Burroughs Mountain — Saturday, Sep. 27, 2025

Did “The Full Burroughs.” Didn’t plan this but happened to arrive at Sunrise parking lot at sunrise and holy smokes what a sight. This alone was worth the drive.

As for the hike itself: what strange terrain. Just miles of barren rocky fields. You can see where you’re hiking to an hour away from it, along with everyone else on the trail forwards and backwards. With zero tree cover this means you’re exposed to the sun, the wind, and countless eyeballs should you need a bathroom break. Seriously, there is nowhere along the trail to relieve yourself so plan accordingly.

Burroughs 1 was a little underwhelming as you’re taking in much of the same views you’ve already been enjoying. However, it’s not much more effort to push on to Burroughs 2 where you do in fact get some pretty majestic sights.

If you’re a completist and the idea of going all this way without bagging the trifecta will drive you mad, keep going but be warned the push from Burroughs 2 to Burroughs 3 is a solid workout: immediate descent followed by immediate ascent. This also means you’ll have a climb waiting for you on your return trip. But Burroughs 3 gets you right close to the mountain and has lots of nice flat rocks to rest your legs, enjoy a meal, and soak in the vistas.

On the return trip I took the southern trail at the intersection just before Burroughs 1 to make a counterclockwise lollipop. I’m glad I did; the endless rock fields were growing monotonous. On the way back I enjoyed a more “traditional” woods walk, which mixed things up a bit and was a nice pallet cleanser. Also got to see the striking blue glacial water of Emmons Moraine lake. I also took the brief detour to see Shadow Lake and found it a little boring after all the alpine lakes I visited this summer, but it only added a few minutes to my hike so I don’t regret that too much.

Weather was okish — a stubborn cloud cover that had been hanging around the day before was still there on my arrival so my views could have been better. But they could have been worse as well — almost as soon as I left Burroughs 3 the cloud cover intensified and you could hardly see anything at all. I even got a little spritz of rain. By the time I got back to the trailhead the sun was fully out though so hopefully things turned back around for later visitors.

Finally, was eager to use the rest room when I arrived back at the trailhead only to discover some 40 people waiting in line. Drove down the mountain and visited a different, less busy trailhead.