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Base Camp
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: July 8, 2006
- Miles Hiked: 8.2
- Elevation Gain: 3,600'
- Hiking Partner(s): Cindy,
Mary, Tracy
- Description:
- I didn't have a lot of time to work with and I was fairly sick of
driving, so I needed to hike something fairly close to Denver, CO. In
addition, it has been monsoon season for the past two weeks and the
weather forecast was questionable. As a result, I decided to make my
annual drive up to Stevens Gulch and hike Torreys Peak via Kelso Ridge.
This would be my fourth time up Torreys and third to Grays.
Fortunately, I haven't repeated an ascent route on either peak, so I don't
consider returning to them a waste of time.
- When I reached the trailhead around 6:30 am, I was surprised to see
three of my wife's coworkers preparing to hike Grays Peak. I thought
they picked a rather peculiar day for their first 14er, but they said the
date had been set for quite a while and they couldn't change it. I
hiked with them to the point where I need to leave the Grays Peak Trail
and gain the Torreys/Kelso Saddle. The weather was gloomy to say the
least and the cloud ceiling was very low. Because of this, there
were absolutely no views on Cindy, Mary, and Tracy's first 14er.
- I had considered just hiking Grays with the rest of the group because
of the wet rock I was sure to encounter on Kelso Ridge, but when I saw two
other parties starting up I decided to stick with my original plan.
As expected, the rock was definitely wet on the climb, but not bad enough
to turn me around. I passed three other parties en route to Torreys
and had a fun time scrambling up the ridge. Although Roach's 14er
book makes the ridge sound somewhat complicated, route finding wasn't an
issue with use trails along much of the ridge.
- I summitted Torreys 2 hours and 10 minutes after leaving the trailhead
and stopped only long enough for a quick photo. I had not prepared
well for the constant drizzle, cold and wind so I simply continued on to
Grays Peak. I was hoping to meet Cindy, Mary, and Tracy on Grays
summit. When I reached the top, a group of hikers said I missed my
party by five minutes and that they had already started to descend the
Grays Peak Trail. After taking a photo for the group I talked to, I
snapped a quick picture of myself and was off with another sub five minute
summit.
- I caught up Cindy, Mary, and Tracy and finished the hike back to
Stevens Gulch Trailhead. The weather deteriorated on the way out and
by the time we got back, all of us were fairly soaked. I was amazed
at the number of people still continuing up through the cold and rain.
I must be a wuss, because I'm fairly certain I would have turned around in
those conditions. We stopped off at Tommy Knockers in Idaho Springs,
CO, on the way home for a warm meal and cold beer. Although the
weather didn't cooperate and no views were taken in, I think Cindy, Mary,
and Tracy can still consider their first 14er hike a success. They
were fairly prepared for the conditions encountered and they made great
time.
- Maps:
-
Click here
to view a
2D
map of the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
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