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Peak(s)  Torreys Peak  -  14,272 feet
Grays Peak  -  14,275 feet
Date Posted  07/27/2020
Date Climbed   07/21/2020
Author  jmjr2k
Additional Members   Hikingaroundandsuch
 Not A Gray Day On Grays & Torreys   

Grays & Torreys are a pair of 14'ers that have been on my bucket list for a while now. First, they are close to Denver and easy to get to, and second, I'm trying to knock out the Front Range and move on. We had a new member of the hiking team that joined us this year-my new son-in-law. He's not one for exposure or high places, but somehow we got him convinced to give it a try, and he did great. The main parking area at the trailhead at 0500 had a few spots left, and we snagged one with our jeep. It's a rough ride up that road for sure, but it's good for waking you up for the journey ahead.

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Alpenglow on the peaks
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Sunrise on the willows


At the beginning of the trailhead, there is a privy/toilet there just in case before you start off on the trail. We then crossed the foot-bridge while it was still a bit dark with headlights on just for about 30 minutes before the alpenglow began to show on the peaks that morning. The initial part of the hike at lower elevation takes you through an extensive willow field and several stream crossings which is pretty cool. It isn't until the way back down that you can see and appreciate the beautiful wildflowers in the afternoon sunlight that surround some of the trail, which lead your eyes to an abandoned mining operation from years ago. We took our time on the ascent to Grays navigating the many switchbacks, and pulling up our neck gators when passing others in respect to their "airspace" and this crazy COVID we've been dealing with. After several breaks and rest stops, we arrived on top of Grays at 0840.

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Grays Summit capture


We really took our time, had a few "stingers" and some of those Smucker's Uncrustables PB & J sandwiches. We used to make our own sandwiches, but I have to tell you that these little round pre-made sandwiches are pretty tasty, and easy to pop into the backpack. We stayed on the summit for about 30 minutes fueling up, took a few pictures, and left for Torreys at 0920 and arrived at Torreys' summit at 1020- again taking a few breaks for pics and to catch our breath.

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Back down to the saddle
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The loose and steep grind to the top


The climb to the summit is STEEP and slippery with scree. On top of "ol Torreys, we had lunch and stuck around for almost an hour-just couldn’t get enough of the views! The weather was on our side that day, so we took advantage of it identifying peaks, Dillon lake, Copper Mountain, and Breckenridge. I looked around for summit registers, and didn't find one for either summit. And, we couldn’t find any geo-markers either- so much for my foot shot.

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Torreys' Summit capture
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Lake Dillon area


Rain was forecasted for later afternoon, like it always is, so we started making our way back down through the snow field (walk carefully through here unless you want to make an attempt to glissade!), arrived at the trail junction, and finally at the trail head at 1345. All in all, it was a great day, and great way to bag two 14’ers!

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Through the short snow section to the trail junction
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Willows & Wildflowers



Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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Comments or Questions
wildlifer78
User
Gorgeous views!
7/27/2020 2:13pm
I wanted to ask about the stream crossings that you mentioned. Can we cross without water shoes/ waterproof boots? Thanks!
Amanda


mindfolded
User
Easy Crossing
7/27/2020 2:24pm
You should be able to cross it easily without special shoes.


Hikingaroundandsuch
User
Streams
7/27/2020 3:34pm
Hi wildlifer78,

Streams are very low and easy to maneuver around.


jmjr2k
User
@wildlifer78
7/27/2020 4:01pm
Yes, at this date/time we crossed with no problems, and no wet feet! Might be a different story earlier in the Summer. Thanks for the review!


wildlifer78
User
Thank you!
7/29/2020 1:49pm
Thank all of you for the responses!! This will be my first 14er (planning to do the combo). I attempted with a friend last year (Mt. Massive) but she got altitude sickness and we turned back around 13,300', I was so disappointed!!!! You posted some beautiful photos. Thanks again for sharing!!


jmjr2k
User
@wildlifer78
7/29/2020 3:29pm
You're welcome. Good luck and looking forward to seeing your trip report on your summits!


CarrieF
User
Qs about timing!
5/21/2021 11:14am
Hey, thanks for sharing, super helpful. I have climbed 14ers before (as a teen and as an adult) but now live on the East Coast and am headed to Colorado in mid-July, about the same time you climbed this last year. I'd like to bring a friend on her first 14er. She's a fit and frequent trail hiker (lives in Albuquerque) but has never done a high peak, so I want to pick an easier one for her.

I'm thinking to just do Grays Peak, not both, unless we make good time.

Could you please clarify what time you began the hike? I'm trying to work backwards on how early we need to start, including driving there, so that we reach the peak as early as possible and descend before any summer storms brew up. (We'll have a pickup truck to get to the upper trailhead).

Thanks for any intel!

Carrie


jmjr2k
User
Qs about timing!
5/21/2021 4:02pm
Hello Carrie- Thanks for reading! As you can see, we started out before dawn, so looking at the timestamps on my pictures, it showed 5:00 a.m. MDT. We made the summit of Grays at 8:40 a.m. MDT, and we really took our time with several breaks, etc. We did head over to Torreys Peak around 9:20 a.m. after we had a few snacks on the summit, and made the summit there around 10:25 a.m. We probably stayed up there about 50 minutes and headed back down, and arrived at the parking lot at 1:45 p.m. Like I said, we just took our time enjoying the journey, instead of just trying peak bag. Hope that helps!


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