From Main Street (Highway 9) in the town of Alma, turn west onto Buckskin Street (County Road 8) and go straight through the intersection with Pine Street.  Drive about 9 kilometres to the end of the road at Kite Lake trailhead.  The last kilometre or so of road is quite rough and may require a vehicle with high clearance (or else park and walk the rest of the way).  Kite Lake trailhead has vault toilets and charges a day use parking fee ($3 USD).

	These curious domed buildings can be found along the road to Kite Lake trailhead. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Sonny parks his car below Mount Democrat at Kite Lake trailhead.  The standard ascent route goes up to the saddle at right and then follows the ridge up to the top. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

After spending the night at Kite Lake trailhead, Zosia and I got up well before dawn on the morning of 8 July 2019 to begin hiking up Mount Democrat.  Starting with headlamps, we had some route-finding difficulties near the start especially since snow still covered parts of the trail.  Fortunately, another party that started behind us soon forged ahead, and we were able to use the lights from their headlamps to help guide us in the dark.  We climbed at least one fairly steep snow slope on our way up, and while Zosia donned her cleats here, I managed fine just with my boots.

Lighting improved as we approached the crest of the saddle between Mount Democrat and Mount Cameron, and we could finally see our ascent route from a distance.  From the saddle, we essentially went straight up the east ridge of Mount Democrat, and although the trail braids quite a bit here and seemingly disappears once in awhile in the boulders, the route is generally obvious.  At the top of the east ridge, we crossed a brief flat section before finishing the ascent with a short easy climb up the summit block.

	Before dawn, Zosia crosses a snow patch near the saddle between Mount Democrat and Mount Cameron.
	An old mine site can be found at the saddle.  Behind Sonny is Mount Bross. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia heads up the east ridge of Mount Democrat.
	Occasional cairns mark the way up Mount Democrat. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

Morning sunlight sets the nearby ridge aglow.  Right of centre is Traver Peak.

 

	Zosia approaches the top of the east ridge.  Other hikers can be seen on the summit of Mount Democrat at far right.
	Zosia approaches the summit block of Mount Democrat.
	From Mount Democrat's summit, Mount Lincoln, Mount Cameron and Mount Bross are all visible to the east.
	The nearest mountain to the south is Mount Buckskin (centre).
	The view to the west includes Mount Arkansas (left) and Buckeye Peak (distant right).
	Zosia and Sonny rejoice on the summit of Mount Democrat (4301 metres).

After a short break on the summit of Mount Democrat, Zosia and I retraced our steps down the east ridge and back to the saddle.  From there, we continued up the west ridge of Mount Cameron on a good trail with no technical difficulties or route-finding problems.  However, the climb is much longer than expected, and we passed a couple of annoying false summits before finally reaching the top of Mount Cameron.

	The west ridge of Mount Cameron is deceptively long.
	Zosia passes a snow patch not far from the top of Mount Cameron.
	Zosia reaches the summit of Mount Cameron (4325 metres) with Mount Lincoln visible in the distance.

By the time Zosia and I reached the summit of Mount Cameron, the weather had taken a turn for the worse with low clouds moving in accompanied by a bone-chilling wind.  Fearing the possibility of incoming rain, we wasted little time in dropping down slightly to cross a large plateau separating Mount Cameron from Mount Lincoln.  The relatively short trail going up Mount Lincoln is well-defined and easy to follow, and once again, we had no issues whatsoever with the ascent.

Zosia drops down from Mount Cameron to cross a large plateau en route to Mount Lincoln.  Note the trail from Mount Bross coming in from the right.

 

	Mist begins to obscure the summit of Mount Lincoln.
	A pika pokes about in the rocks below the summit of Mount Lincoln.
	A marmot stands up to gauge the threat level of all the humans intruding on its home.
	Zosia and Sonny stand on the summit of Mount Lincoln (4356 metres). Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

Disappointingly, Zosia and I could see little from the top of Mount Lincoln because of low clouds, and we only stayed long enough to have a quick snack before descending the trail back to the plateau.  At an obvious junction there, we turned south and followed the trail leading to Mount Bross even though we could not see the mountain through the thick mist. Fortunately, rain had not yet fallen, and with the trail being on the lee side of the connecting ridge between Mount Cameron and Mount Bross, we were even sheltered somewhat from the cold wind.  Despite overall poor visibility and a few lingering snow patches, the trail to Mount Bross was easy to follow, and we enjoyed a very pleasant trouble-free hike to the summit.

	Despite the low visibility, Zosia faithfully stays on the trail leading to Mount Bross.
	There are a few of these private property signs scattered around Mount Bross, but none of them explicitly forbid the public from entering the area.
	The mist clears a bit as Zosia continues along the connecting ridge to Mount Bross.
	Why this pickup truck was abandoned at this broad saddle to the north of Mount Bross is a mystery.  Unfortunately, vandals have trashed the truck.
	Sonny and Zosia sit on a wind break at the summit of Mount Bross (~4320 metres).

On the summit of Mount Bross, Zosia and I met a trail runner from Illinois and chatted at length with him before he took off on the trail leading back to the trailhead.  We soon followed him down albeit at a much slower pace.  Many parties do the same circuit in reverse order by climbing up Mount Bross first, but both of us agreed that this would be a steeper and more sustained climb than going up Mount Democrat first.

About halfway down, we ran into a party of three that were just beginning their climb, but by now, rain had started to fall in the area.  They were a bit torn between continuing and pulling the plug, and I offered them my opinion that the summits were probably not worth the effort given the inclement weather.  I sincerely added that it was probably a good time to go for a beer which elicited a few agreeing nods.  Not wanting to linger in the rain, Zosia and I pushed on with our descent of the trail, and when we were near the bottom, I casually glanced back up the slope and noticed that the three hikers were retreating just as I had suggested.  Unfortunately, we never did hook up with them again to go for a beer somewhere.

	Zosia descends the very steep trail which leads back to Kite Lake trailhead (centre).
	The weather does not improve much back at Kite Lake trailhead.
	Total Distance:  ~10 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  7 hours 57 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain:  ~1000 metres Route and waypoints shown are approximate.