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My plans this weekend were to drive over to the Tenmile - Mosquito Range so that I could climb at least one 14er and hopefully a second one, too. I left work on Friday and headed east. A few hours later I had my campsite setup along Fourmile Creek just outside of Fairplay. I had a little time before dark, so I decided to drive up to the trailhead for Mount Sherman and check it out. Mount Sherman was my planned hike on Saturday morning.
When I arrived at the trailhead for Mount Sherman the distant storm was lit up by evening light.
That night it stormed on and off frequently with heavy rain, lightning and thunder. I didnt sleep very well, so it didnt help that I woke up at 4:00am to have a quick breakfast and start my hike to the top of 14,036 Mount Sherman. By this time the storms had stopped, but there were still plenty of darker clouds in the sky.
I was a little hesitant to start the hike with all the clouds in the sky this morning, but I did anyway...
I must say, Mount Sherman is probably the easiest 14er I have climbed to date. I was feeling pretty good when I got back down and knew I would be able to attempt another one on Sunday. I had hiked to the peak and back in about 3 hours, so it was still very early when I was done. I stopped in Fairplay for a quick breakfast/lunch and then made my way over to the Mosquito Pass Road so I could do a little exploring in my Jeep and search for some wildflowers. I was hoping Id be able to make it over the pass to Leadville, but near the top there was a large snow drift that was still blocking the road, so I had to return the same way.
On Sunday morning I was up at 4:00am again and had my camp taken down and loaded into my Jeep in no time. I had a quick breakfast and was the first person at the trailhead for Quandary Peak by 5:15am. The weather was looking much better this morning for my climb up to the top of 14,265 Quandary Peak. I started the hike in the dark and got to watch the sunrise on the surrounding mountains as I hiked to the top. It was a great morning!
Following the trail to Quandary Peak above treeline before the sun makes an appearance.
The hike to the top of Quandary Peak was a bit tougher than Mount Sherman since it is a longer hike with more elevation gain, but I was feeling pretty good on the hike thanks to getting better acclimated to the elevation by hiking Mount Sherman the day before. It took my just under 3 hours to reach the summit, but that was with a lot of stops for photos along the way. It only took me an hour and a half to get back down to my Jeep. From there I headed back home to finish off the weekend, with only one stop at GRIND in Glenwood Springs for an excellent burger. It was another great weekend in the mountains!
Thanks Daniel, I actually didn't drag my DSLR on the hikes to the summits on this trip, so many of the photos were just taken with my little Canon S90. The rest of the photos were taken with my Canon 6D which is the camera I usually use the most.
Another compliment on your sweet photos ! You definitely have an eye for photography ! Keep posting your reports so I can realize what crappy photos I take.
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