So maybe this time I was a little more prepared for what I was about to encounter, and maybe I was in better over all shape. I don't see how... I haven't done anything to improve my conditioning. I might be carrying a few less pound due to my on-the-road-bachelor-lifestyle, all work, no eating(OK probably once a day, sometimes twice) and adequate to less than adequate sleep. But for whatever reason Quandary Peak was a breeze. Yeah, I'm a little sore, and yeah, I had to take a few breaks on the way up and on the way down but in no way was/am I as beat down as I was after hiking Mt. Elbert.
There isn't really a camp ground at the Quandary Peak trail head so when I pulled up Saturday night at "almost too dark to set up a tent" time I was a little disappointed. The mountain is inside a national forest and camping is fair game anywhere you can find a spot. But like I said it was getting dark and I didn't really feel like stumbling around in the woods trying to find a level spot to put my tent. There wasn't a cloud in site so I just threw my sleeping bag in the bed of my truck and called it good. It got down to the low 40's so my 0 degree sleeping bag, which is supposed to be good for temperatures all the way down to 0 degrees F., was greatly appreciated. I got warm at times so I'm guessing it can get colder and I'd still be comfortable. Slept pretty well overall.
I started my hike at about 6:00am on Sunday(8/29/2010). The sun was just starting to rise and it was really starting to look like it was going to be a beautiful day. There weren't many people out that early which to me was surprising. Quandary is about 7ish miles south of Breckenridge, CO and is really easy to get to so I expected it to be a little "crowded." But other than the couple that left at about 5:45 and also woke me up I didn't really see anyone for at least the first hour.
The trail starts off at a pretty steep grade and I was already starting to think about how it took my legs 3 days to feel almost normal from the last climb so I was happy to find things leveled out rather quickly. The tree line comes pretty quick but before I got there I was starting to see that things were probably going to be as "crowded" as I had originally thought. There were tents scattered all along the trail in the trees.
The views on Quandary are definitely more spectacular than those on Elbert. On either side of the mountain are other smaller but more treacherous looking mountains that make for a spectacular scene. The trail above the tree line makes a fairly quick meandering elevation gain to the bottom of a narrow ridge that takes you all the way to the top.
I was starting to realize that this is definitely a tourists mountain. Several young couples were making the hike and there was almost always some argument about needing a break, time, and how much further. "My legs are tired I need a break." "The website said we had to be down by noon so we have to keep going or we will never make it." "You keep going I'm going back to the car." I passed several of these discussions on my way up remembering snowboard lessons that I've given in the past. Ladies, you need to realize that you are doing great, we're tired too, and confidence and/or desire are all that are holding you back. And guys taking a break here and there ain't going to kill you no matter what the stupid website says.
I made it to the top a little before 10:00. Hung out for a while, took some pictures and made my way down. Downhill is still the killer. I haven't quite bought into the "just let your momentum carry you down" method. I'm a little more cautious than that I guess and because of this my descents take the biggest tole on my legs. On the way down there were even more people on their way up, people with dogs of all sizes, children of all sizes even some couples that I would consider elderly. My Aunt Trink would be all over this hike. For those of you that don't know her, she's in her upper 80's lives in Idaho and in her spare time she gardens, goes on hikes, and does white water rafting. Don't ask her to sky dive she might just go for it.
I'm no expert, but I am smart enough to know that this hike wasn't that tough. With it being so close to Breckenridge, I think this would be a great place to start if you wanted to take a trip with climbing a 14er as your goal. There are 3 other peaks (Lincoln, Democrat, and Bross) all on 14ers.com's easy list that are within 10 miles of Quandary.
Here is a blurb about why the peak is called Quandary from 14ers.com:
"The peak’s name comes from a group of miners who were unable to identify a mineral specimen found on its slopes in the 1860s. The group was in a quandary over the exact nature of the mineral, and so dubbed the mountain from which it came “Quandary Peak.” In this respect, Quandary is a somewhat distant cousin of Conundrum Peak--a "conundrum" is a paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem--whose name comes from a group of miners who were unable to locate the source of a nearby gold specimen. In earlier times, the mountain was called McCullough‘s Peak, Ute Peak, or Hoosier Peak. "
No comments:
Post a Comment