In chatting with various people throughout the week about must dos and must sees in the Winter Park area, Byers Peak came up repeatedly so we picked Monday to give it a go:
http://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/byers-p...
We got a bit of a late start which could have been problematic if the forecast had been different but it looked perfect and we checked with our friend the RD who said we should be fine. Set out just after lunch time and met up with a few people on their way down. Byers Peak is at 12,800 and starts just below 10,000 so it was pretty tough breathing for me from the get go. Staring up at the peak once we got out of the forest it was hard to believe we were going to be going all the way up there! With a lot of huffing and puffing, we eventually did, and our late start was rewarded by having the summit to ourselves. It was a beautifully sunny afternoon and there was next to no wind, so we were able to hang out there for awhile and take lots of pictures. What a view!
Parking lot beers were well-earned today!