Sunshine Peak Trip Report 06/22/2010

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Sunshine Peak - 14,004 feet Redcloud Peak - 14,037 feet Wetterhorn Peak - 14,021 feet
Date Posted	06/22/2010
Modified	07/08/2010
Date Climbed	06/19/2010
Author	Perea

Bumming Around The San Juans
For me the weekend was filled with lots of emotion after we lost one of our own. The Kevin Hayne accident really hit home and it took a while to process through the emotions. I felt a sense of guilt while on the long drive to Lake City that I was abandoning my family and taking unnecessary risks. This is a dangerous game we play no way around it. I thought of what my family would have to go through if the same thing happened to me. I thought about this all weekend. I finally came to terms after meeting Kevin's mom and dad at Monday's service his mom told my wife "it's their calling". I realized this is my calling and as long as I balance it with family there is nothing wrong with it as long as I climb within my capabilities. Sure there are risks on the mountain and we can mitigate them to the best of our abilities but in the end when it's our time it's our time and we must live life to the fullest and make the most of our time here. Anyway I think I'm ready to continue doing what I love to do with the support and patience of my family and continue to explore the highest peaks the Colorado Rockies have to offer. Day 1 Red Cloud Sunshine Paul Perea Sho Gun Michael Wandering DJ Aconcagua John Nice shot of Blue Mesa on the drive in to Lake City. Handies I think?? Handies again Looking back at the gentle terrain. We took the standard route. This two peak combo was the last walk up non exposed 14ers I have left so I took advantage turned up the music and set a very fast pace up knowing the rest of the group would do the same. This is the kind of mountain you can let the competitive juices flow and race up the mountain. On the harder peaks it's crucial that you stick together and use teamwork but on this one the biggest risk was a twisted ankle on the scree and we all were in constant communication VIA the radios so I was not worried about splitting up some. Almost to the saddle Looking up toward the summit The bump to the left is the summit At 7:40 I reached the summit Michael John arrived soon after and wandering DJ was still wandering the lower mountain (Slacker) The next photo shows Sunshine Peak in the background. I had heard it looks closer than it really is and I would agree it was farther than it looked but still very easy. I called Wandering DJ as soon as we arrived at Sunshine and asked where he was. He had just arrived at Red Cloud and was going to continue to Sunshine. The weather was perfect so we got comfortable and got busy on some roast that John's girlfriend had cooked up. We did share a little bit of it with John . Oh Yeah!!!! After the roast we drank some Sunshine beer on Sunshine peak Even though the beer tasted great at high altitude about 30 minutes later we all started feeling really sluggish and sleepy. I got a pounding headache and felt like sleeping right there. I vowed to never do that again. On the traverse back we all laid down on the red dirt and rested for about 20 minutes until the buzz wore off. Wandering Dj Finally shows up to drink a cold one Group summit shot After some Excedrin Migraine we set out back to take down camp and move on to the next trailhead and challenge Wetterhorn Peak. On the way down we met up with Dave West who had turned back earlier in the day about 2 miles into the hike because he was not feeling good. He said he got back to his car and regretted the decision and decided to give it a go again. He added about 4 miles roundtrip to the hike but made it! Good Job Dave I know you just wanted to climb it 1 1/2 times. We got to camp changed clothes took down the tents and drove to Lake City where we met up with my father who had driven from the San Luis Valley to camp with us at the Wetterhorn trailhead. He was not sure if he would climb with us or just hang out at camp. He decided that he would go up with us with no real expectations of summiting but would go as far as he could. I knew what that meant he was going to summit! At camp we enjoyed grilling some burgers and hot dogs while DJ practiced playing his guitar. I dropped a couple hot dogs but beat the 5 second rule barely by 1 second. It is nice to be able to car camp and take the extras that you can't take while backpacking to a camp. At the Wetterhorn camp DAY 2 We got a 4:30 am start DJ decided to not go because he had a blister so it was just the 4 of us. John and Michael went ahead while I went at a 62 year old man pace with my father. Weather looked great so we took our time and eventually the peak came into view as the sun came up. My 62 year old dad on father's day The sun telling us where to go. Eventually we made it to the ridge leading to the summit and the wind really picked up. I thought it was winter again. It was not T-shirt weather. The wind picked up here. Maybe 30MPH sustained I'm guessing Our pace was pretty slow we took lots of breaks whenever my dad needed one. I kept looking at my watch and knew we had plenty of time as long as we kept moving. I asked him if he wanted to quit several times and he always replied let me go a little farther and see. I was a little worried about him getting a blister since he is a diabetic. I had him duct tape his feet to prevent this the night before. At one point he said he felt a hot spot so we stopped on he took off his shoes to monitor the situation. We checked and his feet were fine. Checking the feet We were pretty far behind John and Michael I thought until I see Michael pop out from behind a rock. He was waiting for us as John went ahead to route find. John then came back to show us the easiest way. I really appreciate your patience guys and helping me get the old man to the summit! My dad was breathing heavy and I asked if he was ok I don't think he was really tired but more so nervous about the harder moves. With only 2 14ers under his belt Culebra and Blanca this was by far the most difficult 14er he had been on. I would go behind him making sure his hand and footholds were solid while Michael and John went in front of him leading the way. John in his infamous pink summit jacket First class 4 move ever! A good shot of how steep it gets. Eventually we made it to the summit about 9 am and were greeted by spectacular views in all directions. Happy father's day! Cloud 9 Going back down Looking for a pet Marmot Weekend at Bernie's movie remake ha ha ha Eventually we made it back to camp and took down the tents. After a short rest we drove back to Lake City and ate at the Italian restaurant on main street. After lunch I said my good byes to dad who was headed back to Antonito. I drank my 5 hr energy drink and drove home. It was another great weekend livin it up just like Kevin loved to do. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Bumming Around The San Juans

For me the weekend was filled with lots of emotion after we lost one of our own. The Kevin Hayne accident really hit home and it took a while to process through the emotions. I felt a sense of guilt while on the long drive to Lake City that I was abandoning my family and taking unnecessary risks. This is a dangerous game we play no way around it. I thought of what my family would have to go through if the same thing happened to me. I thought about this all weekend. I finally came to terms after meeting Kevin's mom and dad at Monday's service his mom told my wife "it's their calling". I realized this is my calling and as long as I balance it with family there is nothing wrong with it as long as I climb within my capabilities. Sure there are risks on the mountain and we can mitigate them to the best of our abilities but in the end when it's our time it's our time and we must live life to the fullest and make the most of our time here. Anyway I think I'm ready to continue doing what I love to do with the support and patience of my family and continue to explore the highest peaks the Colorado Rockies have to offer.

Day 1 Red Cloud Sunshine
Paul Perea
Sho Gun Michael
Wandering DJ
Aconcagua John

Nice shot of Blue Mesa on the drive in to Lake City.

We took the standard route. This two peak combo was the last walk up non exposed 14ers I have left so I took advantage turned up the music and set a very fast pace up knowing the rest of the group would do the same. This is the kind of mountain you can let the competitive juices flow and race up the mountain. On the harder peaks it's crucial that you stick together and use teamwork but on this one the biggest risk was a twisted ankle on the scree and we all were in constant communication VIA the radios so I was not worried about splitting up some.

At 7:40 I reached the summit Michael John arrived soon after and wandering DJ was still wandering the lower mountain (Slacker)

The next photo shows Sunshine Peak in the background. I had heard it looks closer than it really is and I would agree it was farther than it looked but still very easy.

I called Wandering DJ as soon as we arrived at Sunshine and asked where he was. He had just arrived at Red Cloud and was going to continue to Sunshine. The weather was perfect so we got comfortable and got busy on some roast that John's girlfriend had cooked up. We did share a little bit of it with John

After the roast we drank some Sunshine beer on Sunshine peak

Even though the beer tasted great at high altitude about 30 minutes later we all started feeling really sluggish and sleepy. I got a pounding headache and felt like sleeping right there. I vowed to never do that again. On the traverse back we all laid down on the red dirt and rested for about 20 minutes until the buzz wore off.

Wandering Dj Finally shows up to drink a cold one

After some Excedrin Migraine we set out back to take down camp and move on to the next trailhead and challenge Wetterhorn Peak. On the way down we met up with Dave West who had turned back earlier in the day about 2 miles into the hike because he was not feeling good. He said he got back to his car and regretted the decision and decided to give it a go again. He added about 4 miles roundtrip to the hike but made it! Good Job Dave I know you just wanted to climb it 1 1/2 times.

We got to camp changed clothes took down the tents and drove to Lake City where we met up with my father who had driven from the San Luis Valley to camp with us at the Wetterhorn trailhead. He was not sure if he would climb with us or just hang out at camp. He decided that he would go up with us with no real expectations of summiting but would go as far as he could. I knew what that meant he was going to summit!

At camp we enjoyed grilling some burgers and hot dogs while DJ practiced playing his guitar. I dropped a couple hot dogs but beat the 5 second rule barely by 1 second. It is nice to be able to car camp and take the extras that you can't take while backpacking to a camp.

DAY 2
We got a 4:30 am start DJ decided to not go because he had a blister so it was just the 4 of us. John and Michael went ahead while I went at a 62 year old man pace with my father. Weather looked great so we took our time and eventually the peak came into view as the sun came up.

Eventually we made it to the ridge leading to the summit and the wind really picked up. I thought it was winter again. It was not T-shirt weather.

The wind picked up here. Maybe 30MPH sustained I'm guessing

Our pace was pretty slow we took lots of breaks whenever my dad needed one. I kept looking at my watch and knew we had plenty of time as long as we kept moving. I asked him if he wanted to quit several times and he always replied let me go a little farther and see. I was a little worried about him getting a blister since he is a diabetic. I had him duct tape his feet to prevent this the night before. At one point he said he felt a hot spot so we stopped on he took off his shoes to monitor the situation. We checked and his feet were fine.

We were pretty far behind John and Michael I thought until I see Michael pop out from behind a rock. He was waiting for us as John went ahead to route find. John then came back to show us the easiest way. I really appreciate your patience guys and helping me get the old man to the summit! My dad was breathing heavy and I asked if he was ok I don't think he was really tired but more so nervous about the harder moves. With only 2 14ers under his belt Culebra and Blanca this was by far the most difficult 14er he had been on. I would go behind him making sure his hand and footholds were solid while Michael and John went in front of him leading the way.

Eventually we made it to the summit about 9 am and were greeted by spectacular views in all directions.

Weekend at Bernie's movie remake ha ha ha

Eventually we made it back to camp and took down the tents. After a short rest we drove back to Lake City and ate at the Italian restaurant on main street. After lunch I said my good byes to dad who was headed back to Antonito. I drank my 5 hr energy drink and drove home. It was another great weekend livin it up just like Kevin loved to do.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

mtgirl	Dad 6/23/2010 1:29pm How awesome you got to climb with your Dad on Father‘s Day. A memory you will both share for a lifetime !
Jay521	62 year olds rock! 6/23/2010 8:46pm Kudos to your Dad from another 62 year old!
HarknessHooligans	duct tape 2/2/2011 9:21pm Hey do you know a trick for blisters? I get them on my toes and don't know how to prevent them.
Perea	Thanks 4/18/2014 7:27pm Thanks mtgirl and Jay521 the old guys are tough. Sorry for the poor quality photos I bought a 14 megapix and forgot the trip reports only allow a 12 mega pix when I resized them they look like crap.

Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.

Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.

14ers.com

Social

Mobile App