Mt. Lindsey Trip Report 06/25/2012

Peak(s):	Mt. Lindsey - 14,055 feet
Date Posted:	06/25/2012
Date Climbed:	06/23/2012
Author:	swdishfishhoarder

Infantrymen on Mt. Lindsey's north route
A month or so ago my best friend from the Army, Ian, and I climbed Pikes Peak. He hurt his back and I twisted my knee on the way up so he decided we should take the train down. I know some of y'all on this site would not count that as a successful climb, but I do. For arguments sake, I'll count Mt. Lindsey as my second 14er. Ian and I served together in Afghanistan in 2009-10. Since then, I have gotten out of the Army and gone back to school and Ian is now a recruiter. On Friday Ian drove down to the Springs with two of his recruiter buddies who are also infantrymen. Our drive to the trail head took longer than expected because of a weird set of circumstances. Eventually we made it near the trail head and set up camp. The next morning we woke up at 5:30 and were on the road by 6:00. We camped just before the road passes into National Forest and had to drive the remaining distance to the trail head. After another delay, we finally started along the trail at 6:50. One of the guys started feeling weird since he hadn't acclimated to Colorado. He had been here long enough but is a big guy weighing 215 lbs. His cardio sucks so he hadn't completely acclimated. Smith ended up turning around and spent the day sleeping and hanging out in his car. Ian, Matt, and I continued on the trail and got to the most beautiful section of the whole hike. I'll let the pictures do the talking. About halfway up this section of the trail we found a cave and explored it. It only went about 50 meters into the rock but was a lot of fun to see. The whole time we hiked up this draw we were taking our time and taking tons of pictures. We would of gotten up the mountain faster but we were in no rush in the morning and enjoyed the scenery. By far our favorite part of the hike was the gully leading up Mt. Lindsey. Before we set out on the hike we were all a little hesitant about it but it turned out being a blast. It was challenging but it was so much fun trying to navigate our way up the gully. I read several trip reports before hiking Mt. Lindsey and they are all right, stay on the right side as you ascend. I have very limited experience with technical climbing but this was so much fun. It was by no means technical and even if someone has a fear of heights, it would be no problem. Best part of the hike! Ian and Matt ascending the gully After the gully the trail is easy and we soon got to the top at 11:45. Ian and I on the summit And of course the Which Wich picture When we got to the summit we saw a guy propose to his girlfriend and she said yes. I gotta give that guy a lot of credit for being so creative. Congratulations you two. We also saw a chipmunk and two marmots at the summit. The hike down was uneventful and went by pretty quick. The temperature rose so we didn't stop and take pictures like we did on the way up. I think we got back between 3:30 and 4pm but I'm not sure. Smith was patiently waiting for us and had thrown up right before we got back to the car. We all assumed he would feel better when he got back to the car but he had a headache and an upset stomach the whole day. When we got to a lower elevation he felt better. I think his issues were caused by not being fully acclimated and a poor breakfast. Overall this was a great climb. The scenery in that first draw and climbing the gully were my favorite parts. I would definitely hike this mountain again and would recommend it to people. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Infantrymen on Mt. Lindsey's north route

A month or so ago my best friend from the Army, Ian, and I climbed Pikes Peak. He hurt his back and I twisted my knee on the way up so he decided we should take the train down. I know some of y'all on this site would not count that as a successful climb, but I do. For arguments sake, I'll count Mt. Lindsey as my second 14er.

Ian and I served together in Afghanistan in 2009-10. Since then, I have gotten out of the Army and gone back to school and Ian is now a recruiter. On Friday Ian drove down to the Springs with two of his recruiter buddies who are also infantrymen. Our drive to the trail head took longer than expected because of a weird set of circumstances. Eventually we made it near the trail head and set up camp.

The next morning we woke up at 5:30 and were on the road by 6:00. We camped just before the road passes into National Forest and had to drive the remaining distance to the trail head. After another delay, we finally started along the trail at 6:50.

One of the guys started feeling weird since he hadn't acclimated to Colorado. He had been here long enough but is a big guy weighing 215 lbs. His cardio sucks so he hadn't completely acclimated. Smith ended up turning around and spent the day sleeping and hanging out in his car.

Ian, Matt, and I continued on the trail and got to the most beautiful section of the whole hike. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

About halfway up this section of the trail we found a cave and explored it. It only went about 50 meters into the rock but was a lot of fun to see.

The whole time we hiked up this draw we were taking our time and taking tons of pictures. We would of gotten up the mountain faster but we were in no rush in the morning and enjoyed the scenery.

By far our favorite part of the hike was the gully leading up Mt. Lindsey. Before we set out on the hike we were all a little hesitant about it but it turned out being a blast. It was challenging but it was so much fun trying to navigate our way up the gully. I read several trip reports before hiking Mt. Lindsey and they are all right, stay on the right side as you ascend. I have very limited experience with technical climbing but this was so much fun. It was by no means technical and even if someone has a fear of heights, it would be no problem. Best part of the hike!

Ian and Matt ascending the gully

After the gully the trail is easy and we soon got to the top at 11:45.

Ian and I on the summit

And of course the Which Wich picture

When we got to the summit we saw a guy propose to his girlfriend and she said yes. I gotta give that guy a lot of credit for being so creative. Congratulations you two.

We also saw a chipmunk and two marmots at the summit.

The hike down was uneventful and went by pretty quick. The temperature rose so we didn't stop and take pictures like we did on the way up. I think we got back between 3:30 and 4pm but I'm not sure. Smith was patiently waiting for us and had thrown up right before we got back to the car. We all assumed he would feel better when he got back to the car but he had a headache and an upset stomach the whole day. When we got to a lower elevation he felt better. I think his issues were caused by not being fully acclimated and a poor breakfast.

Overall this was a great climb. The scenery in that first draw and climbing the gully were my favorite parts. I would definitely hike this mountain again and would recommend it to people.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

djkest

Thank you
6/26/2012 3:07pm

Thank you for your service. Mt. Lindsey is a nice place and I'm glad the weather allowed you to enjoy it. Be careful around mines, they can be hazardous, and may be private property.

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