Estes Cone is an impressive hill next to Longs Peak whose very top reaches just above treeline, allowing for great views of Longs Peak across the way and and the Rocky Mountain National Park skyline. There are two ways to the top: 6.8 miles + 2100 ft gain from Lily Lake Trailhead or 6.6 miles + 1600 ft gain from the Longs Peak Trailhead. Either way, there is a rough scramble up the last 0.6 miles. Going via Lily Lake provides a slightly better workout, so that's the way I went on this day.

It was indeed a nice workout, since I had to cut steps through the windblown snow the entire way. I wore snowshoes until the rocky summit. The hike stays in the trees until the very top, so it was a good choice for a windy day—the sunny skies and gleaming mountains made me wish a few times that I had chosen a more mountainous objective, but when I got to the summit and experienced the "dog's head out the window of a car moving at 60mph" feeling I knew I had made a good choice for the day's hike. I did not see anyone else the entire hike.

Round trip time was 4 hours and 15 minutes, which is longer than I would have expected for a 6.8 mile hike. Wallowing up the final 0.6 mile (800 ft gain) took quite a bit of time. But I chocked it up to good exercise.

Below is a sampling of photos from my day out.