Quandary Peak, Fourteener #8 August 25, 2011

August 25, 2011

Thursday Andre and I decided to risk the weather and hike Quandary Peak (Elevation 14,265). Quandary is located in the town of Breckenridge and the forecast for today was thunderstorms before 11:00 am. We left around 4am took Highway 24 east to CO 9, entered the town of Breck and turned left on Country road 850 followed by your first right onto county road 851. This is by far the easiest and shortest dirt road for any hike I've done yet, no need for a 4X4 or anything with high clearance which is great.

We parked at the trailhead at about 6:30

The sign reminds us that even though this trail is only seven miles RT there are NO easy fourteeners.



The trail is clearly marked and starts in a forest, we made sure our pace was quick so that we didn't risk getting stuck in a storm.

The trail as we approached treeline


We passed a few people in the very beginning of the trail but did not see anyone after that for quite some time.

Blue lake from the trail


The trail quickly became loose sharp rock for a very long time...



The weather was great so far not a cloud in the sky and there were squeaking Pika everywhere!




Lots of sharp rocks still... You can see the summit of Quandary in the back


We were just trekking along when suddenly we saw Mountain Goats right in front of us!!! It was a baby and his mom and they were right on the trail, they were adorable and they let us get within a couple feet of them!









Being able to hang out with the goats for a few minutes provided us with a nice break but we we still had a ways to go so we continued on... there was a big false summit, but eventually we made it to the top!

Me on the Summit 14,265


Andre on the Summit




And we beat the storm! We took our time heading down because I've been having issues with my knees but still did the entire thing in around 4 1/2 hours. It was a nice hike, this wasn't to strenuous compared to some of the others and would highly recommend it.

Mount Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln and Bross: Fourteeners #4,5,6,7 August 8,2011

August 8, 2011

My brother JJ and I decided to try and knock out four fourteeners on one day. We took Highway 24 to Colorado 9 to the town of Alma, we turned left on county road 8 and followed the signs to the Kite Lake trailhead and campground. County Road 8 is over six miles of dirt road and towards the end of this road you need to have something with good clearance to make it to the official parking lot. We took my Nissan Rogue which did fine with careful driving. It's $3 to park here, so we paid it and started out.

The trail is supposed to be approximately 8 miles, it seemed much longer for several reasons. One is that we decided to leave our jackets in the car (even after talking about how important it is to always be prepared). The last three mountains I had done this week were hot the whole way even at the top, these were not. The wind was fast enough to blow your mouth open if you were facing it and it was cold enough to completely freeze your runny nose. So like idiots we did all four in a t-shirt and shorts.

If you are wondering how you do four fourteeners in a day this is the route we took. Start from Kite Lake, go up to Mt. Democrat first, make your way to Mt. Cameron, then Lincoln, then Bross, you come down the south side of Bross back to Kite lake.


We hiked past Kite Lake and made our ascent up Mt. Democrat. This Mountain had a convincing false summit which was very discouraging. The trail was mostly sharp rocks the entire way up.

Mt. Democrat


Looking back at Kite Lake


Sharp Rocky Trail


More Pika!


Finally made it to the summit of MT. Democrat! Elevation 14,148'


JJ on the summit of Democrat


So we had finished the first one and the trail wasn't too bad, we were just discouraged because of how cold we were. We decided to continue down Democrat and make our way to Cameron.

Mt. Cameron, almost there.


Summit of Mt. Cameron. Elevation 14,222'


JJ on the Summit of Cameron


Cameron was on the way to Lincoln, the top was flat and easy to summit. Cameron is not considered an official fourteener because of something to do with the distance between Lincoln and Cameron, or maybe it's the distance of the summit of Cameron from the saddle... I don't know. But it's still 14,222' high.

The Summit of Lincoln as seen from Cameron


Almost there!


Wheeler Lake from Lincoln


Summit of Mt. Lincoln 14, 286


JJ on the Summit of Lincoln


We were done with three of them and absolutely freezing, Bross looked further than we wanted it to but we continued anyways.

Bross from Lincoln


Eventually we made it to the Summit of Bross. Elevation 14,172'


Me on the Summit of Bross, you can see the first fourteener of the day Mt. Democrat directly behind me.

This is the view of Mt. Lincoln from Bross


At this point, we were done. Unable to feel our hands or faces, we started to head down the south side of Bross. This was by far the worst part of the trip. The trail was steep, rocky, dangerous, and hard on the knees. I would never go down this trail again, if I had to do this group again I would start by going UP this trail and down the way we had come from. This was extremely dangerous. It felt like it took longer to go down the south side of Mt. Bross than it did to summit all four mountains.

Eventually we made it down without dying.
Looking back up the south side of Bross


Almost done!


Flowers!


Looking back at Mt. Democrat


Overall this hike would have been great if we had gone up Bross first and brought coats. It wasn't too strenuous of a hike considering what you are accomplishing and its scenic and pretty. I would recommend this group of fourteeners just bring a jacket and start with Bross first.

Pikes Peak from the Crags Campground, Fourteener #1 August 4, 2011

August 4, 2011

It had been at least six years since I'd hiked Pikes Peak and I had never done it starting at the Crags Campground. Andre has never hiked Pikes Peak or any other 14,000' mountain in his life. So we started early took Highway 24 to the Crags Campground parking lot and began the ascent. The trail starting from the Crags is approximately 14 miles round trip, as opposed to 26 miles from Bar Trail.

We parked slightly too soon, if we had kept going it would have knocked half of a mile off our trip both ways. When you are on Highway 67 you turn left onto a dirt road that has a sign for the Crags. You take this road for over three miles, you pass a creepy Mennonite camp and then come to a parking lot, you want to pass this parking lot and go to the next one.

We started out in a wooded area and didn't see any signs of life except a woodpecker for at least an hour.


The trail was extremely steep, I kept telling myself it had to level out at some point but it never really did... eventually we blew past several groups of hikers and found ourselves above tree line. The trail was still steep, ridiculously steep, and now the sun was rising over the hill we were climbing and blinding us, then there were the bees... they seemed to be attacking from all directions. I started getting discouraged, but as soon as we made it over this hill, there was a road that leveled out!

The valley/forest we just hiked through


This road leads to the Devils Playground parking lot near the road that people take to the summit.

Finally level trail! Almost to the Devils Playground, Pikes Peak in the background directly behind us.

After reaching the Devils Playground parking lot you cross the road and continue on the left side of the road. Shortly after you pass what is called "the bottomless pit" which is basically a very steep cliff you walk by...
Standing at the bottomless pit

Andre at the bottomless pit


The trail starts to get steep again, we took a break, drank some water, had a granola bar and started off ... Shortly after our break Andre had a terrible, terrible Charlie Horse in his right calf. It was so bad he didn't think he could continue, but he persevered.

Eventually we came to a spot of large chopped up rocks that you have to scramble up in order to get to the top. This was actually a nice break from hiking straight up because you got to use both your hands and feet. And, of course there were Marmots, lots of awesome marmots.






Finally at the top of the pile or rocks we made it! There were hundreds of tourists who had either driven up, or taken the cog up the mountain. There is even a restaurant/gift shop at the top where we each got a doughnut and bought some gatorade for Andre.

Pikes Peak Summit! 14,110'


This hike was very difficult, the trail is clearly marked but it was just steep as heck the whole time. If I had to do this again I would just hike the extra miles and take Bar Trail. Pikes Peak is a must do, but it is an ugly mountain, it doesn't have even close to the views you get from hiking others, and it feels almost discouraging when you get to the top and see all the tourists who drove their vehicles up to the Summit...

Grays Peak and Torreys Peak June 31, 2011: Fourteeners #2 and #3

June 31, 2011

JJ, David, Dad and myself headed west to hike Gray's Peak (Elevation 14,270') and Torreys Peak (Elevation 14,267'). It had been years since I'd hiked a fourteener and the only other one I had ever done was Pikes Peak from Bar Trail. The round trip route length from the trail head for both peaks is approximately 8.5 miles. However because we took my dads car we were not able to make it up the Jeep road to the trail head which added another three miles each way :(

If you are ever going to do this I absolutely advise you bring a 4x4 vehicle or at least something with high clearance so that you aren't adding an extra six miles to your trip. Hitchhiking up this beast of a road is also a valid option.

The trail is clearly marked and well defined when you start out, it is pretty level and wide for about two miles.

A picture from early on in the trail. Grays peak is on the left and Torreys is barely on the right visible behind the hill.



The entire hike is absolutely beautiful, there are rolling meadows, streams, wildflowers, and Mountains everywhere.

Meadow


Flowers


There were also several adorable Pika who randomly chirped at us along the way.


Eventually the trail began to gain elevation and we got closer to both Peaks.

Panorama of Torreys, Dad and David on the right


Looking back on the valley we just hiked through



By this point my Dad and David had given up, I don't think he was hydrated enough and he was getting altitude sickness. JJ and I decided we would continue and try to finish both peaks quickly then meet them back at the car.

Shortly after they headed back the trail became chunks of rock and snow.


You eventually reach a spot where the trail splits, if you want to go to Torreys you want to go right, if you want to reach Gray's and then get to Torreys you go left. We went left and shortly reached the Summit of Grays Peak!

Me on the Summit


JJ on the Summit


Views




In the very back of this one you can see the brown ski slopes of Breckenridge


This is the view of Torrey's Peak from the Summit of Grays.



After a quick break, despite the clouds rolling in we decided to make a break for Torreys and headed down Grays to the saddle between the two. Surprisingly we got a second wind from the break we took and reached Torreys Summit in maybe 30 minutes or so.

Summit!


JJ on the Summit


We didn't have much time to get down, it was barely noon but clouds had been forming for nearly an hour and we could hear thunder in the distance. We scrambled down trying to be careful but I fell on my knee and bruised/ripped it up pretty badly. We still made good time getting back and by the time we reached the Jeep road we decided to try and hitch a ride down. Eventually we found someone with room and they were able to return us to where our dad was parked.

This was a very pretty hike and probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life, I would highly recommend it. You need to be in good physical condition in order to do this quickly enough to beat the afternoon thunderstorms. A good fourteener or two to start with, not too dangerous but not boring like Pikes Peak. :)