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Whew! It took a lot of rapid decision making to figure out what peak to hike while on my day off in Denver. I started with Greys-Torreys, but then realized I didn’t have a high clearance vehicle at my disposal and didn’t want to subject my hiking partner, Mike S., to that long of a route. I looked at Bierstadt-Evans, then decided the Class 3 ridge should wait for another opportunity. I thought I had hit paydirt with Elbert, but then I got nervous about leaving from Denver on the morning of the hike; I’m accustomed to driving to the trailhead the night before in the Sierra. No matter, we figured that Quandary would be a good hike for the requirements on the day.
Mike picked me up at 7, and we were hiking at the trailhead for the east ridge by 9:20. Not quite an alpine start, and not too many people started after us. The graying clouds to the north told me why. I haven’t done enough hiking in Colorado to know the weather patterns, and I’m just plain skittish about lightning. From the start, the trail wanders through some great forest in the beginning, but soon we broke out into a few clearings with views into the Blue Lakes valley and the long east ridge of Wheeler. I found out later this ridge is the Continental Divide. The Hoosier Ridge behind us looked green and inviting, although we saw a few thunderheads beyond it far to the east. Quandary was already in view, but some clouds were hanging around, brushing on Wheeler.
It was a crowded trail. The last time I had seen so many hikers was on Half Dome. Quandary’s location close to Denver and next to Breckenridge makes it an accessible hike. The trail is the easiest Class 1 you could ask for, so the people were not really a surprise. Some were already on their way down, a sight I wasn’t used to. It was their reward for an early start, and maybe they were already heading for an afternoon nap.
We took two breaks on the way up, coincidentally at 1000 ft intervals. The last 1,000 ft was the steepest, but still easy. The top of Quandary is one of those rounded summits that makes you wait until you arrive at the top before you believe it is the top. I guess 30 people standing around was a good clue, too.
We signed the register and sat down for a bit, and I took a peek at the west ridge, which is supposed to be interesting Class 3. Unfortunately, it dropped off steep enough I couldn’t see more than the first 100 ft of it. Getting ready to snack on the summit, it didn’t take long to spot a bolt of lighting going cloud to ground several miles away. Most of the people on the summit let out a collective gasp, and we started to head down quickly. Alas, that trail is not made for a quick decent. Even I, strong supporter of swift descents, was hard pressed to make things go quickly on the beaten talus that makes up the trail. You’re on this huge ridge, rain pouring a few miles away, and you just can’t beat feet fast enough with a trail like that. In all, it didn’t take but 2 hours to get back to the trailhead, with just a few sprinkles of rain coming down.
The hike was an easy day, which was for the best considering the late start. Who wants to sleep at a Colorado trailhead next time?!
--msw
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