Wednesday, September 18th, 2024
CO 14ers: 36, 37 & 38 of 53
Distance RT Redcloud/Sunshine: 12.3 miles
Distance RT Handies: 7.5 miles
Elevation gain/loss: 4,800′ & 2700’/3700
Starting Elevations: 10,400′ & 11,300
Summits: 14,037′, 14,004′ & 14,058′
Rank: 45, 53 & 39 of 53
Location: San Juan Mountains, outside Lake City
Route 1: Sunshine Peak via Redcloud Peak via Northeast Ridge (R1 to S1, returning same way to Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch TH, Class 2)
Route 2: Handies Peak via Southwest Slopes 1 from lower American Basin TH (Class 1), then down the East Slopes 2 to Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch TH (Class 2)
In days the preceding, Alex and I drove to Lake City, where we met up with Alan and several other CDT/CT hikers. We split a cabin and had fun hanging out while the weather was crappy. For entertainment, we went to the Community Presbyterian Church Hiker Center for their weekly scheduled Game Night. Pastor Jason’s a huge board game fanatic and collector. I was blown away by the hundreds of games he had on hand, sharing them with the local community and visiting hikers. In fact, the whole facility was dedicated to hikers, complete with free tea and coffee, wifi, snacks, a computer, and a plethora of hiker box supplies. The church also coordinates the daily shuttle to the trail and their many volunteers. I was so impressed by their kindness, generosity and dedication to the cause. The Hiker Center wasn’t yet open when I hiked the CT and CDT, so I was grateful that I got to experience it on this trip.
The town also seemed to be full of habituated bears this time around. We saw one raiding a dumpster by the grocery store, then being pursued by an angry local waving a broom stick. The bear was so fat and shiny, it looked like it had been raiding town the whole summer. I also talked to a lady who knew someone that had their car broken into by a bear. Not surprisingly, there were fresh footprints right outside the cabin the next morning. It was a good thing I took all the food out of my car overnight! This was the first time I’d seen a bear in Colorado in many years…I can’t even recall seeing one on the trail, only in towns.
I was hoping that Alan and Alex might join me for one last hike up a 14er, but they were both anxious to hit the trail. Also, the weather was still quite raw on Tuesday, with frequent rain squalls through the morning. I was certain it was snowing on top the 14ers, so I opted to hang out at the Hiker Center for another day. I saw everyone off as they departed on the noon shuttle. Just as soon as they left, a volunteer showed up to put out a bunch of free food. Of course I had to send pictures to my friends, to rub it in. Later, another volunteer, Lydia, came by to invite me and a CT hiker, Mini Mouse, over to her house for bean soup. I felt a little guilty accepting the free food and hiker amenities, since I wasn’t technically thru-hiking. But I reasoned that since I hadn’t received any trail magic on my previous 2 visits to Lake City when I was thru-hiking, I should just be grateful for my good fortune this time. The bean soup was so good and it was fun to meet Lydia’s family.
In the evening, I drove to the trailhead in the fading light. There was only one other vehicle in the lot and the occupants were already asleep for the night in their topper tent. At over 10k’, it was quite cold and getting colder. The skies had finally cleared, which meant the temps would most definitely drop below freezing. I thought of my friends braving the weather on the trail as I snuggled into the back of my car. I still had the top quilt I borrowed from my friend Woody, which I most definitely used this night. Brrrrr.
Finally, getting back to my 14er quest, this was my 3rd success in climbing three 14ers in one day! A triple of triples! My previous were the DeCaLiBron (could also be considered a quad) and more recently, Belford, Oxford and Missouri. I didn’t intend to do all 3 peaks when I set out for Redcloud and Sunshine in the morning. Only these 2 were on the agenda, as they are close together, easily connected by a spectacular 1.5 mile ridge hike. But at nearly 12 miles round trip, believe me, doing just these 2 was certainly enough for one day. Taking on the 3rd was only out of necessity, buoyed by too much bravado, as I’ll explain later.
As expected, I woke to temperatures in the mid to low 20s. I lounged in my quilt for awhile, waiting for it to warm up a bit…or at least for the sun to start hitting parts of the valley. I didn’t depart my car until after 7 am, which of course, I’d come to regret later. Not initially being in a hurry, I worked my way easily up the valley, savoring the beauty of the morning. The recent storm had dropped half an inch of snow above 13k’, which highlighted and contrasted the multi-colored peaks so nicely. Also, the aspens were really coming into their peak. The sky was so clear and there was frost on all the vegetation. I passed only one guy on the way up, so it was one of the most quiet hikes yet. What a perfect morning.
I made it to Redcloud’s summit by 9 am and shared it with a nice couple from Kansas. The altitude was getting to them, so they decided to forgo the ridge hike to Sunshine. Too bad, because it was one of the most beautiful stretches I’ve done to connect 2 peaks…and I had it all to myself. I laid down fresh footsteps in the snow to get there, which was pure joy. I had the option of taking a different route down from Sunshine, but elected to go back the same way I’d come, simply because the trail was so pleasant and the views so grand. I had to drop and gain a couple hundred feet both ways along the ridge, but the grade was pretty mellow. I’d say this hike definitely rated in the top 10, if not 5, of my favorite 14er hikes.
While I was at the halfway point on top Sunshine, I got an updated weather report that drastically changed my plans. Another storm was coming in on Saturday, so if I wanted to hike the five 14ers in the area before then, I needed to step up my game. I planned to do Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre on separate days (this plan would change too), so that meant I had only 2 days to hike 3 peaks. Maybe I could still fit Handies in this same afternoon? Once the idea was in my head, I just couldn’t let it go. I reversed the ridge at a fast pace while I went over various scenarios in my head. By the time I got back to Redcould, I was determined to try for Handies Peak in the afternoon. The weather was so perfect all day, why not make the most of it?
I didn’t figure I had enough time to hike the longest route (8 miles RT) departing from the Grizzly Gulch TH (same lot as for Redcloud/Sunshine), and I also knew that my car couldn’t handle the 4WD road to the higher American Basin trailhead. But if I could get a hitch there, I could take the shorter route to the top, plus save myself 1k’ of climbing. I all but ran back down from Redcloud, making it to the trailhead by 2 pm. I didn’t even stop to have lunch, figuring I could eat while I tried to hitch. I also didn’t see a single person on the trail as I retraced my steps.
Despite being the middle of the week, there were a surprising amount of vehicles passing by. But most were rental side-by-sides full of leaf-peepers…tourists from Texas who had no interest in my shenanigans. Granted, who would be trying to hitch up a remote 4WD road late in the afternoon? Answer: only a crazy person. Still, I was surprised no one even asked to see what I was up to or if I was ok…perhaps my car had broken down and I was stranded? After 20 minutes, a Subaru Outback came bouncing along and stopped. It was a fellow hiker, on his way to climb Handies! What luck. After jumping in, I told him how relieved I was not to be the only crazy person heading up so late. It was also funny that his car was so similar to mine and seemed to handle the 4WD road just fine. I was impressed with his driving and the car’s ability. AWD doesn’t equate to 4WD, but Coloradan’s will drive a Subaru just about anywhere, I’ve seen it done many a time.
I was eager to take off running once we got to the trailhead, my time being so short and day already so long, but I also felt obligated to hike with my new friend. I regret that I can’t remember his name now, but he saved me several miles and a lot of climbing. Thanks blue Subaru Man! So I took it easy for the first few miles, gabbing away about gear and trails. At least the trail was well-graded and maintained, heading up the beautiful basin to Sloan lake, and then taking a series of mellow switchbacks to gain the ridge. Handies Peak is after all the turnaround point of the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Race. Can you imagine, doing an ultra run that goes up a 14er for the halfway point? Well, this day was broaching 20 miles and 7500′ of gain for me, so maybe I can imagine it.
I also take for granted that even my easy pace can be unrelenting, so after a bit I noticed the silence behind me. I pushed on solo, gaining my 3rd summit of the day by 5 pm (technically, this was my 4th since I had to partially re-climb Redcloud on the way back). I was shortly joined by a father and son pair, Dallan and Curtis, and later Subaru Man. We took our obligatory photos and hung out for just a bit. Sorry I didn’t have any signs for all these peaks this day.
After summiting, I could have (and probably should have) gone the easy route, retracing my steps back to the Subaru. But I stubbornly decided to see some new terrain and take the East Slopes and valley all the way back to my car. The views were just so nice, I wanted some more time to enjoy them as I followed the ridge north. The route was very lovely, right up until I hit the snow. Earlier, while trying to hitch, my car-camping mates had returned to the lot from this route, warning me that there was some treacherous footing on the Northeast face. Now I was trying to go down this at the end of the day, worried about running out of daylight. Luckily gravity was in my favor and I simply slid a few feet on my butt across some of the switchbacks. I was surprised to find about a foot of snow in places. It didn’t last long at least, allowing me to resume my jog all the way down into the basin and then the final few miles to the trailhead.
The return hike was about a mile longer, and I felt every bit of it towards the end. I made it back to the trailhead at 7 pm, logging almost 12 hours of hiking for the day. I was just in time to wave at the Blue Subaru as my friend passed by…yep, should have gone the short way back. With no time to waste, I jumped in my car, heading to Lake City for dinner and a charge. I needed a quick turnaround in order to tackle another 14er the next morning. But as is typical of my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants planning, 1 would turn into 2.