Hiking The Long Trails: Quandary Peak 8/15

After finishing up with holy cross it was time to drive to Quandary Peak and get up and down the second 14er of the day. I arrived in the parking area and saw many people and cars leaving. As with most 14ers it seems that this was one that people tried to do early in the morning even though it was a fairly short one. I began climbing up with my head on a swivel in order to ensure that the thunderstorms would not be rolling over Quandary peak and put the climb in jeopardy. On the way up I passed many people wearing anything from sandals to mountaineering boots and carrying everything from nothing at all to nearly 50 pound packs. With the number of people on this peak it was nothing short of astonishing at the wide array of people climbing up the mountain. It was great to see so many people on the mountain but also a little sad to see the impact and liter that they had on the wilderness. I was able to take some great picture of the mountain goats on the way up and worked my way up the long drawn out scree field to the summit. I ran out of water with about a mile to go to the top and I also did not have any in my car so I found a snow field off the trail a bit and was able to fill up my water bottles with the snow run off. For those wondering, I do not treat my water and in exchange for this lack of water treatment, it causes me to be much more careful where I take my water from. Overall I focus on untouched water and preferable (in Colorado) from sources above 12,000'. I summitted with full water bottles, grabbed a couple pictures, heard the thunder, picked up some trash, and pulled out a couple snacks on the way down. At this point I really noticed how I had hit the wall. Due to lack of sleep, nutrition and water, I was already drained and it made me very slow and casual on the way down. At this point I only focused on not rolling my ankles. I saw maybe 15 people on the climb down as compared to the hundreds on the way up. It was very straightforward and uneventful for the most part. As I finished I knew I needed to begin eating better and more often if I would continue to do 6+ 14ers a weekend. The plan for the next day was to do Bierstadt, Evans, Grays, and Torreys.

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