Tag: wildwanderer

Mt Pittsburg – 8197’ and PT 8220’

RT Length:  6.63 miles

Elevation Gain:  2214’

DISCLAIMER:  DON’T DO WHAT I DID!!!

I went back and forth on whether or not to post this, but I pride myself on posting honestly and openly, and I think this information can help others.  I believe in respecting private property, and am always on the lookout for signage.  I’ve turned back on several hikes when I’ve seen a sign indicating I shouldn’t be there.  Also know I took direction from others who’ve already done this route, albeit it quite a few years ago.  It is no longer a good idea to summit these peaks this way.  It seems a lot has changed in this area in the past few years:  I encountered roads not on topo maps, so there is most likely an easier way to summit.

I drove slowly the last 2 miles to where I parked, following a large, industrial truck.  The roads were icy from the overnight storm, so I didn’t mind going slow.  I kept looking for a good place to park, and maybe it was the recent snow, but there just wasn’t one along the entire drive in.  Finally, just before reaching the quarry, I saw a place I could park.  I pulled over, backing up a few times to make a nice parking space in the snow, and looked around.  I didn’t see any ‘no parking’ or ‘no trespassing’ signs, so I sat there for 15 minutes, putting on my gear.  Here’s where I parked, just in front of an open gate, near a mailbox

As I did so, several large trucks passed me.  I assumed they were workers going to work for the day.  I waved.  I got out of my truck and proceeded up the road a few yards, then turned right and headed east up the ridge.  The entire time I was in sight of the quarry office.  I never crossed a fence or a ‘no trespassing’ or a ‘private property’ sign. 

This hike was full of bushwhacking.  There were no established trails, so I took game trails where available.  The game here didn’t seem to get taller than my waist.

From the ridge, here’s looking at the quarry office.  I would like to note I had a red bandana and was quite visible due to the fresh snow.  No one tried to tell me I wasn’t supposed to be there or follow my obvious tracks in the snow to talk with me about my intentions.  I’m sure they have bullhorns at facilities like this, right?  Surely I was within range of bullhorn communication if I was doing something wrong.  But no,  I was simply enjoying my hike, and at this time thought nothing amiss.  

Once on the ridge I followed it north, until I came to a…. road?!?!?!?

I followed this road, which I eventually found was called Henry Ride Heights.  When it crossed with Phantom Canyon View I turned left and continued following the road to the towers.  There were loud, barking dogs here.

Once at the towers the road ended, so I followed the ridge as it wound north

This ridge goes up and down and up and down.  The scrub oak is particularly unsettling, but on a positive note it was mostly dead and broke away when I hiked past. Here’s the summit of Mt Pittsburg

Here’s looking back at the route in

It doesn’t look like this summit gets a lot of hikers.  I placed a summit register and was on my way

My next goal was PT 8220.  I wasn’t sure where it was exactly from Mt Pittsburg, as the weather wasn’t cooperating.  For reference, this is the peak and my overall route

I started out by heading northeast down to the saddle. 

It should be noted the bushwhacking never got better for this entire hike.  In fact, it kept getting worse, so I’ll stop mentioning it.  I’d just like to point out if I were doing this any other time of the year I most likely would have come out with dozens of ticks.  Once at the saddle I then climbed the rib/ridge to PT 8220, making several ups and downs along the way

Here’s looking back on Mt Pittsburg

And some more pictures of the ridge hike to PT 8220

Here’s a look at the summit of PT 8220

I wasn’t sure where the exact summit was, so I walked all over, and yes, even sat on that ‘point’

I left a summit register, and turned to head west down the mountainside

I headed down, following a sort of steep gully, until it hit a ravine, and then I followed the ravine down to a road.  It took me 2.75 miles of hiking down this ravine from the summit of 8220 to make it to the road.  Here are some highlights:

I found an old structure along the way.  This truly was in the middle of nowhere:  very overgrown and not even game trails here.

I was so excited when I finally made it to the road!  I followed it south

I passed a generator and a fire extinguisherand thought that was odd?

Then I came upon tire tracks.  I was now elated, because I knew I’d soon be back to my truck

Well, elated, until I saw this:

Ugh!!!  My map told me I was to walk a road next to the Quarry, not THROUGH it!  I was probably 200 yards from my truck at this point, and by looking at my map I knew the only option I had was to continue walking along the road.  I briskly followed the side of the road, keeping my head pointed straight ahead. There weren’t any ‘no trespassing’ signs, but I did not feel comfortable. I wanted out of here right away, but I also knew my only option was to continue forward.   I felt a sigh of relief when I passed workers and they didn’t seem to care I was there.  Here’s a picture of the office (after I’d passed it).

My relief was short lived though:  About 20 yards away from my truck a man drove up from behind me and rolled down his window:

“We were looking for you earlier.  You’re not supposed to be out here without a hard hat”.

I thought that was a curious thing to say, but apologized just the same and he drove away.  Immediately afterwards another man pulled up behind me.  He was a little more upset, and told me he’d called the cops on my vehicle because he hadn’t known who it belonged to.  I was nice to him, and let him know I hadn’t intended on ending up in the middle of their operations and I just wanted out of there as fast as possible:  I’d looked for ‘private property’ and ‘no trespassing’ signs and hadn’t seen any this entire hike, including where I parked (OUTSIDE of the open gate, I might add).  It wasn’t until I made it back to the road near the quarry I began to think anything was amiss.  He said there was a sign located somewhere behind a sign (I never saw it). 

I apologized, and got a lecture on hiking alone and mountain lions (“You shouldn’t be out here alone, little lady”).  I refrained from saying anything, but I did grit my teeth on how he was lecturing me.  I got the feeling he was only doing it because I’m a woman. After all, I know of two other men who’ve taken this route, and when they passed the Quarry (described to me differently before this attempt:  I’d been under the impression the public road went NEXT to the Quarry, not through it) the men said the workers just waved them on as they hiked by.  I wanted to give him a lecture on proper signage and procedures that should have been taken BEFORE calling police, but I held my tongue.  Once again, I apologized and he let me be on my way.   

So, now I’m expecting the cops to show up at my house at any moment to talk to me about trespassing charges. 

Oh, and here’s a topo map of my route.  Also, I don’t’ recommend taking it.

Culebra Peak in Winter – 14,047

RT Length: 14.87 miles

Elevation Gain: 5337’

When someone asks you to climb Culebra Peak with them in winter, you say yes!  I really needed to get out hiking with friends, and when Bill asked me to hike Mt Princeton with him, of course I said yes!  But then, plans changed and he decided to hike Culebra instead.  The weather didn’t look too bad (only 20% chance of snow), so when he asked if I wanted to go along I said yes:  I mean, securing reservations is difficult in winter as you need a group, and he was putting together a group.

In any event, I made it to the trailhead an hour early.  They open the gates at 6, and close them at 6:15am, and I didn’t want to miss that window.  Everyone else got there early as well.  There were 5 of us hiking today (3 girls, 2 guys), and 4 vehicles:  3 4Runners, and my Tundra.  Toyotas seem to be popular among self-professed mountaineers. 

Here’s a picture of the gate:

Promptly at 6am the gates opened, we were checked in, and we drove to the Ranch office.  There was space for about 5 vehicles to park.  We all got out of our vehicles, were given instructions on how to let ourselves out of the gate, and shown where the trail started.  I was glad we all had 4WD vehicles, because while the dirt road in was clear of ice, the parking area wasn’t plowed. 

We gathered our gear and were off around 6:15am. The trail starts to the east of the parking area.  In fact, most of this hike heads east.

Here’s an overview of the entire hike, from the road in

We followed the 4WD jeep road for 5 miles, gaining 2600’ of elevation.  What was nice was they’d groomed the road until 4 way with snowmobiles, and after that there was a solid trench to treeline.

This part of the hike was very pleasant, as I talked with the guys (the girls weren’t as fast as we were at this point).  We had a great pace, and I learned about other hikes they’d done and some of their goals.  At one point I gave everyone a sticker, which got rave reviews.  They understood the color schemes and even gave me ideas for other stickers in the future.  I asked them to let me know how they hold up. 

Once at treeline we were a group again.  We donned our snowshoes and headed southeast up the side of the mountain.  We had to trench here, but a lot of the area had solid snow.  Here’s the path we took to the ridge

Once on the ridge everyone else took off their snowshoes, but I decided to keep mine on (mainly because I knew I wouldn’t be able to get them on again once I took them off).  The weather started coming in, and it looked like that 20% chance of snow was going to materialize.

I was on my own from this point on, or, at least I thought I was, as I could no longer see anyone else and I was now in the lead.  I made it to the ridge, as evidenced by this large cairn.

At the cairn I turned right and followed the ridge until it ended, which felt like forever!  It’s a totally different hike when you have no visibility.  But there was a bonus to the lack of visibility:  it took a while for the bighorn sheep to notice me.  When they did, they were off, running down the mountainside

I continued to follow the ridge as it lost some elevation (a hundred feet or so) and then started climbing again.

There were several small ‘false summits’ on this hike, but they were probably mostly due to the lack of visibility.

As I neared the summit I looked back and noticed three of the other hikers closely behind me.  They’d taken off their snowshoes back on the ridge, and my snowshoes were slowing me down.  Let me tell you, snowshoes on rock is not a good combination.  We all ended up summiting around the same time, and took a group selfie.  I couldn’t help but be jealous of everyone else:  They didn’t need balaclavas and they were all taking off their gloves.  I on the other hand, was trying to keep from crying because my fingers were hurting so bad.  Also:  we were all wearing the same gear/gloves so I blame my Raynaud’s (funny how mountaineers tend to find out what works and everyone uses the same stuff). 

It was here I learned we’d lost one of our members on the ridge (he turned back early), and that everyone else was heading towards Red Mountain.  I wished them good luck, as I’ve already summited Red Mountain and wanted to get down to where the sun was shining.  We all had a group hug/high-five session, I turned and headed back the way I’d come, with little bits of sunlight peeking through the clouds when the wind made an opening.

Here’s that dip I was talking about earlier.  The cairn is circled in red

Once at the cairn I turned left and headed back down the ridge, which was tons of fun with little visibility!

I was glad when I made it down to around 12K and was now below the clouds.  Here’s a view of the hike out

This was great because I could just follow our tracks back.  Once below the clouds the weather was actually quite nice. I could see Little Bear, Blanca, and Lindsey on the hike out.   Also, the hike out seemed to take forever!  It was only 5 miles, but it kept going, and going, and going.  Wow!  Had I really hiked in all this way this morning?

I made it back to the Ranch Office, signed out, and drove to the gate. It was super muddy at the gate, and since I now have a topper on my truck, I couldn’t just toss my gear in the back.  Oh well!  I put my boots on top of my snowshoes and was on my way.

I made it back to my truck at 2pm, making this a 14.87 mile hike with 5337’ of elevation gain in under 8 hours.

The Culebra Peak summit sticker can be bought here

Marys Mountain – 9860’ and Sheep Mountain – 9820’

RT Length: 12.77 miles

Elevation Gain: 4823’

These peaks have been on my short list since last year, when I attempted to hike them in winter by following the cog railway (which was under construction and not running).  I learned two things:  There was too much snow to summit this time of year from the cog, and the route is seriously steep!  My legs were burning after just 2 miles. 

I’ve been hiking in this area the past few weeks and was surprised at how little snow there was, so I figured now was a great time to attempt this hike. I parked at the Barr Trail lot, paid the $10 fee at the machine, and was on my way at 6am.

This time, instead of following the cog railway, I followed Barr Trail for just over 3 miles.  This is a class 1 trail that is well maintained.  Spikes are recommended in winter.

After hiking for 3 miles I came to a junction for the experimental forest and Barr Camp. Here I stayed on Barr trail, turning left.  The trail became an ice skating rink here, but not for long.

I only stayed on this trail for a few yards, turning left onto unmarked trail 706.  This trail can be difficult to notice if you aren’t looking for it, and this is the first time I’ve seen tire tracks on this road.  It looks to be an old 4WD road that leads to a functional pipeline, and these tracks looked to be the first made here in quite a while. 

I followed Trail 706 for about a mile and a half as it wound around the south side of the mountain.

The road ended and I crossed this pipeline bridge.  Gingerly.  I don’t think this bridge has many seasons left.

After crossing the bridge I picked up the trail again and followed it a short distance to the cog railway.

Once making it to the Cog Railway there’s a sign saying from here on out it’s private property

No matter though, because I wasn’t heading up the Cog.  Instead, I crossed the tracks, passing this sign

I then headed south, aiming for the ridge and continuing south until I reached Marys Mountain

This required a lot of bushwhacking, and the brush was thick in areas

When I came to the top of the ridge there was a rock outcropping.  I climbed to the top, only to realize the summit was on the outcropping further south.  So, basically, don’t climb the first outcropping you see.

Instead, skirt it to the left and climb to the proper summit.  Here I am, on the correct summit, looking back

It was cold and windy on the summit, so I placed a summit register at the highest point, and turned and headed towards Sheep Mountain.

Here’s an overall view of the route to Sheep Mountain from Marys Mountain.  Take a good look from here because there are a lot of rock formations to navigate

To do this I had to lose 820’ of elevation as I descended northeast towards the creek and Dark Canyon

Once at the low point I crossed the creek and continued heading northeast towards the summit of Sheep Mountain.

There was a lot of bushwhacking and rocks to contend with here as well

The summit was rocky as well.  I walked all over the summit just to make sure I truly summited.

Here’s looking back at Marys from Sheep Mountain.  Statistics say Marys Mountain is taller than Sheep Mountain, but to me, Sheep felt taller.

Once again, I left a summit register and was on my way

This time I headed northwest down the slope, aiming for the cog railway below. 

Sections here were steep, and I was glad I’d hiked Marys first.

Once back near the cog I once again crossed the creek on a log near a picnic table, and picked up Trail 706

I followed Trail 706, crossed the sketchy pipeline bridge again, and continued on to Barr Trail.

Once on Barr Trail I followed it east for 3 miles, back to the Barr Trail parking lot.

I made it back to the parking area at noon, making this a 12.77 mile hike with 4823’ of elevation gain in 6 hours.  I really liked this route, and recommend it instead of hiking the cog.

Kineo Mountain – 9500’ and Mays Peak – 8238’

RT Length:  9.15 miles

Elevation Gain: 2838’

Initially, I’d planned on hiking Mt Massive this morning, but after seeing the predicted wind speeds I turned around and slept another 3 hours before heading out to North Cheyenne Canyon.  I was the only one in the parking lot when I arrived, so I got to choose my space.  I parked right in the middle, since I’d be making this hike a loop.

I put on my microspikes and wore them the entire way. I was on the trail at 6am, happy not to be lugging along my snowshoes for the first time this winter.  The trail starts at the west end of the parking area.   

I passed through the locked gate and noticed a sign that wasn’t here the last time I hiked here.  I was surprised the area was open to horses:  I’ve hiked here dozens of times and never encountered a horse.

I continued hiking along this road (370) for .8 miles, until I came to a bend in the road.  From here I took trail 622 west.

This is Seven Bridges Trail, and, you guessed it, it crosses 7 bridges.  The sun started to rise as I hiked, easily crossing each bridge.  The bridges are numbered.

After crossing the 7th bridge, I continued following 622

The trail follows the canyon west

When you come to the option of sticking high or low, stay high, even if footprints tell you otherwise.

After hiking for 2.5 miles the trail starts to head north.  This is one of my favorite parts of the hike, as it goes through an aspen grove

At the top of the aspen grove there’s a junction.  Here I left the trail and headed east to the summit of Kineo Mountain. 

The first time I did this hike there was no trail, but as the years have gone on it seems others have discovered this hidden gem and created a trail of sorts, so it’s easy to follow.  Here are some photos.  Just follow the ridge and keep heading east

The summit is at the top of an obvious, rocky area.  This is an easy scramble to the top

Here are some summit views

There wasn’t a summit register, so I left one and headed back the way I came, towards the junction

At the junction I turned right and followed Trail 667 east as it skirted the north side of Kineo Mountain

I followed 667 for 3.3 miles past the junction, staying on 667

Here I came to another junction with High Drive.  I crossed high drive and headed east up the west side of Mays Peak

There were a few game trails in the area, but by just heading east I was able to make the summit.  From the junction with High Drive it was bushwhacking of less than half a mile and 400’ of elevation gain.

Interestingly enough, I found a summit register under a tree, well before the summit. I’m sure this register is missed by most people.

Here’s the final bit to the summit

I placed a new, more obvious summit register before leaving the summit and heading back to High Drive.

Back on High Drive, I followed it south for about a mile back to the trailhead, making this a neat loop.

I made it back to the trailhead at 10am, making this a 9.15 mile hike with 2838’ elevation gain in 4 hours

Mt Yale in Winter – 14,196

RT Length:  9.58 miles

Elevation Gain: 4315’

The drive in was icy in spots, with about 3 inches of fresh snow on the road.  I could tell a vehicle had made it to the trailhead at least an hour earlier, because there was snow over the tracks and it hadn’t been snowing on my drive.  There were two other vehicles in the lot, which looked to be boondockers.  I backed my truck in and got out my gear.  The lot is huge, and since the road is closed for winter just past the trailhead there is a lot of room for vehicles carrying snowmobiles.  When I got back later in the day there were no less than 40 large vehicles with trailers for hauling snowmobiles in the parking lot and lining the road.

I was on the trail a little late today, around 6am.  I knew it was supposed to be cold and I didn’t want to start too early:  the sun is my friend when it’s cold out!  The trail starts at the north end of the parking area.  There are trail signs here.

It’s winter, but since it hasn’t snowed heavily for a few days there was a trench in place, making this a class 1 trail all the way to treeline. 

I followed the trail for 1.5 miles to a junction, then turned right, following the trail northeast towards Mt Yale.  

After the junction the elevation gain picked up and the trail became icy in areas

At treeline the elevation gain became more intense.  I kept heading northeast, rounding this hill

And coming to a larger hill to navigate.  Here I passed two male hikers in their early 20s.  I’m not sure when they started this morning, but they looked to be in good spirits and more than happy for me to start making tracks.  Here’s how I navigated this obstacle

I wasn’t yet into the upper basin however.  Here’s an overview of the rest of the route

And here’s step by step to the ridge.  The snow was actually a few feet deep in areas, and I postholed a bit.  No ice axe or snowshoes were necessary. I wore microspikes for the entire hike.

The weather was very nice today, but cold.  Temperatures ranged from -3 degrees to 13 degrees, before windchill.  I kept pumping my fingers back and forth to keep them warm, stopping every few feet to clap them together briskly. Strangely, my toes didn’t seem to get that cold.  Luckily for me, this is my 4th summit of Mt Yale, so I didn’t need a map:  I knew where I was going and just kept heading towards the saddle. Once on the saddle I turned right and followed the icy ridge southeast towards the summit. Here’s the overall route

It was frigid, and icy, and windy, and cold!  You can tell how cold by looking at the boulders

Here’s a look at the summit of Mt Yale

I summited Mt Yale at 11:05am.  I was upset to find the camera I’d placed in-between my jackets to stay warm had once again frozen, so I had to use my cell phone for pictures. 

It was very, very cold, so I didn’t stay long.  I turned and headed back down the ridge

A shadowselfie just for fun!

Here’s the route down from the saddle

After making it back to the saddle I turned left and followed my tracks back down

About halfway back to treeline I passed the two young hikers again.  They looked exhausted, but in good spirits.  It was their first winter 14er, and I wished them luck.  They were more than glad to be following my tracks. Here are my tracks back down to treeline.

Once back at treeline I followed the trench back to the trailhead.  This part was fun; due to the light snow that fell overnight the wind was causing the snow on the branches to lift into the air and swirl to the ground.  It was like it was snowing on a bluebird day.

I made it back to the trailhead at 12pm, making this a 9.58 mile hike with 4315’ of elevation gain in 6 hours.  There were TONS of snowmobilers in the parking lot:  more than I’ve ever seen at a trailhead before.  They were loud, and I was glad I was done with my hike. No wonder I hadn’t seen any animals today! 

Here’s a topo map of my route:

I usually wear sandals while driving home so my feet can dry out.  Today, after putting on my sandals, I accidentally stepped in snow with my left foot and it instantly triggered an attack.  My toes turned blue and stiffened.  As I’m writing this it’s been almost 24 hours, and I still don’t have feeling in the two smallest toes on my left foot. Luckily however, they are now a normal color. 

The Mt Yale Summit Sticker can be bought here

Mt Belford in Winter – 14,197

RT Length: 11.15.miles

Elevation Gain: 4764’

Note, this is the third time I’ve hiked Mt Belford, so this time I’ll just be giving a quick overview with a few pictures and thoughts.  A full trip report can be found here for Mt Belford via Elkhead Pass, and here for Mt Belford and Mt Oxford in winter conditions.

Also note:  whining ahead. 

The last 3 miles to the Missouri Gulch trailhead were terrible!  So bad I asked SkydiverHiker to drive.  We were sliding in the ruts and eventually found a turnout about .7 miles from the trailhead and stopped there.  This ended up being a fabulous idea, since the trailhead was too covered in snow to park.  It looked like someone had tried and it took them quite a while to get out.  This is the road to where we parked (easy until the plowing stopped)

Parking further away changed our plans a little, as it added an hour onto our trip.  We decided we’d probably just hike Mt Belford today, and leave Oxford for another day.  We were on the trail at 5:15am.  Here’s a look at the Missouri Gulch Trailhead Parking area

We crossed clear creek and started ascending the side of the mountain wearing microspikes.  We saw some elk tracks here, but luckily, no mountain lion tracks this time.

Once in the avalanche area the trench stopped.  We crossed the drainage on some sketchy, snow covered logs

Then stopped for a bit to put on our snowshoes.  These pictures were taken later in the day on our way back down, so you can see the trench.  We put that trench in!  I’ve done this hike several times, so I knew to aim for the trees, heading south

Once in the trees the trench picked up again until the cabin

Once past the cabin the trench stopped again.  The wind in the gulch is fierce and I’m sure blows away trenches nightly that are made during the day.  No worries though, we just headed through the gulch (still wearing our snowshoes) towards Mt Belford’s Northwest Ridge

As we were trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid the willows, I heard ptarmigans chirping, but couldn’t see them. Then, all of the sudden, a ptarmigan busted out from under the snow and walked away.  It was here I learned ptarmigans huddle near the willows and stay in their air pockets when it snows to stay warm.  They can do this for days, as their food source is under the snow as well.  It was so cool to hear them calling to each other throughout the day!

We continued through the basin, only taking our snowshoes off once we reached the ridge.  From here we followed the ridge to the summit.

I’m making this sound MUCH easier than it was.  This is probably one of my most difficult winter summits to date.  With my Raynaud’s I need to keep moving to stay warm, and while SkydiverHiker was doing an excellent job keeping up, we still stopped more than my body would have liked.  In fact, about halfway up the ridge I was seriously thinking about turning back:  my fingers and toes were burning and the wind was more intense than predicted.  With windchill it was at least -20 degrees.  We discussed turning back, and decided to continue on (Skydiver Hiker needed a ‘win’ today, and I wouldn’t let him go on without me).  SkydiverHiker dropped his and we continued on up the ridge.  I continued with my pack because I had an ice axe and essential gear.  This continuing on included a lot of intense feelings and emotions, and there was some crying involved and also some nausea.  Have you ever hurt so much you felt nauseous?  Both SkydiverHiker and I felt that way today.  But at least the pain told me I hadn’t lost anything to frostbite.  While mountaineering is certainly physical, it’s emotional and a mind game you play with yourself as well.  I felt as if I were dying every step of the way, not because I was tired, but because I felt my fingers and toes were on fire.  I was dry sobbing at times.

We trudged to the top, where my camera stopped working (I really need to find a better cold-weather camera) so the photos we have are SkydiverHikers from his phone.  About 20 yards from the summit SkydiverHiker laid down and didn’t want to get up.  I didn’t know this, but his back had been really, really hurting him.  This laying down right now was (of course) unacceptable, so I made him get up and lead the way to the summit.

We didn’t stay long, just long enough to get a photo of the summit marker, and then we were on our way back down.

Let me pause here to show you the great views of Missouri Mountain

The screaming and crying continued until we made it to where we were hiking in sunlight, near the base of the ridge.  It’s amazing how the warmth of the sun made me feel better, even when it was still well below freezing. Once at the base of the ridge we donned our snowshoes once again and headed back out of the gulch, following our morning trail.  

As we warmed up our spirits lifted and we were once again thrilled to be out here hiking.  This is one of the most beautiful places in Colorado to hike, and we had it all to ourselves.  Well, it was us and the chirping ptarmigans.  We hiked back past the cabin and through the avalanche area, took off our snowshoes, and continued back to the trailhead in better spirits.  Yes, this is a mental game.   

We made it back to the truck at 1:15pm, making this an 11.15 mile hike with 4764’ of elevation gain in 8 hours.

Summit Sticker can be bought here

PT 10940 & PT 10770

RT Length:  8.32 miles

Elevation Gain:  2186’

Since the weather hasn’t changed since I was in the area a few days ago, I decided to get in a quick hike before work.  Well, in the middle of work.  I got up super early, worked for a bit, and then drove to the trailhead.  The road in was still icy, and as I drove in the temperature gauge kept fluctuating between 0 degrees and 1 degree.  It was cold!

I was on the trail at 6:45am. The trail starts behind this locked gate.

I travelled on this road (383) for 1.15 miles to the Crags Trailhead. 

This trailhead will take you all the way to Pikes Peak.  Instead, I followed the trail for half a mile, and then left the trail and continued up the ridge.

I was met with about 4 inches of snow, which was awesome!  This meant I’d have an easy time re-tracing my steps back down.  I followed the ridge as it wound northeast

Until I came to a rocky area.  This rocky area kind of surprised me, and got more intense as I went on.  It was all class 3, but with the snow it became a challenge at times to navigate.

Here I went down the chimney, and then skirted the rock formation to the left.  This was the crux of the route.

That was the hardest move.  From here it was a simple (but still rocky) trek to the summit.

There was a little bit of rock scrambling necessary to reach the summit. 

I scrambled on over to the highest rock and sat quietly, looking down at the exposure.

And back on the way I’d hiked in

The sun had not yet risen over Pikes Peak, so it was still cold

I didn’t sit there long.  Instead, I scrambled back down, placed a summit register in the opening between the rocks below the summit, and noticed this place got a lot of bird activity

Time to head back

Here’s that chimney I climbed down.  Here’s how to climb back up

And then I followed the ridge back to the Crags Trail

Back at the Crags trailhead, I continued following the road south, past the Crags Campground (closed for the season)

I followed the road for just over half a mile until I came to a fork in the road and a locked gate to private property.

At the locked gate I turned right and headed west, across a meadow and then up the ridge

This entire hike is below treeline, so it’s difficult to gauge where you’re going.  I just followed the rib/ridge west.

I passed some wiki-ups

And came to a large rock formation, which I skirted to the north to avoid

Once past the rock formation I kept heading west towards the highest point I could see

There wasn’t much of a view

I walked all around, looking for the highest rock, and placed a summit register there

And then followed my tracks back down to the dirt road.

Once on the road it was an easy 1.75 mile walk back to my truck and the trailhead

Along the way I saw a couple snowshoeing with their two dogs, who seemed to be quite enjoying the cold.  It was now 16 degrees outside, which was a vast improvement on the 0 degrees from earlier this morning. I made it back to my truck at 11am, making this an 8.32 mile hike with 2186’ of elevation gain in 4 hours, 15 minutes. 

Since I hadn’t made my 10 mile/4000’ goal for the day I went back home and hopped on the treadmill for a bit before resuming my day.

Raspberry Mountain – 10,605

RT Length:  6.5 miles

Elevation Gain: 1579’

I arrived at the trailhead to find the roads icy but plowed all the way to the winter closure.  I was actually kind of surprised to find the gate closed, and this altered my plans just a little bit:  I’d planned to drive down the road to other peaks after this one.  With the road closed I didn’t have enough time.  I parked my truck and gathered my gear, noticing there was a light on in the vehicle next to me.  No one was inside the vehicle, and the doors were locked, so I couldn’t turn the lights off for them.  I’m guessing they were hiking Pikes Peak today, and would most likely run down their battery.  Luckily this is a popular trailhead, so they should be able to find help nearby.

It was a cold morning (once again, below 12 degrees) so I put on all my gear and set out just as it was beginning to get light.  I love hiking without a flashlight!  I walked past the gate and followed the road for .7 miles

After .7 miles I came to the Raspberry Mountain Trailhead

From here on it was a very simple hike: I just followed the bootpack.  In summer months this would be an easy to follow trail.  I had on microspikes, and didn’t need traction.  From the trailhead it was 2.5 miles of hiking north to the summit, following the Ring the Peak Trail

I passed through a small meadow

And then gained and lost some elevation as I rounded the west side of the mountain.  At the top of this small saddle there’s a trailhead of sorts.  Turn left here

As I followed the trail I could see Raspberry Mountain in the distance.  You actually summit from behind

I curved around the north side of the mountain and came to a rocky outcropping

This was class 3, but without any exposure and easy to navigate.  I just heel-toed it up this ramp

And I’d made it to the summit.  The summit had large rocks, but no exposure

There was also a nice view of the west side of Pikes Peak. This side doesn’t get much attention, I’m afraid.

There wasn’t a commit register, so I left one in an obvious place.  This is a Teller County Highpoint, so I found it odd there wasn’t a register.

My camera stopped working about now.  It froze, and I was told to replace the battery (this is what happens when it gets cold), and then when I tried to clean the lens the water instantly turned to ice.  So I started using my cell phone. Did I mention it was quite windy and cold?  Time to head back, first down the rocky area

Then re-tracing my steps back to the upper ‘trailhead’

And back to the lower trailhead

Following the dirt ‘road’ back to the gate closure

I made it back to my truck at 9:15am, with much of the day still ahead of me.  There were quite a few vehicles parked at the trailhead at this time. Today had been much easier than I’d anticipated, so I drove home and hopped on the treadmill for an hour.  Here’s a topo map of my route

Mt Sunflower – 4039, Kansas Highpoint

We live 3 hours away from this highpoint, so I’ve been saving it for a bad weather day, or a day in which I wasn’t able to hike but didn’t want to waste staying at home.  Imagine my surprise when I asked my daughters if they wanted to go with me, and they said YES!

Since my oldest was going we decided to make this a write off (we’re starting a business) and get some pictures for our facebook page.  We collected some stickers and snacks and were on our way.

The drive isn’t very pretty.  There’s not much between where I live and the highest point in Kansas except wide, open fields.  And no gas stations (this comes into play later).  I stopped at the last place to get gas, did some mental calculations and figured I’d have just enough to get there and back without seeing a gas station, and we were on our way. 

Also, we brought the cat.  Westley is quite the road tripper. He likes to look out the window, and has no problem snuggling up on various laps during the drive. He’s not fond of getting out of the vehicle though.

Finally, after almost 3 hours of driving, we made it to a 12 mile dirt road that took us to the ‘summit’.  It’s not a true summit, just the highest point, which was relatively flat.  I drove 65mph down those dirt roads, kicking up dust.  There was no one to see…

We pulled up and were the only ones at the site.  Yep, THIS is the highest point in Kansas

I came prepared with all my gear, but was able to summit in just sandals. I got Rebecca to wear a helmet, and Emily felt confident summiting without gear, while also holding the cat. 

We took a few photos just for fun, and then put one of our stickers into the mailbox (busines launch isn’t until next month).

They also have a nice little free library for anyone interested (bring a book to swap!)

2021 Hiking Related Goals – and Quandary Peak

  • Hike on 60 days this calendar year
  • Hike/walk/run/treadmill 2021 miles
  • Make it to 100 14ers (I’m currently at 94)
  • Hike/walk/run/treadmill elevation gain of 1 million feet
  • Summit a combined total of 10 winter 13/14ers
  • Finish the Bicentennials
  • Summit 3 new state highpoints outside of Colorado
  • Summit 3 new El Paso County Highpoints
  • Hike another section of the Colorado Trail
  • Keep my average above 10+ miles and 4000’+ of elevation gain per hike

Quandary Peak – 14,265

RT Length: 7.22 miles

Elevation Gain: 3444’

Just to get 2021 off to a good start, I set my alarm for early and made a reservation to hike the Manitou Springs Incline on New Years Day.  Unfortunately, my alarm didn’t go off and I ended up missing my start time. I was super bummed, but I didn’t let it get me down:  I still had enough time to get a hike in.  I figured I’d just do Quandary Peak instead.  This is the 4th time I’ve hiked Quandary, and I’ve written several trip reports on the peak, so I’ll just post some pictures with highlights:

The road and trail was well packed down

This time I decided not to stop at all, and guess what?  I had my fastest summit of Quandary Peak!  There were tons of dogs on the trail today, and I even saw a group of skiers with guides.  Here’s the summit

It was very, very cold today.  It didn’t get above 18 degrees (that’s what the temperature was when I got back to my truck).  There was a slight layer of frost on everything

Looking west

Heading back down I came across some BASE jumpers who were intending to jump from the summit.  I didn’t think it was windy enough today.  In fact, it was a perfect, bluebird day to go hiking!

I saw Mountain Goats on the way down, but they were kind of far away

Here’s a topo map of the route.  I made it back to my truck at 11:45am, making this a 4 hour hike:  7.22 miles with 3444’ of elevation gain

The Quandary Peak Summit Sticker can be found here