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Let me just start by saying: this hike gave us everything we could have hoped for.
My girlfriend and I had been wanting to summit another 14er the last few weeks but the weather has been tough to judge. Plus, our next trip we have planned is The Sawtooth, which requires an early start and neither of us were up for it on Saturday; but we still wanted to get out for a shorter hike. We wanted something short and sweet. Mainly to avoid afternoon thunderstorms and not having to wake up super early. Grizzly satisfied both requirements.
We left Denver around 6:20 and then the trailhead at 7:30. Now I must admit: I was (wrongly) a bit snobbish about doing a 13er and figured it to be a breeze. Immediately, I was reminded that 12,000 ft is still 12,000 ft regardless of the route you're on. The trail immediately gets you going straight up a steep incline, which definitely wakes you up! Once you reach the ridge you can see several 'bumps' along the trail along with "Cupid" on the way to Grizzly. We definitely lucked out with the weather, it was sunny, breezy at times but overall it was a great day to hike.
Here is the route from "Cupid" with Grizzly in the distance.
Also you can see the elevation you've already gained with a good view of Loveland Pass.
After a quick break we were back on the trail. We reached the base of Grizzly and decided to take a break for a snack and to mentally prepare for the final push. The last stretch up Grizzly looks daunting from the base. Every so often we would lose the path but would find our way back to it. The final climb was a bit difficult with the loose gravel making it tough to keep a good footing but there were enough big rocks to keep pressing forward.
We reached the summit around 10 am and enjoyed a quick lunch and took in some of the views .
My girlfriend (wisely) talked me out of continuing to Torrey's Peak, it just looked so tempting !
The trek back to the trailhead was surprisingly difficult as we had to ride the saddle roller-coaster back to the first "bump". Then we made the descent down to the car which we (happily) arrived at around 11:30.
Overall this was a great hike. It was more difficult then we anticipated because of the gains and dips in elevation; but it was a welcomed challenge for both of us.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
I clocked 6.6 miles for Cupid and Grizzly Peak RT. Total elevation gain was 3038 ft. and 4.5 hours with stops. Does not get above class 2 difficulty. As mentioned there is a lot of up and down but a rewarding hike that was fun because not a whole lot of people on the trek.
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