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On Monday, July 26th, 2021 I hiked Gothic Mountain. Gothic Mountain is a 12,625 foot mountain located near Crested Butte, Colorado in the Elk Mountains. I woke up to do the hike at Crested Butte Campground, a small free campsite open in late May to early September in the town. The Gothic Mountain Campground was inaccessible due to a road closure, so this was my best free option. It rained during the night but this was not that much of an issue for me.
I began the hike around sunrise. Getting to the trailhead required 4WD, I was the first there, by the time I got back, it was packed and there was no where to park. It took me 4 hours 40 minutes round trip to complete, spending about 20 minutes for breaks, including time at the top. From the trailhead and back it was about 7.9 miles.
The trail is both class 1 and class 2. Once ascending off the main trail, it begins to be class 2. For this reason, it was beneficial to have trekking poles to speed up the hike. They aren't required but it was definitely helpful for me. Having 3 liters of water was also helpful although I didn't drink all of it. Much of the hike is in the trees but there is also a lot of sun exposure once above the tree line. The trail is mostly clear to follow, there are a few different routes near the summit but they both are about the same distance.
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