July 28, 2023

By Tim Briese

4.1 miles, 1100’ elevation gain, 3:00 roundtrip time

Teresa and I went to Walden, Colorado for the weekend to support our son-in-law Rod who was running the Never Summer 100k ultra run. The Never Summer name for the run derives from the mountain range through which the race course goes. On our way there we stopped to hike to Montgomery Pass, a scenic hike I had read about some time back. The spacious trailhead parking area is right along CO 14 a couple of miles north of Cameron Pass. The elevation at the trailhead is about 10,000 feet. The well marked trail began on the other side of the highway and promptly began climbing up through a lush forest, at first along a pleasant little stream. The wide and smooth trail was in excellent condition and numerous wildflowers graced the hike.

on the trail

some flowers along the way

When we reached timberline Montgomery Pass was not far away and we strolled on up to the top.

the trail as we approached montgomery pass

There were abundant wildflowers bursting forth on the tundra meadows.

The 60k version of the Never Summer run was being conducted today and the 100k which Rod was running was tomorrow. The route for both races goes over Diamond Peak to the south of Montgomery Pass, down the ridge to the pass, and continues along the ridgeline to the north. We saw several runners pass by and there were supporters of some of them who had hiked up the Montgomery Pass Trail to cheer their runners on.

runners coming down from diamond peak and approaching montgomery pass

the runners continued on this trail along the ridge to the north

After watching the action for a little while and enjoying the beautiful scenery at the pass we retraced our steps back down to the trailhead. The next day we cheered Rod on from various aid stations along the race course.  He completed the 100k (62 mile) run, with 14,000’ of elevation gain, in about 20 hours.