Category: 14ers

06:00-15:00, Monday, 8-10-20CO 14ers: 20 & 21 of 53Distance RT: 15.5 milesElevation gain/loss: 6,250′Starting Elevation: 8,850′Summits: 14,081′ & 14,165′Rank: *33-34 & 23 of 53 * Challenger Point doesn’t meet the standard of being a separate peak, but I’ve included it in my count.Location: Central Sangre De Cristos Range, east of CrestoneRoute: Willow Lake Trail to the North Slope of Challenger Point, along the Kit Carson Avenue to Kit Carson Peak, Easy Class 3 Leaving Blanca behind, one thing was sure: I didn’t have the energy to do another 14er the very next day. Like the week before, 2 days in a row was fine, but not 3. We headed to the tiny hamlet of Crestone to regroup and get a[…]

06:00-15:00, Saturday, 8-08-20 CO 14ers: 18 & 19 of 53 Distance RT: 18 miles Elevation gain/loss: 6,800′ Starting Elevation: 8,000′ Summits: 14,345′ & 14,042′ Rank: 4 & 43 of 53 Location: Southern Sangre De Cristos Range, east of Alamosa Route: Lake Como 4WD road to the Northwest Ridge of Blanca, then South Face of Ellingwood, difficult Class 2 After driving a few hours to basically get from the eastern side of the Blanca/Lindsey massif to the western side, with a stop for an early dinner in between, we were staged for a repeat performance. We would hike 5.5 miles up a 4WD road, then conquer the peaks the next morning. The standard routes for the three 14ers in the Blanca[…]

06:30-13:00, Friday, 8-07-20 CO 14ers: 17 of 53 Distance RT: 13 miles Elevation gain/loss: 3,500′ Starting Elevation: 10,700′ Summit: 14,042′ Rank: 42 of 53 Location: Southern Sangre De Cristos Range, southwest of Gardner Route: CR 580 to Upper Huerfano/Lily Lake Trailhead to the Northwest Gully, easy Class 3 Sandy and TS decided to extend their vacation in CO, as there was still plenty to explore. We shifted our focus to the Sangre De Cristo range, with a visit to Jolly Rancher in Rosita and some 14ers to the south. We spent a night at JR’s awesome place for a nice night talking trail. Sandy, TS, JR and Me, showing off our hiker legs! The next day we headed south, taking[…]

06:00-14:00, Friday, 7-31-20CO 14ers: 14 & 15 of 53Distance RT: 10.25 milesElevation gain/loss: 3,900′Starting Elevation: 11,699′Summits: 14,060′ & 14,264′Rank: 38 & 14 of 53Location: Front Range, Guanella Pass Scenic Byway between Bailey and GeorgetownRoute: Mt Bierstadt West slope to Sawtooth ridge to Mt Blue Sky, back down through Scott Gomer creek gully, mostly class 2, Sawtooth section is briefly Class 3. After a sweet ‘3 for’, it was time for another ‘2 for’. To put things into perspective, it took me years to work up to my first 5 14ers, then months to do the next 5. With this series (the DeCaLiBron the day before), I knocked out 5 in 2 days! This combo route involved a pretty easy hike[…]

06:00-12:00, Thursday, 7-30-20 CO 14ers: 11, 12 & 13 of 53 Distance RT: 7.5 miles Elevation gain/loss: 3,700′ Starting Elevation: 12,000′ Summits: Democrat 14,148′, Lincoln 14,286′ & Bross 14,172′ Rank: 28, 8 & 22 of 53 Location: Mosquito Range, West of Alma, CO Route: Democrat >Cameron>Lincoln>Bross…the DeCaLiBron combo clockwise, Class 2 On this hike, I did 3 or 4 14ers in one day, depending on which definition you go by. I’m going with 3, since Mt. Cameron was barely a bump on my radar and counting it would mess up my numbers. 21 in 2020 just doesn’t sound as good, so I’m willing to discount this one. Truly, 3 14ers in one day is plenty enough! Bang for buck, the[…]

Saturday 7-11-20 to Monday 7-13-20 Distance RT: 14 miles Elevation gain/loss: 5,500′ Starting Elevation: 9,280′ Summits: 13,423′ & 13,524′ Rank: 252 & 186 of 584 Location: Sangre de Cristos, Southern Colorado Route: Gibson Creek Trailhead (road 172) to Rainbow Trail to Swift Creek Trailhead, return on Lake of the Clouds Trail to Rainbow Trail/carpark. Companions: JR, Maggie & Niki I really needed to spend a weekend in the outdoors and it was JR to the rescue again. He invited me along for a mellow trip with his friends Maggie and Niki from Ft. Collins. The plan was to hike up to the Lake of the Clouds valley in the Sangres and spend 2 nights enjoying the area. I did some[…]

Friday 6-26-20 to Saturday 6-27-20 CO 14ers: 10 of 53 Distance RT: 20.5 miles Elevation gain/loss: 5,200′ Starting Elevation: 8,900′ Summit: 14,269′ Rank: 10 of 53 Location: Sawatch Range, Collegiate Peaks, north of Salida Route: Brown’s Creek Trail to FR #277 up to peak, back down Little Browns Creek Trail I’ll start by explaining that this was my first trip combining an overnight backpacking loop with a summit hike the following morning. I didn’t follow the standard route to the top, which is a boring 16 mile RT jeep road walk. I did some research to find that I could hike up one valley, summit, then come back down another valley, making for a much more interesting and scenic loop[…]

07:00-17:30, Sunday, 5-31-20 My CO 14er count: 7 of 53 Distance RT: 17.5 miles Elevation gain/loss: 5,350′ Starting Elevation: 8,800′ Summit: 14,064′ Rank: 37 of 53 Location: Sangre de Cristos, Southern Colorado Route: South Colony Lakes 2WD Lower Parking Lot to Humboldt West Ridge, Class 2 Companion: Jolly Rancher (Kevin Parsons) Photo from 14ers.com After I’d recovered from my climb up Pikes Peak, I felt really inspired to do more. What next? I’d been in touch with my friend Jolly Rancher (JR), who lives less than 1 hr from my base camp in Canon City. I met JR while hiking the Colorado Trail in 2017. His amazing Earthship home is nestled in the Wet Mountains, facing the awe-inspiring Sangre de[…]