little better than a steep trip down gravel. Lincoln and Cameron are about as cake walk as 14’er hiking can be. When you look over to Mt. Democrat, it’s going to look like a beast, but it ends up not being as intimidating as it looks. Doing the loop counter clockwise will also help you avoid some traffic, as most people hike clockwise. 

There are a couple of disputes involving the Decalibron loop. The first is that Mt. Bross is privately owned, and it is technically considered trespassing to hike to the summit. Actually, all of the mountains have private owners, but those who own Democrat, Cameron, and Lincoln leased their land to the town of Alma in order to protect themselves from liability lawsuits. The peaks sit on old mining land so there was fear that someone hiking a little off-trail could harm themselves from remnants of the mines. For whatever reason, Mt. Bross is still not legally accessible, though many still summit it anyway.

The second dispute is over Mt. Cameron. To be considered a 14’er, the saddle between two peaks has to drop by at least 300 feet. The drop between Lincoln and Cameron is a little under 200 feet, so technical-minded people don’t count it. Still, the 14’er community largely does, probably because of its placement within the loop. We’ll leave it up to you to decide how many 14’ers are on your checklist. 

Once you’re finished with the loop, you’re in good position to stop by Breckenridge, Colorado. It’s much more touristy than a lot of the other towns that we shout out, but worth a quick visit nonetheless.