Thursday, September 19th, 2024
CO 14ers: 39 & 40 of 53
Distance RT: 18
Elevation gain/loss: 6,700′
Starting Elevation: 10,350
Summits: 14,021′ & 14,318′
Rank: 49 & 6 of 53
Location: San Juan Mountains, outside Lake City
Route: 0.7 miles before Matterhorn Creek Trailhead to Wetterhorn Southeast Ridge (Standard Route, Class 3), back down and across basins (red line) to Uncompahgre South Ridge (Class 2), retrace steps to Matterhorn basin and car.
This was my 8th time (not including my triples) hiking two 14er’s in one day. But it was by far the longest I’ve had to hike to connect 2 peaks. Once again, I didn’t set out planning to hike both, then a half day turned into a very full one! To be exact, 18 miles, as opposed to 8, and 7,600′ of gain, as opposed to 3,600′. It was an ambitious and perhaps overindulgent 10 hour effort, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Combining the 2 peaks actually saved me about 6 miles and several thousand feet of gain compared to if I’d hiked them separately. I also got to spend most of the day walking through easy open alpine tundra, which was just glorious. Plus, it freed-up an entire day to add a 6th 14er to this 3 day extravaganza! Like I reasoned before, when the weather is so nice, I should take advantage of it…especially in the San Juans.
Not surprisingly, I was a bit tired after my 3 peak exploit the day before. After a late dinner, I slept in my car while it charged overnight…right in the middle of downtown. Yes, Lake City is that small that one can sleep peacefully, though I was a little worried about a bear breaking in…none did. I woke before daylight, so as not to attract attention and also get an early start. Driving from town, I deliberated about which peak to do first, as I still hadn’t made up my mind and both trailheads were along the same road. Uncompahgre was the easier route, but also much longer if I couldn’t get a ride up the 4WD road. So I decided to go for Wetterhorn, since I figured I might have a better chance getting a hitch towards Uncompahgre the next day, on the start of the weekend. The drive took awhile since the road was very rough past where it split to become North Henson Rd. It got even worse at another split, so I parked my car and walked the remaining 0.7 miles to the trailhead proper. There were only a few cars parked along the way. It was well past 7 am when I started, but I figured I had a shorter day and plenty of time to take it leisurely. When will I ever learn?
As with my previous Class 3 routes, I was a little nervous about this one. The trail was easy up through the basin and along the first half of the ridge. Yet Wetterhorn juts up quickly and prominently, looking like a spire from far away. Close up, it looked even more intimidating. Short and Spicy. But I’d studied the route and it didn’t seem too bad. At least I wasn’t alone. There were several guys just ahead, and a woman right behind me. Though when I saw everyone else wearing climbing helmets, I felt a little out of place. I really needed to get one.
I talked to one of the guys, JJ, who was very positive and also gave me the idea about connecting the 2 peaks via the wide open alpine valley below. I quickly looked at my map and saw the trail outlined. Why hadn’t I noticed it before? I could almost see the entire route laid out before us and it looked super mellow. JJ was going for it, but had quite a head-start on me, as he was already coming down from Wetterhorn. Once again, the idea got lodged in my head and I just couldn’t let it go. But first, I still needed to get to the top of peak #1.
The Class 3 section turned out to be a lot of fun. I carefully picked past several scrambly bits and up one last chute to the top. A descending hiker was courteous to wait for me to climb the chute (probably noting that I didn’t have a helmet), so I went as fast I could, careful not to look down too far. It was steep, but stepped in way that didn’t feel too dangerous. I then had the summit all to myself, where I lingered for awhile to take in the awesome views. To the west, I spotted Mt Sneffels…taunting me now that I had the option of buying myself another day/peak. To the south were the 3 peaks I’d visited the day before. To the east were the Matterhorn and Uncompahgre, beckoning me onward this day. I felt so incredibly happy on top this peak, it’s hard to describe. I’d hiked over 40 14ers at this point, and it felt like this was one of the biggest wins. The mountains were my oyster, full of so many pearls.
Perhaps the glorious weather all day long had something to do with my happy and carefree mood. When are the San Juans ever so forgiving? I headed down, briefly contemplating the chute that had seemed easy enough on the way up. I had to pause to allow the other woman some space to climb up, which perhaps led to my sudden apprehension about it… overthinking things. I used to butt-scoot down scrambles such as this, but I’d gotten more comfortable with a proper downclimb, so I turned to face the rocks and navigated down in short order. I was proud about how my comfort level with these skills was progressing.
I picked up my pace down the ridge and into the basin, took a short snack break (all I had, since I hadn’t planned on a full day), then committed to heading to Uncompahgre. I took a bit of a shortcut cross country, meeting up with the trail after less than a mile. It was so fun hiking with the wide open views, watching the massive prominence of Uncompahgre loom larger and larger. I’ve always been so impressed by the peak. It’s one of the most iconic of the 14ers, rising like a giant shark fin from so many angles, the 6th highest peak in the state.
The basin walk was sublime and quite easy, if a bit farther than I expected. At least I had my water filter and plenty of H20, though I had to be careful since so many of the streams appeared to be tainted by old mining activity. I avoided the ones that were a shade of red or chalky white/blue. How sad that the water sources so far up in these mountains have been forever altered. It makes me wonder about the major rivers like the Arkansas, which I grew up drinking water from. Heavy-metals from the abandoned mines all end up in the rivers.
By mid afternoon, I was chugging up the broad slopes of Uncompahgre, joining about 10 other hikers for their late day bid. I definitely felt all 350 additional feet of this extra mountain. The trail was well graded, but it just seemed to go on forever. There were some some steeper and kind of scrambly bits near the top, but these were easy after the earlier Class 3 route. There I met JJ again, surprised that he hadn’t passed me on his way down before this point. I realized I must be catching up to him, as did he. He asked if he might get a ride back to his car, since he’d parked even further down the road from mine…that is if I could catch him before the end. I always love a challenge such as this, but for once, I also wanted to be able to offer someone else a ride, so this gave me all the more impetus. By 4 pm, I was finally standing on the summit. Saving the biggest of the 5 in the area for last wasn’t my overall strategy, but it was a nice way to cap things off.
By chance, I met the same father and son duo, Dallan and Curtis, who took my Handies summit photos the day before. We were all surprised to see each other again, pleased that we had ready-made photographers on this peak too. I loved that they both shared such a passion for peak bagging and spending time together outdoors.
Finally, after almost a hour on the summit, I hurried down, trying to catch up with JJ. The return was pretty tiring but at least mostly downhill. I kept myself entertained and motivated by catching glimpses of him every once in awhile, always closer each time. I saw no one else in the connecting basin the entire day. It was such a peaceful and blissful hike. In the last few miles, back below treeline, I finally saw JJ rounding the switchback just ahead. My timing worked out perfectly. He still needed to break down his tent, which he’d set up 1 mile from the trailhead, so I hiked back to my car for a well-earned snack break and celebratory beer. I was so happy to be able to offer JJ a beer as well, like a marathon runner crossing the finish line. We toasted our awesome day, glad for our chance meeting. He helped me out a ton and I saved him 2 miles walking down the road to his car, paying it forward after all those who’d given me rides.
I had the drive back to Lake City to ponder what I should do with the extra day I just earned. I should have felt tired, but instead I only felt gratitude and elation over my feats. I did have a sickness though, a bad case of Summit Fever, for which there was only one cure. I’d already let the notion of a 6th San Juan 14er sneak into my mind, and once it was there, there was no turning back…