Fourteeners {or mountains above 14,000 feet} are the stuff of local lore here in Colorado. Because our state boasts a whopping 53 of these towering peaks, summiting them all has become a coveted goal for hikers and mountaineers. I climbed my first 14er in 2002 {Mt. Elbert} and haven’t looked back! While I’m not as crazed about the challenge as I was in my 20s — climbing 27 in a single summer! — I would like to eventually summit them all. I love the technical climbs that are more mountaineering than hiking, but they’re all a good time. To date, I have 10 left!
Photos by my nummy. And yes, I call Will nummy. It’s my thing. Don’t mock.
Naturally, when a few of my employees approached me and asked if I would take them up their first 14er, I couldn’t say no! So many expressed interest and then my parents decided to give it a shot, so I ultimately organized a company event. We were hiking Grays Peak!
Grays Peak is one of the absolute best 14ers for beginners! This was my sixth summit of the mountain, so I felt extremely comfortable taking such a large group on the hike. It’s located close to the Denver Metro area {~one hour} and the standard east slopes route is an easy class one with only 8 miles of roundtrip travel. It also has the requisite 3,000 feet of elevation gain which is required by some bizarre mountain law as the minimum amount of gain for a summit to count.
Trailhead
If you’re going to check out Grays Peak for the first time, let me give you a fair warning on the 4×4 road that is used to access Grays Trailhead. It is located off the Bakerville exit on I-70, and at first glance, looks like an easy road to climb. However, in all of my summits on this mountain, I have yet to see it passable for passenger cars!
My best friend Angel and I learned this the hard way in 2002 when we hiked Grays and Torreys for the first time. We drove to the trailhead in her 1984 Jetta only to bottom out in a massive hole in the middle of the road. Not only did we get stuck, but I am fairly sure we did a number on the undercarriage of her car! Never one to learn, I went back a second time in 2003 with my then-Honda Civic…and ripped a hole in my muffler!
Standard issue with this one.
Needless to say, the road truly isn’t that bad and if you have a 4×4 car with relatively high clearance, you will be absolutely fine. This season, there is only one major hole that is about halfway up. My Pathfinder took it like a champ so Will and I taxied a few hikers who needed to leave their cars at the base of the road.
The Hike
Per usual, Grays was just as beautiful as I remembered! The trail starts out gradually before picking up the quad burn with a series of low-laying stairs as it winds through the willows. The trail levels out for awhile as it wraps through the valley, giving me plenty of time to admire the wildflowers! They were in full bloom and the alpine sunflower and creeping pontentilla were gorgeous!
Will and I hiked with my parents and sent the rest of our staff ahead. Dad was trudging along like a champ, but Mama wasn’t feeling so hot. I sent Dad ahead, knowing he needed to stick to his pace in order to conquer the summit. And for awhile there, I truly thought Mom and I would need to turn around!
I gave her some time to absorb the discomfort, knowing that she would be wicked disappointed if she didn’t get to summit with everyone else. That’s the thing about high altitude hiking or mountaineering: you will always be uncomfortable, and more than likely, something will hurt in an unpleasant sort of way.
Your backpack will wreck your shoulders.
My hands are swollen; they look like sausage fingers!
My legs are seriously on fire.
Why can’t I breathe?
My heart rate is out of control.
These are all normal! The tricky part is accepting the hurt and finding a groove that you can settle into where you are able to tolerate the discomfort.
For mama, it was a combination of factors. Typically, she is a strong hiker so I think her slower pace shocked her and she kept trying to go faster {sounds just like our half marathon together!} Once I dropped in front of her and maintained a slow and steady pace for her to latch onto, she was able to hike with a lot more confidence. Secondly, she had to get out of her own head! Once it got painful, she kept thinking and saying that “she couldn’t do it.” I love my mom more than anything but whining is something that I have zero tolerance for – especially when I knew she could take that mountain! So, I let her hike by herself for a few minutes in order to get the complaints worked out. Once I came back, she had cleared her head and was ready to go!
The last few miles are swooping switchbacks that skirt up the side of the mountain. This is where the majority of the elevation gain occurs and ironically, mama dominated these like a beast. We hiked the switchbacks through the talus and scree fields, taking brief resting breaks at the corners. Before we knew it, we saw Dad’s head popping over the side of the mountain; we had reached the top!
Not a bad view for lunch!
Even better? Every single person from our company summited also! I had assumed that someone wouldn’t make it based on the law of averages, but we showed the Universe who was boss. The majority of our crew even continued across the saddle to summit Torreys, a shouldering 14er!
Dad suffered from his Plantar Fasciitis on the hike down, and I overhead my parents saying that they likely would not do another 14er again. And, at age 58, I can’t say that I blame them. However, they both called me up the next morning after a good night’s sleep {and a couple beers!} to give me a message:
They want to hike another 14er next summer!
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Have you ever hiked a 14er?