Today would be my last 14'er of the trip to Colorado this year, and I chose another popular one in the hopes that I would strike up some friendly conversations while camping at the trailhead, or whilst at the top. Another reason I chose this particular peak was because the trail started above the treeline! That means not spending two hours hiking through forests, a dream!
And sure enough I befriended two women who were camping nearby, in hammocks nonetheless. We ate dinner together and hung out for a bit. I would see them the next day near the peak, but this ws the only interaction we would have.
This was the third peak in as many days, and I was tired. Grays is part of a common combination route called Grays and Torreys, where you go down a saddle ridge from the summit of Grays, and then head up to the summit of Torreys, and then come back the way you came. I ended up only doing Grays due to how tired I was.
I started the trail around 4:30 am, and the initial path across the river near the trailhead went through a valley shaped like an elongated bowl, although I would be able to see this until on the way back down give that it was still the pre-dawn hours.
Given the gently ascending trail and starting at a high altitude to begin with, I was already pretty high up after a short amount of time. I paused just in time to see a red sun rise over the mountain ridges in the distance, one of my all-time favorite things. The trail was starting to get crowded as I continued on.
About 2 and half hours into the trail and I began the ascent to the summit. It was starting to get more steep here, which meant having to take more breaks due to my poor beating heart. I'm based in Chicago, so going from sea-level to 14,000 feet does a number on my body.
Lovely pink skies illuminated the world around me as I ascended up and up.
I arrived at the summit by 8:30 am, not bad. Great 360˚ views all around, as usual! I made some friends at the top as we huddled behind a rock wall due to the extremely high winds that had picked up within the last half hour. I took a look out over the trail I had just hiked. What a view, I just love hiking above the trees!
Everything is so much more green on the way down now that hte sun is up. By 12:00 pm I get back to the car I left parked at the trailhead, and am ready to go back to another proper campground and reflect on this long weekend of hikes.
