The Map
The Trail Head Signage
Laguna Mojanda
Rafael Checks Tilden’s heart rate and blood oxygen saturation.
Banana on the summit!
It was our first day of acclimatization, so Rafael selected Fuya Fuya, which means Cloud Cloud. It is a 13er just about 45 minutes drive from Otavalo. It took us 1 hour and 40 minutes to get to the summit, from Lake Mojanda. This is excellent time as it’s ~1700 ft of gain. (more…)
Zach Clutching the Spine of Father Dyer
Zach, Beth, and Clare on Crystal Peak
Crystal Peak and Peak 10, taken from Father Dyer
Our loop hike of Crystal Peak Cirque
In the Colorado Scrambles book, Mr. Cooper touts the climb of Father Dyer as, “a good introduction to the “art” of scrambling, offering some exposed but not sustained climbing and even a bit of loose rock to initiate the budding scrambler.”.
The climb of Father Dyer’s East Ridge sounded like a super fun way to climb Crystal Peak; a Centennial 13er just waiting to be ticked off our lists. Beth’s brother, Zach, is quickly building his scrambling repertoire, so this was a great route for honing his skills. By throwing in Peak 10 (13,633 ft), the #178 ranked Bicentennial as a bonus, we expanded the size of our loop hike and had a real feeling of accomplishment by completing the cirque. (more…)
Our loop hike on California Peak!
Clare on the summit of Bicentennial Pt 13,660
Frank on the summit of California Peak
After having to cancel my CMC trip for Mt. Meeker, due to heinous weather, I was left with a blank slate weekend.
What should I do? So many mountains to climb…how do I decide?
At the height of my mountain frenzy, I get an email from Frank and he suggests California Peak. Neither of us have done it, he’s been to the area and is willing to drive, we can car camp and don’t have to get up early, it’s…Perfect!
On Saturday, Crystal, Jen, Duke the dog, and I piled into the Subaru. Our destination was Huron Peak. Our plan was to car camp at the trail head on Saturday night. Starting at oh-dark-thirty would give us the best chance to make the summit.
According to Mr. Dziezynski, “Huron is a classic climb on a picture-perfect mountain! This 14er may be the most beautiful hike in the Sawatch Range, with excellent views from the summit pyramid.”
It is for this exact reason, I selected Huron Peak as our destination. If successful, it would be Crystal’s first 14er, so I wanted her to be rewarded with excellent views. Also, Jen and her doggy Duke were there with us, so I wanted to pick a mountain with a clean, easy to navigate trail.
Starting in the dark, I wondered if the weather would comply…I dearly hoped so!
Erin and I had a fabulous plan for the upcoming weekend adventure. First, drive to the Sawatch Mountains and climb a 14’er. Second, attend the 17th Annual Colorado Brewer’s Rendezvous in Salida.
We wondered, how could we have a more perfect weekend?
We selected Mt. Antero as the target, with Cronin Peak, a Centennial 13’er as a bonus. These peaks are relatively close to Salida, we had not climbed them yet, and we *thought* we had a good chance of driving to the higher trailhead (Erin’s friend had recently driven up to the 4wd lot in her Subaru).
Unfortunately, my Subaru overheated on the way to Erin’s house. So, I left it somewhere in Lakewood, for Dennis to sort out later (thanks, hun!). Driving in her RWD truck, would we reach the 4wd lot? Would we be hiking up Baldwin Gulch in the dark and tacking on an extra 5 or 6 miles, round trip? (more…)