Quandary Peak Trip Report 08/14/2007

Peak(s):	Quandary Peak - 14,272 feet
Date Posted:	08/14/2007
Date Climbed:	08/14/2007
Author:	mountainlover

Quandary- East Ridge solo hike
After a summer spent back East tackling such New England beasts as Katahdin, Mt. Washington, and others, I was eager to return home to the Colorado Rockies where the skies shine blue, the air runs thin, and the trailmakers actually believe in switchbacks. With those thoughts in mind, I was eager to hit the trail again to tackle my 12th 14er. Unfortunately, my native Coloradan red blood cell count had diminished during my summer spent breathing in the thick air of the East, so I spent a day acclimating in Colorado Springs prior to heading out to the mountains. The next day, I woke up at 4:30, ready to take on Quandary Peak as a warm-up for Longs Peak the following day. After grabbing a bagel and a large coffee (because I don't function that early in the AM without it), I hit the road, absorbing the beautiful scenery and wide open vistas along the drive. Eventually, I arrived at the Quandary trailhead around 7, and started up the trail at 7:10. Blazing up the trail at about the same pace I hiked back East felt delightful....for a grand total of 10 minutes. After pausing to let my hard breathing subside, I remembered that little factor called altitude. I somehow managed to forget that I was hiking hard at 10,000+ feet, so I reigned in the pace, and headed up the well-maintained trail at a pace I could maintain for the remainder of the hike. After becoming accustomed to the extremely rocky, steep trails of the East, I noticed how kind this trail was to my feet. Thank you Colorado trail gods for lovely dirt trails. Pausing every so often to take in the view and drink some water, I steadily made my way up the East ridge. Surprisingly, the higher up in elevation I went, the better I felt on this hike. Go figure...anyways, I summited at 9:25, making for an ascent time of 2 hours, 15 minutes. I spent a luxurious 40 minutes on top, taking in the views and enjoying a delicious PBJ. Me on the summit Views from the top Around 10:00, I said goodbye to the Quandary summit, and headed down to greet a steady stream of hikers headed up to the summit. The descent was relatively pleasant in spite of the fact that I generally loathe descents (oh, the pain!) Looking back up at the final pitch to the summit The clouds were building, however, so I was happy to see my car again at 11:45, making for a descent time of 1hour, 45 minutes. Sitting in my car, I marveled at how quickly the hike flew by. All in all, Quandary was a fun hike, and a great mountain to try for my first solo hike (admittedly, I was hardly ever alone on the slope, but oh well). With my legs warmed up on Quandary, I was bracing myself for a long day on Longs (not by myself) the very next day. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Quandary- East Ridge solo hike

After a summer spent back East tackling such New England beasts as Katahdin, Mt. Washington, and others, I was eager to return home to the Colorado Rockies where the skies shine blue, the air runs thin, and the trailmakers actually believe in switchbacks. With those thoughts in mind, I was eager to hit the trail again to tackle my 12th 14er. Unfortunately, my native Coloradan red blood cell count had diminished during my summer spent breathing in the thick air of the East, so I spent a day acclimating in Colorado Springs prior to heading out to the mountains.

The next day, I woke up at 4:30, ready to take on Quandary Peak as a warm-up for Longs Peak the following day. After grabbing a bagel and a large coffee (because I don't function that early in the AM without it), I hit the road, absorbing the beautiful scenery and wide open vistas along the drive. Eventually, I arrived at the Quandary trailhead around 7, and started up the trail at 7:10. Blazing up the trail at about the same pace I hiked back East felt delightful....for a grand total of 10 minutes. After pausing to let my hard breathing subside, I remembered that little factor called altitude. I somehow managed to forget that I was hiking hard at 10,000+ feet, so I reigned in the pace, and headed up the well-maintained trail at a pace I could maintain for the remainder of the hike. After becoming accustomed to the extremely rocky, steep trails of the East, I noticed how kind this trail was to my feet. Thank you Colorado trail gods for lovely dirt trails. Pausing every so often to take in the view and drink some water, I steadily made my way up the East ridge. Surprisingly, the higher up in elevation I went, the better I felt on this hike. Go figure...anyways, I summited at 9:25, making for an ascent time of 2 hours, 15 minutes. I spent a luxurious 40 minutes on top, taking in the views and enjoying a delicious PBJ.

Me on the summit

Views from the top

Around 10:00, I said goodbye to the Quandary summit, and headed down to greet a steady stream of hikers headed up to the summit. The descent was relatively pleasant in spite of the fact that I generally loathe descents (oh, the pain!)

Looking back up at the final pitch to the summit

The clouds were building, however, so I was happy to see my car again at 11:45, making for a descent time of 1hour, 45 minutes. Sitting in my car, I marveled at how quickly the hike flew by. All in all, Quandary was a fun hike, and a great mountain to try for my first solo hike (admittedly, I was hardly ever alone on the slope, but oh well). With my legs warmed up on Quandary, I was bracing myself for a long day on Longs (not by myself) the very next day.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

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