Mountaintop adventures
June 20, 2021
I left Aspen at 4 am for a winding, 1-hour drive over Independence Pass to La Plata. Deer swarmed the dark, winding roadway on either side of the pass, along with a few goats. I took care to avoid these furry car magnets. Eventually, I arrived at the paved trailhead for La Plata Peak.
Continue reading “La Plata Peak”
May 28, 2021
I arrived via Four Mile Creek Road, shortly after dawn. I parked just after “horseshoe bend” and the last improved structure, in a large parking lot around 11,400′. Among Colorado’s Fourteeners, Mount Sherman is known for having perhaps the shortest vertical ascent. In summer, the “trailhead” begins at a locked gate in the road at 12,000′. But in late May, you need to park roughly 600 vertical feet further downhill.
Continue reading “Mount Sherman via the Southwest Ridge Trail”
May 15, 2021
Mount Elbert sits in the Northern Sawatch Range, just southwest of Leadville, Colorado. At 14,433′ its summit forms the highest point in Colorado and all of the Rocky Mountains. In fact, only one summit in the lower 48 stands taller (Mount Whitney).
Continue reading “Mount Elbert via the East Ridge Trail”
April 24, 2021
We arrived in the pre-dawn hours at Guanella Pass campground. Or more accurately, I arrived. My hiking buddy that day decided to camp out in his truck at 11,000′ on this cold, snowy spring morning. I tapped the frosted, translucent glass a couple of times to let him know I arrived. And a moment later, an incandescent glow filled the cab, letting me know he was in fact conscious.
Continue reading “Mount Bierstadt in Spring (1.8 times)”
May 5, 2020, Quandary Peak trailhead
The day began with a pre-dawn drive under the continental divide along I-70 (11,000′) from my hotel just above Golden, CO (7,200′). I sped past the Dillon Reservoir, shimmering in the day’s first direct light. From there, I pulled off the highway and headed south through the resort town of Breckenridge, at 9,600′. After Breck, the road climbed even higher, back towards 11,000′ and the trailhead for Quandary Peak.
Continue reading “Quandary Peak (Colorado)”