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Quandary Peak East Ridge Standard Route Summit Elevation: 14,265 feet Trailhead Elevation: 10,850 feet Elevation Gain: 3,450 feet Round Trip: 6.75 miles Ranked: 13th in elevation Sunrise: 5:40am Temperature: in the 50's
Wind picked up and storm clouds rolled in after 1:15pm Personal Goal: 6th 14er
This was my second solo 14er. I was a little hesitant about possibly getting stuck on a mountain top alone since an experience I had last year after running into bad weather during my first solo. Today Quandary was reported to be warm and dry with mostly clear skies with a 20% chance of thunderstorms. Denver was to be in the mid 90's, so I jumped at the chance to hit the trail and escape the scorching temperatures.
The alarm went off at 5am. I'd gone to bed at midnight the night before due to working second shift, so I hit the snooze button. As I was drifting off my friend texted me to let him I was safe after the hike. Its always a good idea to let someone know where you are going if you go solo. I had prepped the car the night before so I was set, up and outta bed I went.
7:15am With a large cup of coffee in hand, I found myself at the 203 exit off I-70 to Frisco - south on CO 9 to Breck.
There were about 15 cars parked at the TH lot and along the road leading up to the TH. I was able to get a fairly close-in parking space on the side of the road which was nice.
8:04am I started up the TH. Not more than 10 minutes into the hike I was peeling off the layers. It was comfortable, no breeze, and the trail was dry for the most part. There wasn't much mud from the run off until reaching the wooden bridge as the Blue Lakes come into view. There were pockets of snow here and there after that.
8:50am A beautiful scene of Monte / Criso Blue Lakes
9:33 Here was the first sign of lengthy snow pockets, I'd say there were 4 total on the way to the top. Surprisingly not slushy at all, very manageable.
9:45am A view to the top and the steep slope. It appears to be a 45+ degree angle all the way to the top which gave my glutes a great workout.
9:53am This shows the trail curve on the last stretch which is where the mountain goats appeared later that day.
10am Another view of the various loose rocks you need to maneuver through to get to top. These are pretty hazardous. I saw several people with scraped up legs on the way up and down the mountain.
10:50am A view looking back down the trail
11:05am Hooray! The Summit. I didn't see a summit marker at the top, so I took a few pictures and headed back down.
11:08am Here's a view on the summit looking west. The distance of mountain ranges you can see from 14,265' is unbelievable!
11:45am As I came down the trail I noticed these two beauties hanging out on the trail (location pictured in the 9:53am photo)
Both were very curious about the noises coming from my zoom lens. The one on the right casually walked over to me for a closer look. He had the most amazing coat. Just beautiful.
Just as soon as he walked up to me to investigate, he slowly turned and walked up the trail.
Here are a couple shots of the other mountain goat.
Quandary is my 6th 14er. After all was said and done my second solo hike took 3 hours to the top and 2 hours back to the TH.
I did recently purchase a Nike Heart Rate Monitor Watch that keeps track of BPM, MAX% HR & Calories burned (among other things) during a workout. I was curious just how much of a workout (aside from the aches and pains afterwards) a hike like Quandary would me through. Turns out I burned 2742 calories on a 5 hour hike. It keeps track of your workouts as well. The 'Peak' Performance.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
I passed you on my way down. Somewhere around 12,500 or so I think. Quandary is really no big deal solo in my opinion. The weather certainly looked a bit off early in the morning but it certainly cleared up later.
I am thinking about going up Quandary Peak this weekend. Did you need snowshoe or anything for snow? Doesn‘t look like that, but I would like make sure what I have to bring and what I don‘t...
I‘ve lived here all my life and been to the mountains hundreds of times and just saw my first mountain goat ever--the day before you on Quandary. After viewing your pics I think it‘s even more amazing that it has taken this long for me to see one. I wish I could have had your view of those, I would have loved to sit and watch them while snacking. Great trip report.
I am going out to Colorado in August to climb Mt. Quandary, so I aprreciate your great trip report and photos. Also very interesting about how many calories you burned.
yeah. great stuff. i am a teenage guy and i guess i am about your size. great report. i hope to summit quandary on july 21. going from the delta of the Mississippi to the summit of a 14er. brutal but i built in about a week of acclimatization time. great report. id love to try soloing some time.
Solo can be the way to go for many hikes.
Glad you enjoyed it and made the summit.
Great goat shots. Thanks for sharing your day.
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