Berrian Mountain & Legault Mountain 02/27/2005

After scouting Doublehead and turning around from both high residential areas (no trespassing signs quite prevalent) I still had an early start to go after the two peaks in this report. Finding a good place to park for Berrian was tricky also, but I figured the best access was on the west side near the West Jeffco Middle School. Sure enough, there is a well-worn trail that a local resident built (I bumped into him later near the summit). Trying to stay inconspicuous and quiet, I slithered up the slope and made quick progress reaching the saddle .2 miles north of the summit. The trail was very efficient and pleasant. The last .2 miles were even maintained, so no postholing or gaiters were required. The summit was not readily apparent, so I visited several areas. Round trip was 1:30, and I was ready to take on Legault at 8:30 a.m.
	The Meyer Ranch Open Space area see a lot of activity on its lower reaches. I followed all trails east until I ran out of trail, and began the bushwhacking in about 8" of snow on average. The distance to the summit from where the trail ended was .6 miles. It was a little slow, but nothing like postholing in snowshoes at less than 1 mph like last weekend on Waugh Mountain. The trees gradually thinned in foliage, but thickened in abundance - but very manageable. At the top, I was pleased to see a benchmark, and vistied a lower area to the west to get clear views of the higher peaks of the Front Range as well as Berrian Mountain and the dubious Doublehead Mountain.