Grays Peak

     Last Tuesday, Nick and I climbed Grays Peak (14, 270ft). We left Denver at 4:30am. Rain was predicted to begin around 9am, so we were hoping to at least summit by then. We arrived at the trailhead at 5:45am and found both of our packs soaking wet. My water bladder had leaked almost all 3 liters on the drive up. After the initial surprise, we decided to press on. Nick had a full 3 liter bladder, and I had some Gatorade as well. It was cloudy as we began, but the clouds were breaking as the sun rose over the mountains.

      The first mile of trail through Steven's Gulch was relatively flat. A small creek raged nearby and there seemed to be an endless amount of wildflowers, including Columbines.

     We began our ascent and soon realized we were surrounded by Pikas. We could hearing their squeaking all around us and saw countless scurrying around the talus.

    The weather continued to improve as the trail became increasingly steep. 

    At around 13,000ft, I really started feeling the altitude. Nick was doing great, especially for hit first 14er. I was feeling a bit light headed and dizzy, so we took a break until I was feeling better. The last stretch to the top was by far the steepest, but we continued on. It was sunny and relatively clear when we reached the summit with very little wind. We stopped for a break, took pictures, and ate lunch.

Torreys Peak was only a short distance away, but we were both exhausted and some gray clouds were headed our way. We decided one 14er was enough for that day.

      We took our time on the descent. Walking across the talus field was rather difficult going down. I fell once and rolled my ankle a few times. By the time we reached the flat part of the trail, it began to sprinkle a bit. However, it did not take long before we reached the trailhead. Overall, the hike took us 6 hours. In the parking lot, we ran into 4 ladies we had met on the trail and at the summit. They offered us a little wine and some strawberries, and we stayed and chatted with them for awhile. Nick was a champ on his first 14er. He is an excellent hiker. Now, he's hooked on High Country hikes too.