Grays Peak
Torreys Peak


Before anyone lets me have it, yes, I know Grays & Torreys aren't in Rocky Mountain National Park. But since it was our only day not spent in RMNP, and in an effort to streamline my trip reports, I'm sticking to the headline.

Four years ago, still newbies to this whole 14ers thing, my wife and I attempted Grays & Torreys in late September. We had no gear of any kind - specifically microspikes - and the trail up the entire face of Grays was covered in snow. We also began from the lower trailhead, putting us behind schedule right from the get-go. Suffice it to say, Kellie started feeling sick just a few switchbacks shy of the summit. I ran to the top, grabbed a couple pictures, ran/slid back down, and we called it a day.

So going into this hike, we both had goals. Kellie wanted to go back and get Grays, while I still needed to see the summit of Torreys. We arrived bright and early to the lower trailhead a little before 5 a.m., just in case we had to walk three miles up the road again. Lucky for us, almost right away, an awesome woman named Monica stopped in her giant Jeep and offered us a ride. Thanks again!

The upper trailhead parking lot was already completely full, even at 5:10 a.m., and folks were beginning to park down the road. The trailhead itself looked like the starting line for a 5K, everyone milling about, waiting for the gun to be fired. We started up slow, taking as many breaks as Kellie needed to adjust to the higher altitude. In the process, we let the hordes of people at the trailhead go on by, which made the trip nicer for us. Unlike the majority of the week, the skies were clear and there wasn't any rain in the forecast until late in the afternoon!

Slow and steady was the name of the game, and at 9 a.m., Kellie had her second 14er summit (her first being Mt. Bierstadt two years ago)! While warm and sunny down below, the summit was very windy and cold. We sat down in a rock shelter, sharing the summit with probably a hundred other people. After our rest, Kellie planned to descend the standard Grays Peak trail, while I hoofed it over to Torreys. I would then take the connecting trail off Torreys and meet up with her back on the main trail.

I made it from Grays to Torreys in 30 minutes, where I enjoyed the summit with probably another hundred people. As I stood there resting, I noticed a gentleman who looked extremely familiar.

After a moment, I walked up to him and asked, "Are you Britt?"

"Yes," he said. I'm sure he was confused by my random questioning, but I told him I was a friend of Noel's, and that's all it took. I'd seen countless pictures of him here on 14ers.com. Along with him were two other people I recognized, Justina and Michael. They had come up Kelso Ridge, which was also very busy on Saturday. Britt was kind enough to take my picture on the summit as well. If any of you read this, it was great to meet all three of you!

I hurried back down to the saddle, where a mob of people were gathered to look at two mountain goats - one adult and one baby. The goats quickly ran down the side of the peak, away from all the gawkers. Being a bit of a gawker myself, I reached my camera out as far as I could to try and snap a photo. I actually succeeded in getting one, too.

Coming off the saddle, I encountered the one small snow field of the day. It was slick and slushy, and as I watched others slipping and sliding down the slope, I was very happy to have my trekking poles. With them, it was no trouble whatsoever. Beyond that point, I quickly hurried down the trail, urged on by both my desire to see Kellie and the intense need to pee. As anyone who has been up there knows, there's nowhere to hide on the upper portion of the hike, and I didn't really want to do my business in front of roughly 300 people. So on I ran as fast as I could until I reached the willows. From there, I met Kellie, and we proceeded back to the upper trailhead by just after noon.

We were blessed again, this time by three very nice gentlemen who offered us a ride back down to our car. Thanks again, guys!

With roughly 55 miles of hiking under my belt over six days (I believe Kellie finished with about 41 miles), it was time to drive to Denver for our final evening before heading back home to Missouri. After checking into our hotel, we had a fun, relaxing evening - first going to see Jurassic World, and then dinner at one of our favorite spots, The Old Spaghetti Factory.

Then it was time for a good night's sleep, and a fond farewell the next morning to our absolute favorite state in the U.S.A.

Until next time, Colorado!