Alderfer/Three Sisters

Alderfer/Three Sisters park is about a 25 minute drive from Denver, located in Evergreen, CO. The drive to Evergreen is a breathtaking (and sometimes white-knuckle) ascent out of the Denver plains and into the mountains. The view at the first crest of I70 of the Continental Divide is awe inspiring.

The 4.5 mile trail begins in a large meadow and quickly enters the woods towards the park’s rock formations, The Three Sisters and The Brother. Wooded and covered in pine needles, the trail’s ascents have switchbacks, but aren’t quite as steep as some of the other trails we’ve run. The park also has numerous Abert’s squirrels with their black fur and distinctive tufted ears.

The reward for running all the park’s hills is the view from the top of The Brother. After a steep and somewhat rocky ascent, and bit of boulder scrambling, the top of The Brother offers an amazing 360 degree view of Evergreen and the snowcaps of the Rockies. From the top of The Brother we could see an elk resting in the woods…

Speaking of elk, as we were descending The Brother I was startled by a large brown figure crossing the path ahead of me. An elk! I called to Kevin, who had just seen the elk and we both slowed to a walk. The elk stopped and began munching on a nearby bush, no further than 15 feet away from us. He had a rack of about 4 points and must have been the size of a medium pony, maybe 600 pounds. He looked at us square in the eyes, with absolutely no fear, as if to say “what are you doing here”. He wasn’t aggressive, but he wasn’t intimidated either. We quickly moved on! Later of course, we find out that we are in the midst of the running season when bull elk are at their most aggressive.

The run ended back in the same meadow we started with a gradual but unexpectedly difficult ascent to the finish.