Quandary Peak Trip Report 09/07/2014

Peak(s):	Quandary Peak - 14,272 feet
Date Posted:	09/07/2014
Date Climbed:	09/07/2014
Author:	twarren8758

1st Timer
This was my 1st 14'er and I just wanted to say that this site really helped me plan my trip and make sure I played it safe. The original plan was to do Grays and Torreys since they were both considered a 1 on the difficulty level. I arrive in Denver from Minneapolis yesterday and drove to Frisco to stay at the Holiday Inn there. Since I was passing by the trail head I decided to go up the road a ways and it was pretty rugged. Since I was in a rental car I decided that it might be better to try and locate a 14'er that was a little easier to get to. The nice young guy that checked me in at the hotel suggested Quandary and the rest is history. I got up at about 5:30 AM and made it to the trail head (which was super easy to find and right off the road) at about 6:30. I decided to wear my sneakers instead of my heavy hiking boots. This was a BIG help. I am definitely going to look into getting some the hiking sneakers that I saw everyone else wearing. Hit the trail at about 6:30 and started making my way up. A nice couple with an adorable German Shepherd was just starting out as well. It was cool hiking with the dog since her enthusiasm was infectious and it kept me moving at a good pace. Made it to the tree line in about an hour and saw a pretty daunting view. The nice part was that there were hardly any people ahead of me since I had started out so early. Since this was my first 14'er I did not know what to expect but I was surprised by all the loose rock everywhere at you approach the final climb. There were several goats wandering around and were very tame. They were really neat to see them move around so nimbly on the rocks. Made me feel like a bull in a china shop! Since I am a flat-lander I made several (probably 10) short rest breaks on the way up. Made it to the summit at about 8:50 AM and it was really windy up there. Some other hikers were really cool and congratulated me and made me feel a sense of accomplishment. Spent about 15 minutes at the top and then started back down. Everyone was super friendly and said hello which was awesome. Could not be happier about the way it turned out and I would suggest this hike for 1st timers since it does not require a 4x4 to reach the trail head and did not have any areas that I felt dangerous. It also had some great wildlife to check out. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

1st Timer

This was my 1st 14'er and I just wanted to say that this site really helped me plan my trip and make sure I played it safe. The original plan was to do Grays and Torreys since they were both considered a 1 on the difficulty level. I arrive in Denver from Minneapolis yesterday and drove to Frisco to stay at the Holiday Inn there. Since I was passing by the trail head I decided to go up the road a ways and it was pretty rugged. Since I was in a rental car I decided that it might be better to try and locate a 14'er that was a little easier to get to. The nice young guy that checked me in at the hotel suggested Quandary and the rest is history.

I got up at about 5:30 AM and made it to the trail head (which was super easy to find and right off the road) at about 6:30. I decided to wear my sneakers instead of my heavy hiking boots. This was a BIG help. I am definitely going to look into getting some the hiking sneakers that I saw everyone else wearing. Hit the trail at about 6:30 and started making my way up. A nice couple with an adorable German Shepherd was just starting out as well. It was cool hiking with the dog since her enthusiasm was infectious and it kept me moving at a good pace.

Made it to the tree line in about an hour and saw a pretty daunting view. The nice part was that there were hardly any people ahead of me since I had started out so early. Since this was my first 14'er I did not know what to expect but I was surprised by all the loose rock everywhere at you approach the final climb. There were several goats wandering around and were very tame. They were really neat to see them move around so nimbly on the rocks. Made me feel like a bull in a china shop! Since I am a flat-lander I made several (probably 10) short rest breaks on the way up. Made it to the summit at about 8:50 AM and it was really windy up there. Some other hikers were really cool and congratulated me and made me feel a sense of accomplishment. Spent about 15 minutes at the top and then started back down. Everyone was super friendly and said hello which was awesome.

Could not be happier about the way it turned out and I would suggest this hike for 1st timers since it does not require a 4x4 to reach the trail head and did not have any areas that I felt dangerous. It also had some great wildlife to check out.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

LadyClimber	nice work 9/7/2014 8:46pm Nice work on your first 14er! Glad it was a good experience. I definitely recommend ”hiking sneakers”. The only thing I use boots for anymore is mountaineering and ice climbing.
tcrb	Good job! 9/7/2014 10:00pm Congrats on your first summit!
jet	Quandary 9/7/2014 10:15pm makes for a good 1st 14er, The goats are probably not tame but just used to people. Congrats and enjoy Colorado
mikjik86	Good first climb! 9/8/2014 3:23pm Congrats on your first Fourteener. I just got my first 6 this summer. Next time your in the area you should check out DeCaLiBron about 10 miles south of Quandry. my original plan was to do Quandry and I changed my mind. I made it to the trailhead with no scraping in my 2WD Ford Focus and you get to climb 4 in one day. I managed to bag all 4 of those last Wednesday and if i'm not mistaken you can see Lincolns snowy top, and possibly Democrat in some of your later pics, It looks like I just beat the storm that day. Congrats again!
SummitKathy	Saw you on the summit! 9/8/2014 3:37pm I was the one up there that took your photo on the summit, and told you it was ok to be stoked! I loved how much you were enjoying yourself. Hope it encourages you to do many more
bergsteigen	My 1st 14er, a decade ago 9/8/2014 6:05pm I was up on Quandary yesterday too. Probably saw you as you were coming down, since I started 20min later and was pretty slow since I'm post-surgery recovery. Hope you are now hooked and want to hike more!
MountainSlayer	You FAILED... 9/8/2014 7:59pm to check your 1st 14er off as completed. But please be warned: checking them off can be HIGHLY addicting. But, go ahead...just take a quick hit Carpe Mountainum

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