We drove from Ryan's in south Denver and started hiking at about 8:15 (or 8:30?). We did the standard route, a YDS class 1, which is the easiest route we have attempted so far (proven by the two guys that actually jogged the entire way from I-70... sherpa training or masochists?). The trail starts around 11,200 ft and is 3.5 miles from the summit. There seemed to be three distinct sections, so I would divide the hike into thirds mentally. The first third is surprisingly flat and required very few stops to catch breath (mind the elevation though). The second third (above Steven's Gulch from about 12,800 ft to 13,400 ft) is steeper and (not that it's a race, but nobody likes a traffic jam) provides the chance to pass groups of 6, the elderly, or those in jeans and tennis shoes. The final third is switchbacks that allow you to keep a good pace and get to the summit without putting forth a tremendous effort.
At the rock tower around 13,400, a mountain goat walked right across the trail in front of me. I was surprised to see how much of its winter coat was still on (it is July, right?), and how much shorter the summer coat was.
At that point I also had to turn around to the North and take a few photos of Steven's Gulch below. It was very green and beautifully carved. In the photo below you can see the trail crossing from center to lower left. The second photo below is Torrey's Peak, Gray's neighbor to the northwest.
Beyond this point, the remaining 900 feet of elevation gain are the third section I referenced above. From the summit we could see other 14ers including Mt. Evans and Mt. Bierstadt, Pikes Peak (seen from all our 14ers so far), nearby Torreys Peak, and Mt. of the Holy Cross. In addition to loads of other mountains, we could also see Breckenridge and Keystone ski areas as well as Lake Dillon (upper left in summit photo below).
Mt. Evans (left) and Bierstadt (right) with Sawtooth in between:
Torrey's (look how many people are on the summit as well as the trail!):
This route was probably just as busy as Mt. Bierstadt, but was much cleaner and slightly more difficult to access (the guy in the Toyota Camry that made it to the trailhead would probably agree he should have borrowed his neighbor's high clearance SUV or parked 3 miles down just off I-70).Once back on the road we headed east to Virgilio's for pizza, which Ryan had heard about. The food was great... I'll be going back there again! We then vegged out for about 3 hours (caught up on Man vs. Wild via DVR) and eventually made our way up to the Rockies game. Dodging lightning (slight exaggeration) as we stood in line to buy tickets (hmm... is this a good idea?), we left the stadium and grabbed a few beers during the rain delay (always a good idea). The game was a good one, and the home team won 6-3. All in all, it was another dreadful Saturday here in Colorado. If this keeps up, I just don't know what I'm going to do with myself... ;)
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