Quandary Peak - #2

It took about a month for us to get back out there due to Jordan's travel schedule for work.  Our next goal was a peak that is very close to Breckenridge and one of the easier 14ers - Quandary Peak.  We didn't learn from our first 14er that it was preferable to get an early start.  So again, we slept in a little and got to the trailhead around 11am.

Quandary Peak - 14,265 feet
Route: East Ridge
Distance:  6.75 miles RT
Elevation Gain: 3,450'
Date:  8/21/11

This route started out steep right from the get-go.  It definitely didn't give my lungs much time to warm up, that's for sure.  But I pushed along.  The beginning of our ascent was uneventful - we ran into a famly who had never hiked a 14er before and we tried to give them some encouragement as we passed them.  As we got above treeline, we noticed the weather was starting to take a turn for the worse.  This is exactly why people say to start your hikes early in Colorado - to avoid the storms that have been deadly for many.  As we kept ascending, hikers were coming down warning us of the ominous storm.  We considered turning around, but ultimately kept pressing on.  We picked up the pace to try to beat the storm (which, in hindsight, this was all a terrible idea).  Mountain goats were running down the mountain as we were going up - never a good sign.  God must have been on our side that day - it was hailing as we summited, but it quickly stopped and the sun came out so that we could enjoy some time on the summit and eat some lunch.

Still, we hurried off the summit faster than we would have liked.  We ran into many of the mountain goats again on the way down - many within arm's reach.  We also saw our first marmot and pica.  The weather cleared up completely and we had a great hike down back to our car.  We finished around 5pm and vowed to never start that late again after being threatened with such terrible weather.

(pictures coming soon)