Peakbagging Tales: #SummerOf14ers & My First 14ers! Gray's & Torrey's

Jun 26

Written By tiffiny

It finally happened!

After months of knowing I wanted to hike all the Colorado 14ers, I finally bagged my first two yesterday!

My friend, Jake, and I met up in Boulder at 5am, grabbed coffee and then headed towards Gray's and Torrey's Peaks off I-70 in Southern part of the Colorado Front Range.

In the trip reports, I read about the road to the trailhead being drivable by 4WD and high-clearance vehicles. I drive a Mazda 3. I decided to test her out. Nope, not happening. We ended up parking half way up the road, which is made up of loose gravel, peppered with horribly deep rivets and potholes, and just in rough condition. If you are planning to hike these two 14ers from the trailhead, make sure you have a high-clearance vehicle!

After parking the car, we walked 1.4 miles to the trailhead and then began our ascent!

The Ascent:

Gray's Peak is 14,278 feet and Torrey's is 14,276 feet. To summit both peaks, you need about 6-7 hours for the total 8.5 miles you'll be hiking.

The views on this trail we by far some of the prettiest I have seen in Colorado so far. There are tons of mountain life: foliage, flowers, marmots, pikas, mountain goats, a stream to hike next to...this trail is gorgeous!

This hike is rated a Class 2. It is definitely fun and not the hardest I have hiked. The most taxing parts are at the top, above 13k feet. Being a Texan for 28 years and a Coloradian for 4 months, I learned that I still have some altitude adjusting to do! (I currently still have a migraine after getting home to Boulder, which sits at about 5k feet. Any suggestions?)

The Summit:

We hiked to Gray's first, then crossed the saddle to summit Torrey's. I loved the view from Torrey's the most, because you can see forever. You can see the ski resorts, the Higher Rockies, valleys, streams -- sunrise or sunset on this peak would be incredible.

I could not locate the marker on Gray's, but on Torrey's, you can sign the log and laugh at the others' comments who have signed it. We were the 14th & 15th to summit Torrey's yesterday.

The Descent:

Get ready for a little bit of sketchy snow on top of a small cornice. You have a couple options right now (until the snow melts): you can hike back over the saddle, back up to the trail near the peak on Gray's or cross the snow over the front side of the saddle, which looks really scary. It was kind of scary, mostly because there is a cornice overhanging near Torreys, and you can only think of what might happen.

Luckily, the trail on the snow had already been hiked on several times that day, and we had not yet seen anyone slide down the bowl. So, I put my micro-spikes on and used my trekking poles to anchor myself with each step. Yes, I used my other trekking pole to document this feat with my GoPro.

The thrill I felt here was incredible. This is why I climb mountains and why I am working my way towards learning to mountaineer. I felt connected to the mountain and knew she wouldn't pull any fast ones on us, at least for today. Respecting and trusting nature, the mountains animals - I think there is something to be said about that.

The hike down took about 1.5 hours, making a total trip of around 8 hours, from the trailhead.

This hike was fantastic and I cannot wait to bag more 14ers this summer!

If you are on Instagram, find me: @tiffinyepiphany and follow my 14er hiking adventures this summer: #SummerOf14ers and my mountaineer journey: #mountaineerdreaming.

Photos by: myself or Jake Valencour.

Gear of choice: Teton Sports, GoPro, LifeStraw, Columbia, Kahtoola Spikes, Buff USA, LTD Optics, Clif Bar