Once back in Colorado I had a bit of
reacclimating to do. I don't think I had lost all the altitude ability
yet but it was waning. I wasn't excited about getting done with a
cross country trip and then immediately throwing myself at a
fourteener. I tried to ease back into high country life by simply
taking care of loose ends. To begin with, my PO box was just about
overflowing and I knew there was the odd bill to sift for. Aside from
the dreaded bills I did manage to receive my order of juice plus and
the remainder of my security deposit. In my experience it seems like
no matter what the condition the house was left in the landlord
always manages to whittle away half of the deposit. At least I my
juice plus order had come in. I had been wanting to start that and
see what it could do for me.
With the boring stuff done it was time
to go play outside for a bit. I had drug around my disc golf discs
all over the south and only managed to play two times in Wilmington.
Now that I was back in familiar terrain I was able to go to the
Frisco Peninsula and play a round with a friend. Disc Golf is a
great way to get outside and walk around without having to exert too
much energy all at once. Since you are walking for over an hour you
get the exercise in and don't get too winded. If you are skeptical I
recommend giving it a try and you might surprise yourself with what
you think.
With peak bagging on the horizon I
needed to overhaul all the gear in my car. I had been lugging around
an odd assortment of tools, clothes, and random odds and ends. This
all needed to get organized and swapped out for climbing and camping
gear. It felt good to again rid myself of the fluff and strip down to
just what I needed for this summer's adventure. I allowed two days
time for my lungs to pseudo acclimate before I decided to pull the
trigger on Quandary Peak. I chose this mountain for a number of
reasons. This was the perfect one to start on because of its close
proximity, ease of climbing, and most importantly it was where my
14,000 foot journey began. Even though I had already summited
Quandary I still wanted to bag every 14er in a single summer.
Everybody climbs Quandary for the same
reasons I did and with it being a Sunday it was a happening spot.
Luckily I got to the trailhead right around 6:30 so it hadn't yet
turned into the circus that it does on the weekend. As I was getting
ready for the hike I saw a smaller built guy getting ready to hit the
trail. He got my attention because of how he was dressed and how
little he was bringing with him. I realized that he was a
trail runner. There is a certain breed of people that aren't content
to merely hike up a 14er but feel the need to run and jog the
majority to improve their overall time from top to bottom. There are
some driven people in this world. He scampered off and I didn't see
him again until later. At the trailhead it was cold before the sun
was coming up and I made the noob mistake of bringing my thick hooded
sweatshirt. I might have been on the trail 15 minutes before that
thing was off of me and halfheartedly stuffed into my pack. Note to
self, "Don't bring that blanket of a hoody again." Once I
had risen above treeline and hit a flat part of the trail I was
greeted by a family of mountain goats. They are usually around on
many of these peaks and are always nice to see. Nualla thought it
prudent to see how fast they could run but she didn't get too far
before I reeled her in.
It's important to always climb at your
own pace. You never want to outdo yourself before getting closer to
the top where the air is thinner and the terrain more difficult. You
also don't want to hold yourself back and go along at a snail pace if
you don't want to. With this in mind I found myself both passing
people and getting passed. After 3 hours I found myself on top with a
decent gathering of early hikers. Everybody was in good spirits with
people eating snacks and taking pictures. Some were commenting that
it was their first ascent of a 14er. I remember a group of younger
girls enjoying the novelty of having cell service on top of the
mountain. I shuffled around on top for a half hour talking with
others, eating some food, and reflecting on what I had decided to get
myself into. 2 hours downhill and I was back at the car. There was
easily twice the amount of cars there from when I arrived and I was
happy to be on my way with my first name off of the list.
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