After my inaugural 14er summit last week on Bierstadt, I set my sights on Grays and Torreys. After doing plenty of research on this excellent site and reading Gerry Roach's book, I planned a late night drive out to the trailhead for a nap and an early start on 7/27/16.

For some reason I decided to drive my FWD sedan all the way up that road to the summer trailhead. I don't plan to do that again...parking at the winter trailhead and hiking or hitching a ride seems like the preferable option for those of us lacking 4WD. There were definitely 2 really rough parts that gave me some trouble, but I was able to make it up to the parking lot and grab a few hours of sleep in the back seat.

I woke up at 5am and was on the trail by 5:15 after some snacks. There were a few groups that headed out before me, but the trail was not too crowded that early on a weekday.

It was an enjoyable trail for the most part and after 20 minutes or so I didn't need my headlamp. But the early going was a little tough mentally. I was still a little tired and having doubts about my ability to grab one, let alone both peaks. About an hour into the hike I took a little break at a large cairn and refueled. The snack/hyrdration/beautiful views flipped a switch and I was rejuvenated for the task at hand.

There were a decent number of people going along the trail. I was definitely taking my time so I got passed by a few groups. A kind, older gentleman gave me and some other folks a few pointers on pacing and resting - slow and steady wins the race. He was using an ice axe as a walking cane and slowly and steadily started pulling ahead of me.

I was continuing my stroll and by this point Grays and Torreys were really starting to come into view. At around 7am, I came around a corner and saw the trail meandering along in front of me. But up on the left, I could see that the ice axe gentleman had ascended a really cool ridge on the left and was beginning to climb his way up it.

I stopped to take a picture of Torreys looming large while I considered my options.

I was motivated to take the harder path here as it looked like some really fun scrambling and I figured if this guy can do it, so can I. So I followed him up a faint trail and began climbing along the jagged ledge. It was a really exciting climb and didn't really have anything too tough or exposed, but it definitely wore me out a bit. By the time I climbed over the last ledge and walked up a grassy/rocky area to the main trail, the other hiker had really pulled away. As I looked back at my route, I refueled and caught my breath while marveling at the ease with which he navigated the ridge.

I started back along the trail, with the intention of going to Torreys first. I like doing hikes and things the reverse way so Torreys to Grays just seemed right to me. I will say that the trail split for going to Grays or Torreys was fairly confusing and not well-marked. I stayed to the right intending to go to Torreys, but I didn't even see the route to Grays. I only noticed that I had to be beyond it after seeing more people along a different trail heading towards Grays.

The trail from the turnoff that ascends toward the saddle between the two peaks was the roughest part of the day for me. It wasn't anything too gnarly, but the trail was steep and rocky and it was a long way down. I had to stop a few times and rest physically and mentally and focus on the path up to the saddle. I also calmed down enough to take a picture of Torreys during the ascending traverse.

I could see the path ahead went across two big patches of snow. The ice axe gentleman went directly across both, but I saw another couple skirt the lower edge of the first patch.

Once I made it up that high, I decided to avoid the first snow patch as well. Another friendly hiker came along and went through the snow and expressed that it wasn't bad at all and actually quite stable. The path pretty much had to go through the second patch of snow so I took my time, and like the other hiker said, it was almost more stable than the trail. A few more steps and I emerged on the saddle around 8:30am and refueled physically and mentally at a large rejuvenation cairn.

I had deduced by this point that the mystery man was also ascending Torreys first, so I was looking forward to chatting about the ridge from earlier. I slowly took my time heading up Torreys and it wasn't long before I encountered our intrepid climber on his way down from the summit. I greeted him again and asked about the ridge. He remembered me following him from earlier and we had a nice chat. His name was Fred Askins and he was very friendly and said he had been climbing Torreys since 1980. I asked him about the ridge and he said it wasn't named, but was also a fun descent that allows for some solitude along the busy trail. Before departing, he gave me a DVD that includes almost 30 minutes of incredible pictures, information and other inspirational content.

From doing a little googling, I can see Mr. Askins is not only a 14er finisher, but a 13er finisher as well. There is not much online but another hiker made a post on a different board congratulating him for his incredible accomplishment. It's a nice change of pace from some of the more self-promoting, self-congratulatory approaches that some people take. So I just wanted to shout out this humble man that brought a lot of positivity to the mountain that day.

Okay, back to the hike. The trail up to Torreys can be a bit difficult to deduce. There is a lot of loose rock and the trail often takes several paths to the same cairn. I just took my time and took the routes that looked best to me. It wasn't too difficult overall and the gigantic cairns helped a lot.

At about 9:15, I stepped up onto the fairly spacious summit of Torreys. Spacious may be pushing it, but there was plenty of room up there for me and the other 5-6 people on top. I enjoyed the views and eventually did the whole "you take my picture and I'll take yours" dance. For some reason, I declined to remove the shirt that I was using to shield my neck/ears from the sun.

I spent about 15 minutes enjoying the Torreys summit and began my descent back to the saddle. Despite my worries earlier in the day, I no longer had any doubts about ascending Grays as well. I spoke to a couple on their way up Torreys and we encouraged each other to do Grays. After a stroll along the saddle I found myself back at the trail turnoff that I ascended. After a momentary thought of early retreat, I focused on Grays.

The trail up to Grays from the saddle was definitely easier to follow than the one on Torreys. The throngs of people descending Grays also helped me stay on track while providing ample opportunity for rest. After a nice slow ascent, I stepped onto the summit of Grays Peak at 10:45am. It was definitely windier than Torreys, and I had to throw another layer back on. At least I took off my hat-shirt for this summit photo.

The summit was also much roomier than Torreys and was quite crowded. There were some folks enjoying champagne and beer and it was a very jovial atmosphere.

It wasn't just people and dogs either. Over near the trail to descend Grays was a group of mountain goats just posting up. Pretty cool to see for sure.

I spent about 10 minutes up top and decided to get out of the wind. I began making my way down the switchbacks of the trail and encountered the couple from Torreys. They were taking a different path up Grays and we congratulated each other for sticking to our goals. As I approached a cool rock formation (I believe it is The Rascal from reading Gerry Roach's book) I saw another mountain goat just chilling and roaming around on the trail. There were several people slowly making their way toward him and he vacated the trail to go do goat stuff at the base of The Rascal.

As I looked back up at Grays, I saw another majestic goat, bathed in goatlight. I assume he is the leader.

I continued my descent and debated descending what I now refer to as "Askins Ridge." I decided to go for it and descended most of it before bailing at the end once I was a bit lower. I didn't have it in me to climb over the last obstacle, but I enjoyed the additional detour all the same. There were a few other friendly groups of people and we continued to hop in front of each other as we made our way back to the trailhead. I stopped for one more picture of the big peaks.

At 1pm I was back at my car and realized I still had to drive down 3 miles of suck. Chatted with a couple who had just finished hiking with their young daughter and their dog. The man is apparently one of you badasses that ski the 14ers. As someone with only 3 14ers hiked, It's pretty inspiring to see and hear what other people can do on these awesome mountains.

I decided to quit putting it off, and began the descent back to the highway. I didn't encounter too many complications and was able to creep down the road, occasionally letting 4WD vehicles pass. With about half a mile back to I70, I saw a familiar figure strolling down the road. It was Mr. Askins who had begun his hike at I70 instead of the beginner trailhead further. I offered him a ride, but of course he was certainly in no need of that. He did suggest that I drive to the other side of I70 and look back for some cool peak views. I took him up on this, but I'm not quite sure which is which, and I might not have taken this picture from the right location.

Either way it was an incredible hike with incredible views and incredible people. By 2pm I was sitting in Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs enjoying a Blood Orange IPA and a bacon cheddar burger.

Thanks for reading my Trip Report! I hope it was enjoyable and provides some helpful info to others. Happy climbing, and I will leave you with a few bonus pictures while I plot my next 14er.

Thanks again!