Handies Peak Trip Report 08/14/2016

Peak(s):	Handies Peak - 14,058 feet Uncompahgre Peak - 14,318 feet
Date Posted:	08/14/2016
Modified:	08/16/2016
Date Climbed:	08/14/2016
Author:	DanGran

Sunrise and Sunset on the Top of the World
Day stats: ~23 miles & 8,500 feet of elev. gain. Some touched up pics: I absolutely adore spending sunrise on a peak. For a long time, I've wondered if sunset would be just as spectacular. But... up till now I've never had a good opportunity to be on a peak at sunset. For this trip, things just happened to line up perfectly. It was the best time to see a meteor shower, there was a near 0% chance of rain all day (unheard of!), and I'd just spent a day in the Ouray hot springs, leaving me feeling rejuvenated and ready to climb! I decided to tackle two technically easier peaks to make the night sections of my climb a bit easier. At a little past 11 pm, I jumped in my car armed with five liters of water, a bag of gorp, a couple layers of clothing, a backpack, and a pillow. On the drive from Montrose to Lake City, I must have seen around twenty deer, most with HUGE racks, along the side of the road! Glad none ran directly in front of me... I drove up the 2wd road leading to Handies Peak in my trusty Subaru Legacy, barely scraping past some sections, but making it nonetheless! I left my car just before 3 am to hike the remaining mile of 4wd road on foot. A truck coming down met me halfway up this road, and a man told me that he hadn't seen many stars because the moon was too bright. Thankfully, the moon had sunk beneath the mountains about half and hour earlier. I was in luck! The climb up to Handies Peak went by very quickly. It was dark and cold, and having a bright headlamp was necessary. Even with a bright light I couldn't make out some key landmarks along the route (like the lake)... but I just kept following the path, winding higher and higher! I reached the summit at just before 4:30 and shut off my light. The sky was incredible. The Milky Way spread out above me as I've never seen it before and every few seconds I saw a shooting star blazing its way through the atmosphere. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of the shower, as all I was armed with at the time was my cell phone. (I really need a better camera...) Just take my word for it, it was amazing. Anyway, at about 5 the cold started really getting to me. When I left my car, it was 33 degrees Fahrenheit. It must have been hovering around 20 degrees at the summit. I ran along the ridge near Handies Peak for a while, trying to keep my blood flowing. The stars began to disappear and a light appeared on the horizon. At about 5:30, I was joined by two fellow hikers with expensive looking cameras, presumably to photograph sunrise. Finally the sun started to rise above the peaks far to the east. Light began to illuminate the tops of the mountains dotting the landscape all around me and warm the frosted ground on which I stood. I felt so happy as the warmth of the sun entered my shivering body. Standing there absorbing the energy of the sun, I was reminded of how necessary this orange ball is for all the life on the planet. I think being in a situation like this really helped me to appreciate light and heat in general. In just a few short minutes, I felt the temperature around me rise significantly. Shortly after sunrise I left Handies Peak and jogged down the trail to my car, passing about five groups of people heading up. I made it back in about 40 minutes. From there, I drove back into Lake City and up to the beginning of the 4wd road leading up to Nellie Creek Trail. Exhausted at this point, (having not slept in over 24 hours), I climbed into the backseat of my car, set an alarm for 3:15 pm, and fell asleep almost instantly. I awoke slightly before my alarm feeling refreshed and ready to go. So I pulled on my boots and reloaded my backpack before heading up the 4wd road in front of me. After about 2 miles (out of 4), my right leg started to burn (quadriceps?). I went a bit slower up the remainder of the road, reaching Nellie Creek Trailhead at about 4:40. I sat there for a little while, hoping rest would ease the pain in my leg. It helped slightly, but as I continued up the trail, I definitely still felt... ugh. I passed three groups of hikers heading down from Uncompahgre Peak. Some seemed concerned with my decision to head up so late, asking me if I knew I would be coming down in the dark and asking me if anyone knew where I was. Yup and yup! Although, I admit, hiking in the dark alone isn't my favorite thing to do. The pain in my leg didn't get any better as I ascended, but it didn't get any worse either. Good enough for me! The class 2 scrambling hurt a bit more, but thankfully it only makes up a small section of the trail. I reached the summit at just after 7 to see a spectacular landscape illuminated by the light of the 'golden hour.' At 7:40 I started to make my way down with the goal of getting past the class 2 section before actual sunset. I stopped just after the class 2 scrambling section and waited for sunset. As the sun lowered behind Wetterhorn and Matterhorn, the valley beneath me was blanketed in the shadow of Uncompahgre. It was SPECTACULAR! When the sun finally sank beneath the mountains far to the west, I began my descent. My leg didn't hurt anymore. Yay! It got dark enough for me to pull out my headlamp about halfway down Nellie Creek Trail. My path was also illuminated by the moon, which was helpful. I had almost reached the trailhead when a terrifying sight greeted me. A pair of bright green eyes stared at me from about 100 feet down the trail. I yelled, "Who's there?!?" No response, but the eyes darted into the woods to my left. I grabbed a couple of rocks and continued down the path, watching the woods intently. Soon, I saw the eyes again staring out at me, this time joined by a second pair, then a third. I yelled at them a little more. They made no effort to come any closer, just sometimes moving back and forth through the trees before stopping to stare at me once more. I decided to make my way down the remainder of the path. I never saw them again. Coyotes maybe? I soon reached the parking lot for Nellie Creek Trail and began to work my way down the 4wd road. The rest of my time in the forest was uneventful. I saw nothing but the occasional car, tent, or campfire. I reached my car at 11 pm, my feet sore, but my heart and mind still soaring from what I'd seen a few hours earlier. I drove back to Montrose, only coming across one lone roadside deer. Successful day! Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Sunrise and Sunset on the Top of the World

Day stats:
~23 miles & 8,500 feet of elev. gain.

Some touched up pics:

I absolutely adore spending sunrise on a peak. For a long time, I've wondered if sunset would be just as spectacular. But... up till now I've never had a good opportunity to be on a peak at sunset. For this trip, things just happened to line up perfectly. It was the best time to see a meteor shower, there was a near 0% chance of rain all day (unheard of!), and I'd just spent a day in the Ouray hot springs, leaving me feeling rejuvenated and ready to climb! I decided to tackle two technically easier peaks to make the night sections of my climb a bit easier.

At a little past 11 pm, I jumped in my car armed with five liters of water, a bag of gorp, a couple layers of clothing, a backpack, and a pillow. On the drive from Montrose to Lake City, I must have seen around twenty deer, most with HUGE racks, along the side of the road! Glad none ran directly in front of me...

I drove up the 2wd road leading to Handies Peak in my trusty Subaru Legacy, barely scraping past some sections, but making it nonetheless! I left my car just before 3 am to hike the remaining mile of 4wd road on foot. A truck coming down met me halfway up this road, and a man told me that he hadn't seen many stars because the moon was too bright. Thankfully, the moon had sunk beneath the mountains about half and hour earlier. I was in luck!

The climb up to Handies Peak went by very quickly. It was dark and cold, and having a bright headlamp was necessary. Even with a bright light I couldn't make out some key landmarks along the route (like the lake)... but I just kept following the path, winding higher and higher! I reached the summit at just before 4:30 and shut off my light. The sky was incredible. The Milky Way spread out above me as I've never seen it before and every few seconds I saw a shooting star blazing its way through the atmosphere. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of the shower, as all I was armed with at the time was my cell phone. (I really need a better camera...) Just take my word for it, it was amazing.

Anyway, at about 5 the cold started really getting to me. When I left my car, it was 33 degrees Fahrenheit. It must have been hovering around 20 degrees at the summit. I ran along the ridge near Handies Peak for a while, trying to keep my blood flowing. The stars began to disappear and a light appeared on the horizon. At about 5:30, I was joined by two fellow hikers with expensive looking cameras, presumably to photograph sunrise. Finally the sun started to rise above the peaks far to the east.

Light began to illuminate the tops of the mountains dotting the landscape all around me and warm the frosted ground on which I stood.

I felt so happy as the warmth of the sun entered my shivering body. Standing there absorbing the energy of the sun, I was reminded of how necessary this orange ball is for all the life on the planet. I think being in a situation like this really helped me to appreciate light and heat in general. In just a few short minutes, I felt the temperature around me rise significantly.

Shortly after sunrise I left Handies Peak and jogged down the trail to my car, passing about five groups of people heading up. I made it back in about 40 minutes. From there, I drove back into Lake City and up to the beginning of the 4wd road leading up to Nellie Creek Trail. Exhausted at this point, (having not slept in over 24 hours), I climbed into the backseat of my car, set an alarm for 3:15 pm, and fell asleep almost instantly.

I awoke slightly before my alarm feeling refreshed and ready to go. So I pulled on my boots and reloaded my backpack before heading up the 4wd road in front of me. After about 2 miles (out of 4), my right leg started to burn (quadriceps?). I went a bit slower up the remainder of the road, reaching Nellie Creek Trailhead at about 4:40. I sat there for a little while, hoping rest would ease the pain in my leg. It helped slightly, but as I continued up the trail, I definitely still felt... ugh. I passed three groups of hikers heading down from Uncompahgre Peak. Some seemed concerned with my decision to head up so late, asking me if I knew I would be coming down in the dark and asking me if anyone knew where I was. Yup and yup! Although, I admit, hiking in the dark alone isn't my favorite thing to do.

The pain in my leg didn't get any better as I ascended, but it didn't get any worse either. Good enough for me!

The class 2 scrambling hurt a bit more, but thankfully it only makes up a small section of the trail. I reached the summit at just after 7 to see a spectacular landscape illuminated by the light of the 'golden hour.'

At 7:40 I started to make my way down with the goal of getting past the class 2 section before actual sunset.

I stopped just after the class 2 scrambling section and waited for sunset. As the sun lowered behind Wetterhorn and Matterhorn, the valley beneath me was blanketed in the shadow of Uncompahgre. It was SPECTACULAR!

When the sun finally sank beneath the mountains far to the west, I began my descent. My leg didn't hurt anymore. Yay! It got dark enough for me to pull out my headlamp about halfway down Nellie Creek Trail. My path was also illuminated by the moon, which was helpful.

I had almost reached the trailhead when a terrifying sight greeted me. A pair of bright green eyes stared at me from about 100 feet down the trail. I yelled, "Who's there?!?" No response, but the eyes darted into the woods to my left. I grabbed a couple of rocks and continued down the path, watching the woods intently. Soon, I saw the eyes again staring out at me, this time joined by a second pair, then a third. I yelled at them a little more. They made no effort to come any closer, just sometimes moving back and forth through the trees before stopping to stare at me once more. I decided to make my way down the remainder of the path. I never saw them again. Coyotes maybe?

I soon reached the parking lot for Nellie Creek Trail and began to work my way down the 4wd road. The rest of my time in the forest was uneventful. I saw nothing but the occasional car, tent, or campfire. I reached my car at 11 pm, my feet sore, but my heart and mind still soaring from what I'd seen a few hours earlier.

I drove back to Montrose, only coming across one lone roadside deer. Successful day!

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

kalebklop

Good job!
8/15/2016 8:19pm

Hey man I was the guy that met you at the summit. Good job on getting Uncompahgre too!

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