Mt. Lincoln

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 8/2/2020, By: MTBen
Info: The road is very rough for the last mile, if you aren't sure if your car can handle a rough road, park before this section, it could save you a lot of trouble. The trail is very nice and easy to follow. get started early to avoid crowds. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/1/2020, By: ZagThisZagThat
Info: Perfect conditions! I was the only one on the trail, not even a car in the "lot". Clear blue sky and light winds. Saw a few deer, one marmot and some wildflowers. Started just after 8 and was done by 10 30. Brought a jacket but didn't need it. Ran into the hoard of hikers once I got to the top of Lincoln. The trail is a mining access road and pretty easy to follow for the first half. There are multiple forks starting around 13,000. I think they all lead to the top, but I always picked the steeper, more straightforward routes. Trail gets tough to discern after the "chain", but I just picked a line towards the summit and followed it. Once you get close to the summit, there is a narrow but well-defined trail around the peak that connects to the Decalibron trail. First ever 14er trail run in HOKA Torrent 2 shoes. Hiked or power hiked 95 percent of the ascent with a few breaks to catch my breath. Summitted Lincoln in about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Took a 10 minute break to eat couple gels. Felt good so I decided to go to Cameron and back. Ran 95 percent of the descent. Brought 2L of water but only needed 1L. Also brought a 16 oz bottle of electrolyte mix and drank it all. 

Route: Lincoln Amphitheatre
Posted On: 7/28/2020, By: msloc_99
Info: Steep trees and cliffs, loose glacier rock, high alpine "mine fields"...if you find this complicated, dangerous, or unnecessary, you're right. "Tree section" from TH to glacier path: difficult to discern a precise route only about 0.2 miles from the parking. Some is just overgrown and some parts allow for multiple difficulties to ascend. Below and in the waterfall/ice-fall sections, it will require choosing between climbing up rocky/muddy cliff sections and/or choosing to crawl up through the creek. Slipping and falling in this section is dangerous considering the exposure and it is almost impossible to not slip due to the creek or during inclement weather. The glacier/glacier rock section: requires navigating a massive amount of loose scree, crevasses, the creek, and water falls. The best bet is to walk where you see grass so the ground doesn't crumble out from under you. Ridge Section (Above the last waterfall in the glacier, between 13k and summit cone - between photos 9 and 11): there is a lot more loose scree-like ground to cover than the route photos indicate. There is a lot of mining debris, roads, mine shafts, crevasses, and loose rock to navigate. Traveling off the old mining roads is more difficult because the roads criss-cross the slope creating steep inclines and declines to get on and off of the roads. There are also potential hazards on the slope such as holes, crevasses, and several mine shafts that a person could easily fall into if they were not aware of them. Besides them being dangerous, they at least make you change your route to navigate around them. Several of the lower roads switch-back up to the ridge and then others go to the north east side of the cone to the well established trail that merges with the ridge trail to Mt. Cameron. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 7/22/2020, By: jhaga
Info: The Bross bypass that enables hikers to make a loop of these mountains is in a shocking state. Maybe this is the way it's always been but I highly recommend retracing your steps and making this an out and back rather than taking this bypass. The trail is steep, basically straight down with loose scree. It's not fun to hike, has totally eroded the side of the mountain and is dangerous. This is a sad little valley that is over hiked. It's a good one to skip. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 6/28/2020, By: egmizzou
Info: I was worried about snow fields given the snow still on the mountains. I was pleasantly surprised that the snow was a non-issue. Minor snowfield on the traverse below Cameron towards Bross however it was easy to navigate. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 6/23/2020, By: wolfgangstiller
Info: No need to hike any snow until around 14,000 ft just before Mt. Cameron. The snow is no problem and microspikes are not needed nor is it deep enough for post holing. The road to Kite Lake is in the best shape I have ever seen. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 6/12/2020, By: madmattd
Info: Dry trail from Cameron over. Minor snowfield to negotiate on the traverse below Cameron towards Bross that won't be around much longer. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 3/16/2020, By: khavos
Info: Did the DeCaliBron loop counterclockwise on 3/15. Parked at Paris Mill, didn't see any cars beyond it. Thought going up Bross first was the right decision, based on the windblown snow on Dem. Used a mix of spikes and snowshoes (with some barebooting in parts). Shoes were most useful down low, and on parts of the descent off Dem. Took the ridge up Dem, rather than the standard trail, for snow and avy terrain reasons. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 3/1/2020, By: Eagle Eye
Info: I made it up two of the four yesterday: Mt Bross and Mt Lincoln. Starting from the lot below Paris Mill, I followed recent tracks initially and then a snowmobiles (lower than the road) track leading to Kite Lake, not needing snowshoes in the frozen early morning. (Mt Lincoln was my goal on this trip.) I then chose the bare-of-snow-looking Bross ramp from Kite Lake, because I'd been up from the Democrat-Cameron saddle in the direction of Mt Lincoln just a week ago on 2/23/2020, with much difficulty. Sure enough the ramp up was mostly wind-blown, containing only a little snow and ice. Chugged up to Mt Bross which is where the wind became wicked, and pretty much stayed that way until I reached Mt Lincoln. I was surprised to look down into the amphitheater from Mt L and see 4 skiers who were also just about to reach the summit! We could barely talk the wind was blasting so hard but I took their group photo on the summit. I told them I'd come up from Mt Bross but was going back via Mt Cameron to the Democrat-Cameron saddle. They started in that direction too, descending Mt Lincoln. but I'm not sure what ski descent they may have found that would lead back toward Montgomery Res. The wind didn't let up until I was back at the D-C saddle. Pretty much from Mt Cameron all the way back to Kite Lake there were quite a few tracks. I had come within a short distance of Mt Cameron (on the trail) but hadn't actually gone to the summit. I debated a summit of Mt Democrat from the D-C saddle too, but I'd had enough for one day. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 2/21/2020, By: Ptglhs
Info: Went up Bross 1st, over to Lincoln descended via Cameron. The route up Bross was in good shape, only a couple of sections of drifted snow. Cameron to Lincoln was the same. There's a lot of snow onnthe Democrat trail and the main one leading up from kite lake. It was too soft to glissade. I brought traction but didn't use them. Snowshoes for the approach but they were on my pack from 12.2 up Bross to 12.6 descending Cameron. Ice axe didn't add much either. Pic 1 is looking at Cameron from Lincoln. Pic 2 is looking down the mostly snow free chute up Bross, Bucksin is center. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 1/11/2020, By: Will_E
Info: Did the Decalibron group today, other than wind and cold there were pretty good conditions;) The road is in good shape, I was able to get to about 1.5 miles of Kite Lake, though it was snowing when I left so no guarantees on what it will look like tomorrow. On the ascent, I used micro spikes for a very short section at the base of Democrat, after that I used no traction until coming back down that same section, most of the route is very windblown. I didn't do the full circle route, I went up Democrat, then over to Lincoln, then Bross, but rather than drop straight back down after Bross, I went back up over Cameron and then down the saddle between Cameron and Democrat, then back to Kite Lake. I had snowshoes with, but never used them. A little postholing at start of trail, but not too bad. 

Route: West Ridge
Posted On: 12/23/2019, By: Chicago Transplant
Info: Late start, only did Lincoln and Cameron. dwoodward13 has a great description of conditions, I am just adding a couple of photos. First one is the lower route, go over the mellow knoll and then left to gain the rock rib. Avoid the basin to the left with the steeper loaded slopes coming off Democrat. The second photo is a closer look at the rock rib from top of the knoll. Third is the final bit of ridge on Lincoln 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 12/22/2019, By: dwoodward13
Info: Did the loop today starting with Bross. Bross is mostly windblown once gaining some elevation out of Kite Lake. There are 1 or 2 snow slopes, but you could bypass them on rock if you wanted. Route to the base of Cameron is dry. The trail bypassing Cameron is starting to load up a bit in spots. Might be better to go over Cameron both ways after the next storm. Trail to Lincoln is a mix of snow and dry rock; similar story for the trail from Cameron down to the Democrat Saddle. Snowfield on the upper reaches of Democrat can be avoided. Heading back down to Kite Lake, we followed the trail until it started down a headwall near 12,500 and stuck to a rock rib. The trail crossed a loaded slope and the party that put in a booter from Kite Lake up to there sidehilled some steep slopes, with steep slopes above it. We followed the old mining road back down to the lake thats just to the east of the summer trail on a rib. Brought spikes, crampons, and snowshoes and only used the snowshoes from 12,500 back to the car. Shockingly windless for most of the day today! 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 10/14/2019, By: JacerJack
Info: Most of the route is completely free of snow. Might be worth throwing the Microspikes/Yaktrax in your pack... had them in my pack but ended up not needing them. There are a couple short, slick spots on Democrat where some folks might prefer traction, but it's definitely doable without it. Flotation absolutely not needed at this point. North and northeast aspects are still holding some small drifts from the last dusting of snow; all other aspects were completely dry. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 9/2/2019, By: Jon1702
Info: Full summer conditions and all snow avoidable. Trailhead was easy to get to with 8" of clearance. A fun but long day summiting all four peaks. We went clockwise, which I would personally recommend-- it's almost as if each successive peak takes less effort that way. If we had gone counterclockwise, I'm pretty sure we would have depleted our energy after Cameron and chosen to skip Democrat (which, if you look at reviews on apps like AllTrails, you'll notice many counterclockwise hikers choose to do). What everyone says about scree descending Bross is absolutely accurate though-- and it goes on for longer than you think. That said, for my group, clockwise was still the right choice.