Pikes Peak

We got up early this morning to hike Pikes Peak with Tim. The Barr trail is 13 miles one way, so we took a different one. The Devil's Playground Trail starts from a trailhead at 10,100' and climbs Pikes Peak from the northwest, up to the 14,110' summit. The one-way distance is somewhere between 5.5 and 8.5 miles, depending on which source you look at, so we hiked around 11-17 miles today. It felt closer to 17 and considering it took us almost 9 hours it may have been.

We were above the clouds for most of the hike up. Once on the summit we could see the weather forming on the other side of the mountain. It looked suspicious so we didn't stay up top for long.

It was a very long day -- it took us 4 hours just to get back to the car. Our next hike will have to be an easier one. Hopefully this was good preparation for Tim, who will be attempting Rainier in two weeks. Good luck, Tim!

A Columbine flower along the trail

Second Flatiron-Free for All 5.6

Oops, we forgot the camera today. But, no worries. I'm sure you recall our climb of the Second Flatiron from October. Today we started at the same spot as last time and followed the same route for a pitch and a half. Then, instead of heading to the north (right) we went to the south, ended up underneath the Pullman Car and then went up between the Car and the South Block. Unfortunately, we were not able to do the last pitch which went up the east side of the Pullman Car because it started thundering and then proceeded to rain. We were very fortunate that we were at a spot where we could scramble up the gully, climb a couple of moves and then walk off onto the trail. Overall, we did 7 seven pitches in 5 1/2 hours--not bad!

Kelso Ridge

Today we summited Torreys Peak via the Kelso Ridge -- a class three climb that gains 2,000 feet. Our friend Tim from the WTS class was looking for hiking partners as he is training for a Mount Rainier summit bid at the end of the month. We were very eager to join him on the Kelso Ridge because it caught our eye last fall when we were in the area climbing Grays Peak.

The day started at 2:45am -- that's right, 2:45. The alarm went off, we got dressed, had a little breakfast and headed out the door. We met Tim in Morrison at 4am and then proceeded to the trailhead. When we started hiking the sun was just beginning to rise behind us. We hiked the main Grays/Torreys trail for about 2 miles and then headed off the trail to the base of the ridge 200 yards to the north. This small saddle is also the home of an old gated-up mine entrance and shelter which are cool to explore.

The first part of the ridge included some hiking, scrambling, and loose, sandy rock. In fact, most of the ridge was just like that. We gradually made our way up as several other teams passed us. We had the biggest, and undoubtedly heaviest, packs of anyone we saw. We had our ten essentials (and then some)! There were two somewhat sketchy parts on the ridge. The first was a 30-40 foot fourth class scramble up a nice block. Apparently, there was a way around it, but we couldn't find it. The second spot was the 30-foot knife edge traverse and subsequent granite block. The knife edge had enough foot and hand holds, but it also had a great deal of exposure. We summited Torreys at about 10:20 -- 5 hours after the start -- and joined about 40 people up there.

After the requisite pictures, snacks, water, register-signing, and gear re-shuffling, we headed down the standard route to the saddle between the two mountains. We were amazed by the number of people on the trails (many of them ill-suited for the mountains). As we headed towards the summit of Grays, the clouds were getting larger and a bit threatening. We decided to bail and traversed a snowfield to pick up the Grays Peak trail. We got back to the car at 1:15 -- 8 hours after the start. It was a long, but really fun day!

Mt. Toll

Tougher hike than expected. We planned to hike up to Pawnee Pass on the Continental Divide, follow the divide north across Pawnee Peak, Mt. Toll, and Paiute Peak, then bend east to Mt. Audubon. With a 6am start we thought we could be descending Audubon by noon.


Reality check: First, getting to Pawnee Pass took longer than anticipated. At the pass we left trail and the hiking slowed considerably. We summited Pawnee Peak around 10:30. It was late and there were clouds in the sky but nothing too threatening. We descended a snowfield on the north face of Pawnee to the saddle between it and Toll. At that point we reevaluated the weather and decided to ascend the scree field leading up the south face of Toll.


The north face of Toll is all exposed 5.6 climbing so we descended back south. On the way down we decided the snowfield would be a better descent than rock-hopping loose talus. It certainly was easier if not any faster. Around 12:30 we were back down to the saddle.


From there a snowfield descended all the way to Blue Lake. Halfway down there was another flat area. We weren't sure if the weather would allow us to continue on to Paiute and Audubon but either way we had to get to the flat spot.

Once there, the clouds seemed to be clearing. We rested for a bit by a rock island before deciding whether to continue to Paiute or search for the Blue Lake trail. Some blue skies were showing through the clouds so we decided to see what we could do about Paiute.


We contoured along the east and northeast sides of Toll. Along the way we passed a mini-crevasse and I couldn't help but think of Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. We reached a rock outcrop that looked like it could be scrambled up to the ridge between Toll and Paiute. Perhaps if our boots weren't wet from the snow and if it hadn't just started drizzling the route would have gone.

At that point (2:30) we decided we had pushed our luck far enough. Traversing the steep snow had tired us out. We glissaded down to another flat area and started our trek to the north side of Blue lake. It was around that time that 30 MPH hail started pelting us. Luckily we didn't have to hike into the hail. It stung when it hit our faces.

Circling around the lake was not simple! First we had a tough time finding a way onto the snow field -- cliffs blocked our path at one point. Along the way there were a few streams running down the slopes, exposed in places and snow-covered in others. We decided it would be safer to cross the stream where we could see it exposed than to trust the stability of the snow above it. The waterfalls were beautiful and loud.

We traversed snow and rock above Blue Lake. The bottom of the snowfield had broken away, clearly delineating the edge of the lake. I was extra careful on this slope -- although I had done a few self-arrests on other slopes, I didn't want to risk slipping into the freezing lake. Finally, around 4:00, we reached solid (and flatter) ground. There were still streams to cross but that was the end of the steep snow.

Once on the southeast side of the lake, we slogged through the mud and runoff posing as a trail. Our boots were soaked through. After an hour of that we had had enough. The sun was out so we stopped to change socks. They stayed dry for a while and we were more careful to step on rocks instead of just walking through the stream/trail.

Around 5:45 we were back at a trailhead, but we still had a mile to walk along the road to get to the trailhead we started at.

By the end of the day, 12 hours later, we had covered around 10 miles (map) and probably gained/lost 3000' elevation. Wet and miserable but definitely worth it -- we saw a lot of neat things and learned about the terrain. Next trip to that area we will hike trail up to Audubon, traverse to Paiute, and see what we can figure out from there about getting over to Toll.

Fourth of July Wildflowers

Weather was iffy for our planned Mt. Toll hike today so we postponed it until Sunday. Having nothing else to do I went for an arbitrary bike ride (11 miles), then hiked up Green Mountain and came back down Bear Canyon (11 miles), with some trail running mixed in too. I took pictures of every kind of wildflower I saw in Bear Canyon and along the Mesa trail -- probably about 40 varieties. Click the collage to see individual pics.

Another Scouting Mission

After breakfast this morning we packed up our bags for a day of climbing. Unfortunately, as we were literally walking out the door it started raining. The skies looked like we could have rain all day or that it could clear up. Based on the forecast, we thought it best to put the climbing gear away since wet rock is not really fun to climb on. We made the wrong decision. It turned out to be a beautiful day and didn't start storming until about 4:00, so we could have gotten some good climbing in. Oh well, the rock will still be there tomorrow.

We put our hiking boots on and headed to Chautauqua. Dan had two spots he wanted to check out. The first was a piece of rock called South Amphitheater Pinnacle. There are not really routes on this piece of rather crappy rock, but it is quite high and can be seen from various areas around town. We hiked up to the Spy and scrambled along a ridge to get to it. We did find it and despite all the steep scree fields we managed to get to it. Dan climbed to the top and rode what I dubbed "the dragon head." As he was exploring the summit, Dan startled a peregrine falcon which proceed to screech at him for 15 minutes--from another rock, of course.

Since the weather was still good, we headed on to point of interest #2. This was a cave that Dan read about in the Gerry Roach book all the way in Bear Canyon. We hiked the 3+ miles over there and started scrambling around rocks called the Dinosaur Eggs. Surprisingly, we actually were able to find the cave despite Gerry's usually challenging directions and our lack of familiarity with the area. It was very cool even though there was quite a bit of poison ivy around.


After we climbed out of the cave we noticed a little hole in the base of the rock, described in the book as so: "Small people with large imaginations are best suited for entering a peculiar passage a few feet west of Bear Cave." Getting in and out of this mini-cave was interesting. The cave was larger than expected on the inside.


As we hiked back there was quite a bit of thunder and a curtain of cloud off to the east. It was very surreal looking and if we still had battery left in the camera we would have taken a picture.

Bitch of a Pitch

After sleeping in, we decided to try some more climbing since the weather seemed to be holding. There was a 20% chances of thunderstorms, but the skies seemed clear. So, we headed to Chautauqua and followed the Amphitheater trail to the south end of the Gregory Flatironette. We hiked down west of the ridge until we got to the north end of it. If you recall from a Labor Day Weekend post we tried to find this climb before. We're still not sure if we found the "official" route, but we did manage to climb the whole thing.


The first pitch was an absolute bitch. It was covered in lichen and not fun to climb. Dan did a great job leading it -- especially this awful block with very few foot holds (and those that were there were slick due to the lichen). The second pitch didn't have nearly as much lichen, but there was quite a traverse involved. The next two pitches were mostly fourth class scrambling. After the top of the fourth pitch we decided to ditch the rope and just scramble along the ridge. It started to rain a bit but we were able to make it back to the packs and to the car with only a couple of drops. Another long, good day.

Climbing with Sean

We invited Sean to climb with us today. We've never climbed with him before, but he has some experience (mostly indoor), so we planned on some easier, easy-access spots in Boulder Canyon. Unfortunately, there was some sort of meet-up group fundraiser at most of our chosen spots, so we headed back into town and decided on the Spy -- a piece of rock just north of and nearly attached to the First Flatiron.


Dan led it in three pitches and Sean and I followed. There were great views of town and the amphitheater area. It was really fun to have someone to talk to while Dan was leading and setting up anchors. We passed the tri-cam that we left in a crack last fall on the same climb. Sean tried for a good 20 minutes but he couldn't get it out either.


Since the weather was so nice, we decided to climb another route. We hopped on the First Flatiornette again, but a little further south than our climb on Monday. Oh yeah, and this deer was hanging out with us, too. He sat maybe 100 feet from us for most of the climb and then tried to check out our stuff when we were all off the ground. It was a fun two pitches and then we headed down for dinner. Ann came over, too, and we made pizza and then went to Glacier for dessert.

Boulder 360

Friday evening we went for a bike ride. We followed all the markings for the Boulder 360, a 23-mile ride that takes bikers around a good deal of the city.

We had fun riding around town and checking out some new bike paths, underpasses and neighborhoods.

First Flatironette, East Face route

This time of year is awesome -- light out until almost 9pm! We headed out to Chautauqua around 6pm today for a climb on the First Flatironette. Started climbing around 7pm, climbed two pitches, topped-out around 8:40, got back to our packs around 9pm and back home before 10. The climb was a lot of fun -- book said it was in the 5.0 to 5.2 range but there were parts at the beginning that felt a bit tougher, especially on lead.


The weather was great where we were but we could see some neat lightening up north in the pink skies. To the southeast there were rays of light seemingly emanating from Denver -- I can't explain this phenomenon. Any ideas? Click a pic to see more of them.




We hiked back to the car in the dark. There was an incredible amount of cloud-to-cloud lightening and occasional ground strikes, quite a light-show.

Climbing the Fourth Pinnacle

Yay! We finally got to go climbing! Between the abnormally wet weather and our commitments with WTS and Adam's visit, we haven't climbed since February. Though we got a bit of a late start (at the trailhead at 10) we managed to get in a good two-pitch climb in the Amphitheater area. Though most of the area is currently closed due to raptor nesting, the Fourth Pinnacle is open.

After some scrambling and route finding we picked a route called the Halls of Poison Ivy. Apt title. We managed to avoid the first ledge of poison ivy but after climbing about forty feet up we discovered an enormous patch of ivy. Dan did a great job leading and managed to keep us and the equipment out of the patch.





We both got to the top of the climb just as it started raining. It was a really fun climb where we got to employ a number of techniques. A good day!

Mount Democrat

Our plan today was to climb Mounts Democrat, Lincoln, and Bross -- all 14ers. The weather had other plans.


We decided to hike to the saddle between Democrat and Cameron and decide from there whether to continue. The weather didn't get any better, but since it wasn't much worse either we decided to summit Democrat. The view from the summit was mostly white.



The fog/clouds were thick enough that you couldn't see more than 100' ahead. On the way down it began to snow graupel -- stung a bit when facing into the wind.


It was getting late and the view from Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross would be about the same, so we headed back to the car. Too tired to write any more (up since 4am), check out the pictures.

Laurel's Bike Ride

So, I wanted to see how far it would be to bike to my new school. The most direct way is down a highway so driving is easy. However, I did not want to bike down the big highway so I tried a few other ways. The way down was on roads and took a little over an hour. The way back was on trails and took twice as long! I got about 30 miles in this morning. Check it out!

Quandary Peak

The last thing on Adam's list for the week was hiking a fourteener. When he last visited in September we were able to summit Mount Bierstadt, another of our state's 54 peaks over 14,000 feet. So, I picked Quandary for today's outing.


We got up at 4:30 so we could leave by 5:00. The trailhead was past Breckenridge so it took us over two hours to get there. We did manage to start hiking by 7:30. At 9:30 we hit the first of many snowfields. Here we put on our snowshoes and started slowly towards the summit. I should say that Dan and I started slowly towards the summit, Adam cruised to the top. I think it was the awesome MSR snowshoes with lifts that he had. Regardless, we all managed to summit before 11:00 and the bluebird day allowed us quite a bit of time at the top. We could see for miles and enjoyed over half an hour with almost no wind. We then did a sitting glissade down the top half of the peak since it was so steep. Boy, was it fun be it numbed our backsides!

On the way up we saw two small mountain goats over the side of the ridge. On the way down we saw them actually on the trail. They were so cute!!!!

We got back tot he car by 1:30 and drove the long road back to Boulder. We all crashed on the couch and Adam is going home tomorrow. I think we all are going to need a rest after this week!