“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take it’s place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong

• SUMMIT(s): Blanca Peak and Ellingwood Point
• SUMMIT ELEVATION(s): 14,345 feet and 14,042 feet
• TRAILHEAD: Como Lake
• ROUTE: Northwest Ridge
• ELEVATION GAIN: 6,400 feet
• ROUNDTRIP LENGTH: 15.6 miles (total)
• ROUNDTRIP TIME:  5 hours, 40 minutes (from Lake Como)
• CLIMBING PARTNER(S):  Charlie

I’m back… As I begin to write this entry I feel like it has been ages.  It has been a long time since my last hike and subsequently, my last write-up.  I guess I have taken an unplanned sabbatical due to winter.  Now that winter is technically over in the high country, although some of the mountains would still tell you differently, my climbing season has officially begun. To say I am stoked only mildly represents my excitement.  This excitement has been building up for months.

However, with my excitement comes a feeling of trepidation that begun to take hold a few weeks ago.  It is an odd sensation to feel enthusiasm and apprehension at the same time.  I was finding that as more time passed since I enjoyed my last hike of a 14er in Colorado, the more my confidence in myself decreased. I have found myself questioning if I was capable to overcome the challenge of hiking a 14er both physically and mentally. I was beginning to question if I was in good enough shape.  I wondered if I had the mental intensity necessary overcome the mountain and more importantly myself.  I have asked these questions of myself before as I stood at the base of an overpowering mountain, but here I was in my office asking them.  With the anxiety starting a few weeks ago, it really began to overpower the eagerness.  Deep down I believed I was capable, however, that didn’t seem to be enough.  If you have ever started to doubt yourself, you know exactly how I was feeling.  A big climb out of the starting gates just didn’t seem right. Hiking a familiar mountain that I had summited before seemed to be the logical choice in overcoming the self-doubt in my mind.  Therefore, I started with a proverbial peak that was easy and I could trust, Mount Bierstadt.  Successfully hiking it on June 25 reinvigorated the confidence I seemed to be lacking.  I considered this hike as my warm-up.  I learned that doubting myself may be a feeling I experience and the best way to overcome it is to fall upon a familiar experience of which I was successful before.

As you read this, this might not be how you expected me to start this entry.  It wasn’t how I anticipated starting it either. However, it is important to me to discuss my feelings prior to setting out on this journey.

With my confidence somewhat restored, I was invigorated to see Colorado from a new mountain peak; to experience a new area.  I became partial to the fact that the southern peaks of Colorado had much less snowpack than the remaining majority of Colorado; Blanca Peak and Ellingwood Point quickly became the chosen ones.  I have been drawn to them ever since my eyes observed the enormous Blanca Massif while on Kit Carson and Challenger Peak.  That experience was subsequently followed with Mount Lindsey, where I saw Blanca Peaks and Ellingwood Points impressive and formidable east face.  I also liked the idea of a hike that would allow me to reach two peaks in a single morning.  Finally, I enjoyed the idea of making this hike into a backpacking trip.  The detailed planning commenced.

Much of my detailed planning was focused on the hike in… the infamous Como Road.  Considered by many the most difficult 4WD road in Colorado, Como Road is intense. In my readings, I found at least one death on the road due to a 4-wheeling accident.  Along the road are the notorious locations referred to as “jaws”, which are wicked rock outcrops that only seasoned drivers with modified 4WD vehicles should navigate through.  For a hiker, Como Road requires a substantial amount of energy.  Many of the posts on 14ers.com spend a lot of time talking about this as a death march.  This was the part of the climb I was not looking forward too.

Blanca Peak is the fourth highest peak in Colorado and is the focal point of the Blanca Massif.  Its summit is situated at 14,345 feet and towers over the adjacent peaks of Ellingwood Point and Little Bear Peak.  The ridgeline connecting the peaks of the Blanca Massif to the Blanca Peak are impressive, which is an understatement for the beauty and awe of the connecting ridgelines.  At an elevation of 14,042 feet, Ellingwood Point is the 45 highest peak in Colorado.  It shyly sits north of the towering Blanca Peak, but this peak is not a cowardly peak. 

Charlie and I ventured towards the Blanca Massif on Friday, July 1^st.  We both took the day off from our respective jobs (especially since we both had earned it after putting in many hours leading up to this day) to beat the crowd, which is an inevitable part of the Colorado mountains on 4^th of  July that I am a culprit with. Taking the day off also provided us a casual start to our adventure in lieu of the typical 2:00 am start.   We left Denver at about 8:30 am.  This was a nice change of pace since the hikes we have completed in the past tended start ridiculously early.  The drive from Denver to the trailhead was easy and relaxing.  After a few stops and lunch at a small diner in Blanca, Colorado, we arrived at the start of Como Road at exactly 12:30 pm.  The journey really begins!

Como Road begins on the west side of the Blanca Massif, east of Alamosa, and south of the Great Sand Dunes National Park.   At its intersection with Colorado Highway 160, Como Road begins at an elevation of 8,000 feet and traverses 7.5 miles to Lake Como to an elevation of 11,750 feet.  At the beginning, the road quickly reveals to one that you are in the desert and near the Great Sand Dunes.  It was smooth, and gentle to my vehicle.  Within a mile, the once delicate sand quickly turned to a cobble hell.  At this point, most passenger cars and some SUV’s parked.  We pushed my Toyota Tundra another 1.2 miles before we decided to begin 5.3 mile trek to Lake Como on foot.  At an elevation of 8,200, we parked the truck and mobilized ourselves with our gear and backpacks.

At 1:00 pm, our hiking began.  I prepared myself for what was hyped up to be a dreadful hike.  Como Road from the beginning of where my first boot hit the ground lived up to this hype.  The road consisted of a cobble runway and hiking on this type of terrain is miserable.  Your footing is always being adjusted under the weight of yourself and a 30 pound backpack.   You are constantly sliding and for someone like me who has very high arches on their feet, this surface is brutally tough on the knees because your knees absorb most of the impact. 

Added to the surface is the continuous, unrelenting vertical gain of Como Road.  Going into the hike I recognized there was a lot of vertical gain just to get into camp.  In fact, we had 3,700 vertical feet from where we started to Lake Como.  I envisioned steep sections that had segments of flat terrain that would provide a reprieve.  To my misfortune, I was wrong.  The road was a consistent vertical nightmare. 

To add injury to insult, it was hot.  MUY CALIENTE!!!  Como Road provides no amnesty to the heat.  Shade is extremely hard to come by along the majority of the hike.  If I had any recommendation, I would advise against hiking this road in the heat of the day.  I was sweating with a 30 pound backpack weighing me down.  If I had any doubts going into this trip about my physical condition, it was all thrown out the window.

Charlie and I took short breaks and added one extended break near the stream crossing of Holbrook Creek. Along the way, I did find myself in awe of the miserable terrain.  I looked at some of the short sections referred to as “jaws” (Jaws 1, Jaws 2, Jaws 2.5, etc. identify the specific locations along the trail) in disbelief that people seriously overcame such horrendous terrain in a vehicle.  We were occasionally passed by the modified vehicles, which included Jeeps, modified trucks and ATV’s.  Our interaction with these vehicles was never timed correctly so that I could actually see the vehicle attempt any of the jaw segments so it left me to imagine only. 

At one point along the trail, a man and wife were making their way slowly up the road in what appeared to be a brand new 4-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.  His driving skills and her encouragement to just keep pushing forward fully demonstrated why they refer to the segments as Jaws.   This portion of road, even though it was not a jaws segment, was chewing up the undercarriage of his brand new vehicle.   It also reaffirmed that no portion of this road is easy.  

To our welcomed eyes, we arrived at the beautiful Lake Como at 4:30 pm.  It literally was a surprise to us as we crested the final segment of Como Road to find the smooth water surface of Lake Como with Little Bear Peak sitting in the background.  As we arrived, Lake Como was also alive.  There was a mixture of hikers and 4-wheelers abutting the serene water body.  Charlie and I evaluated our options at this point.  We both love backpacking because you can feel isolated and removed.  Camping next to the lake today appeared to defeat that purpose.  Although it was the perfect setting, we decided to continue forward and even further up in the basin because the isolation would be more precious to us.

We hiked approximately another 0.2 miles beyond Lake Como and gained 200 additional vertical feet to find the ideal setting to call camp.  At the end of the day, we hiked approximately 5.5 miles, gained approximately 3,900 feet, and overcame Como Road.  To put this portion of hiking into perspective, I have hiked 36 fourteeners going into this climb.  Of the 36, 15 of the 14ers have required less vertical gain than 3,900 feet to acquire the summit.  The difficulty of hiking Como Road has been more difficult than quite a few of the 14ers I have climbed.  To me, I find this stat a little staggering.  I also realized we still had approximately 2,500 feet of vertical elevation gain prior to reaching the summit of Blanca Peak and Ellingwood Point.

With our temporary home located, I unpacked my backpack to begin setting up camp.  I was amazed in how much gear a backpacking trip requires that I had to take a picture of it all.   Camp didn’t take long to set up and we filtered water from the stream to replenish our depleted quantities from the hike in.  After a needed moment of relaxation, Charlie prepped his signature backpacking dish comprising of summer sausage, hummus, cheese and tortillas all wrapped together.  Dinner was delicious.

Charlie and I enjoyed our isolation and moment of relaxation.  I spent some time teaching Charlie about my camera and how to adjust settings to obtain the creative shot one might envision but might not be able to acquire.  I could see his enthusiasm in learning photography and I was excited because it would be great to have another friend who not only loves to hike and climb but as well as a photographer.  Near sunset, we traveled back down to Lake Como where I was able to capture some incredible shots of Little Bear Peak reflected off of the still lake.  At this time we also met Mike and Sarah.  They climbed Little Bear earlier that day.  After exchanging pleasantries, I learned they hiked Mt. Bierstadt last year when I did.  The reason we knew was they described dressing up in crazy outfits and hiking Bierstadt with a keg for one of their friends finishing 14er.  I hiked the mountain with my future father-in-law that day and shared a Fat Tire with one of the hikers who had an empty cup on his way up.

Charlie and I retired at about 9:00 pm.

I woke up at 5:00 am on Saturday morning to begin brewing my necessary cup of coffee.  The beautiful crisp clean air of yesterday changed overnight to a hazy glow that smelled of a smoldering campfire. The winds shifted overnight causing the smoke from the ongoing fires in New Mexico to enter southern Colorado.  After resting a little longer, Charlie awoke and we were ready to begin the ascent at 6:15 am.  Our plan for the ascent was to summit Blanca Peak first followed by Ellingwood Point.  Our ascent up Blanca Peak would be the standard Northwest Route.  It is difficult Class II ascent along the ridgeline. From Blanca Peak, our plan was to traverse the ridgeline along the Class III route to Ellingwood Point.  We would then descend the standard route of Ellingwood Point back to camp.

From our start it didn’t take long before we were above treeline and staring at the formidable Little Beak Peak from its base.  It is a beautiful mountain.  I was now up close and personal with a mountain that truly intimidates me.  As we passed it, I kept finding myself looking up at it in wonder.  I would find myself admiring Little Bear Peak from every perspective throughout this entire hike.  There is something about that mountain that I respect like no other one that I have seen thus far.

From the base of Little Bear at approximately 12,000 feet, the trail passed Blue Lakes, which consisted of several small alpine lakes.  The trail through this portion was kind and a nice change from the consistently rigid Como Road of the day before.  Then at an elevation of 12,200 feet we stood at the base of a pristine waterfall that was vertically braided into the mountain.  From here, the trail continued to be defined but was more along a combination of talus and gravel.  We paralleled the waterfall on the hikers left and after approximately 300 vertical feet we stood on top of it.  Once on top of the waterfall, the terrain was again gradual as we passed a couple more small alpine lakes until we reached Crater Lake at 12,800 feet. 

Above Crater Lake and at approximately 13,000 feet lied a small headwall consisting of a series of fun ledges that we traversed.  We followed the trail in areas and made our own way up the mountain in others. Most of route was a Difficult Class II designation but we found a couple of locations where it was Class III.  Some of the ledges also acted as cascading waterfalls due to the summer melt that was actively occurring.

Once on top of the ledge, the view back down the valley was hindered with haze and smoke.  The view looking up the mountain was a talus minefield.  From here, we would try to follow cairns up the talus to the ridge.  This was one of those times where you kept your eyes on the destination, which was the ridge, and we just worked our way up the mountain since a trail was difficult to find.

We acquired the ridge at approximately 13,600 feet, a little lower than the standard route.  For the first time today, we could see Mount Lindsey to the east.  Her beauty was shrouded by the haze.  However, her silhouette was still beautiful.  From here, we would stay on the ridge the entire way to the summit, which I would highly recommend.  This portion of hiking typically involved Difficult Class II hiking on solid rock with a small segment of Class III climbing.  You can avoid the small segment of Class III by following the standard route that leaves the ridge near the summit.  However, staying on the ridge provided a little more excitement.

We arrived at the summit of Blanca Peak at 8:25 am.  The summit was quiet and alone.  She stands high.  I was amazed how it looked down upon the surrounding mountains including Ellingwood Point and Little Bear Peak.  The three ridges, which included the infamous Gash Ridge to the east, leading up to Blanca Peak were all mighty in their own way.  Charlie and I enjoyed the summit to ourselves. I was quite surprised that we would have the summit to ourselves considering it was 4^th of July weekend and a Saturday. I cherished the moment though.  However, to my disappointment, my view of the Crestones was essentially nonexistent due to the haze.

As its predecessors before, I celebrated on top of this 14er with my signature Fat Tire.  This mountain felt a little different than the others. I think the main reason was it has been several months since my last summit of a new 14er.  The time that passed made me savor the moment.  I was grateful for it.

Excited to reach another summit, Charlie and I left Blanca Peak a little after 8:40 am to begin our journey to Ellingwood Point.  The descent provided some great downward shots of the ridge and valley below.  We quickly descended and found ourselves nearing the saddle when the trail begins to descend below.  From our research, we knew that the trail would leave the ridge due to a large gully that would require Class V climbing if you remained on the ridge.  We downclimbed along a fairly well cairned trail.  At some point we lost the trail and were traversing above the actual route.  When we reached the gully we found ourselves needing to do some Class IV downclimbing.  I definitely need to get more comfortable with Class IV downclimbing as I found myself struggling with it and nervous. 

With the Class IV climbing completed, we were back on the route and below the gully.  From here, we would begin our ascent up to Ellingwood Point. Similar to Blanca Peak, we ascended along an undefined path up the southeast face to acquire the ridge once again.  This involved some easy Class III scrambling. 

We arrived back to the ridge north of the gully to begin our final push towards the summit.  On the ridge, we were now overlooking the intimidating east wall of Ellingwood Point.  This wall is at least a 1000 foot straight fall but it felt more like 2000 feet.  It made my stomach turn looking over the edge.  Once on the ridge, it was smooth hiking along a stable rock to the false summit.  Since we stayed on the ridge, we ended up having to downclimb from the false summit to then ascend to the actual summit. 

Charlie and I arrived on top of Ellingwood Point at 9:50 am.  Once again, we had the summit to ourselves.  At this point, the haze was beginning to decrease and we could see a defined outline of the Crestone’s, Humboldt, Kit Carson and Challenger Point in the far distance.  

Charlie and I relaxed on this summit.  We enjoyed a meal and the beautiful weather.  There was only a slight breeze on the summit, which cooled us down from the fairly intense sun.  I also enjoyed taking some photographs and my Fat Tire.

 

As I reflect on the summits I have visited, I realize that I spend very little time resting.  I get so excited that it is usually filled with taking everything in.  I love to document the summit so I take numerous photographs and some brief videos.  I am truly overcome with joy.  I would not change what I do on the summit because it has become invaluable to me. But I guess why I am writing this is that I realize I need to spend a little time just sitting there not doing anything.  That would be valuable to me as well.  If I don’t just sit, listen, and rid myself of “doing” things, then I might just miss something.  That is life for me right now.  I feel so busy doing things that I may be missing some vitally important lessons or I may be neglecting some vitally important relationships.  Sometimes being busy, such as with work, distracts me from more important things.  I am committing myself to making sure to find balance of getting things done while not neglecting the very important relationships in my life.

Charlie and I left the summit at approximately 10:25 am.  It was all downhill from here, although I and my knees really weren’t looking forward to over 6,000 feet of downhill hiking.  Coming down the standard route of Ellingwood Point was somewhat tedious due to the loose talus on its southern face.  We actually found ourselves reconnecting with the standard trail much further to the west than we anticipated.  Once reconnected with the shared trail, the hiking back down to camp was uneventful and quick.  We arrived back at our camp at just before noon.

It didn’t take long before we had broken down camp and were ready to make the long trek down Como Road.  At 1:00 pm, we left our camp to begin this trek.

In my opinion, the hike down Como Road was worse than its ascent.  On the descent, I was tried and worn from the ascent the day before and the climb during the morning.  The only reprieve was that we had shade due to the afternoon clouds that had begun to engulf the hazy blue sky.  Without overemphasizing the hike, on the way in I told Charlie that the hike along Como Road is often referred to as a death march.  On the way in, Charlie felt that those were some strong words to describe it.  As we took a short break about half way down our descent, I told Charlie that if someone were to give me an ultimatum of whether to reclimb this road today or death, I might likely choose death.  He agreed.  I guess that is the best way I can summarize it.  It is nasty.

We arrived back to my Tundra at 3:45 pm.   To both of us, seeing the truck was as beautiful as the view from the summit.  We were finished.  I actually forgot to take our finishing group shot outside of the truck when we arrived.  We decided we were too sore and tired to get out of the vehicle, so this was the first time I took this shot inside of a car.

In summary, the hike was perfect.  It was agonizing, yet rewarding.  It was scenic, yet nasty as you walked along Como Road.  It was invigorating, yet depleted me of the majority of my strength.  It was a great way to start the hiking and climbing season.

All Photographs property of Josh Duncan
copyright 2009-2011
All Rights Reserved
The unauthorized reproduction and usage of any image is strictly prohibited.

 “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.   For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10

• SUMMIT ELEVATION: 14,309 feet
• TRAILHEAD: Nellie Creek
• ROUTE: South Ridge
• ELEVATION GAIN: 3,000 feet
• ROUNDTRIP LENGTH: 7.25 miles
• ROUNDTRIP TIME:  3 hours, 50 minutes
• CLIMBING PARTNER(S): Solo

Uncompahgre Peak was the final peak in my extended weekend within the San Juan Range.  The previous two days I successfully hiked San Luis Peak and climbed Wetterhorn Peak with my good friends Charlie and Jon.  They unfortunately had to head back to Denver for work so I was going solo for my attempt of Uncompahgre Peak.

Uncompahgre Peak is an enormous butte reaching to the heavens.  The peak provides a stark contrast from its steep pointed neighbor, Wetterhorn Peak.  At 14,309 feet, Uncompahgre Peak is a peak of many highs; it’s the 6^th highest peak in Colorado, the highest peak in the San Juan Range, and the highest peak in Hinsdale County.  Gerry Roach described Uncompahgre Peak perfectly when he stated “Uncompahgre is a peak of contrasts.  A trail reaches the summit from the south, but the peak has a fearsome, vertical, 700-foot-high north face.  Courtly cliffs grace this compelling peak’s lower ramparts, and clever routes winding past them will draw you upward.”  Although the standard route is not a technical hike, Uncompahgre’s massive summit strongly exemplifies a unique strength of Colorado’s 14ers.

I had some anxiety leading into my hike.  First, the forecast for Monday called for a 50% chance of precipitation throughout the entire day with thunderstorms developing in the late morning and afternoon.  I didn’t fear the precipitation; my fear was with the potential lightning associated with alpine storms.  My previous experience on Culebra Peak earlier this summer completely changed perception of lightning and I feared it.  My hope was the precipitation and storms would hold off until the afternoon. 

The second component causing some anxiety was Nellie Creek Road.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but honestly it was.  I had to travel 4 miles up Nellie Creek Road from Henson Road to the trailhead.  Nellie Creek Road is a 4-wheel drive road.  There is something about 4-wheeling that stresses me out.  If you don’t think I wasn’t slightly nervous, consider my reluctance from the day before.  I didn’t want to travel up Matterhorn Creek Road, which was shorter and considered to be less difficult.  Even having the comfort and support of my friends on that road, I still choose not to proceed.  I worry about breaking down.  I am not truck savvy; so if I did break down, I am not sure how I would fix it.  I worry about getting stuck and clogging the road.  I dislike inconveniencing other people so I worry about this.  I stress about damaging my truck.  You know, as I write this, I realize all of these things are possibilities, and they are just that.  If any of these happen, it wouldn’t be the end of the world and all of it could be mended.  I wish I would have written this down when I was stressing.

My final and likely greatest stress was hiking alone.  The thought of hiking alone only intensified my other stresses.  Hiking alone leaves you isolated, which can be the perfect feeling yet increases the risk.   There are numerous ways things can go wrong when hiking above 14,000 feet.  Hiking alone leaves you more vulnerable in the event something does happen.  My preference and desire is to always hike with friends; I enjoy the company and there is safety in case something goes wrong.  But for this hike, that wasn’t an option.  My only option was to decide whether to stay at the motel or hike alone.  My previous experiences of hiking alone added stress and intensified my fear, yet it amplified the feeling of success in my adventure.   I have resolved myself to overcoming the stresses, the fears, in my life.  Thus, hiking Uncompahgre Peak wasn’t my challenge, hiking alone was my true obstacle.

I know that I often describe stresses or fears of my hiking adventures.  I have fears going into every hike.  I would be lying if I said I didn’t have them as I am venturing into new places and unique.  I think I wrestle with the unknowns, both good and bad, in all aspects of my life.  However, I also have a tremendous amount of excitement going into each climb.  I think I just wanted to say that because I don’t just have concerns when going into a hike.  With the unknown come an exciting challenge, a new adventure, and a new experience.  Ultimately, I was looking forward to Uncompahgre Peak more than I was dreading it.  The joy and pain motivate me.

I had time to focus on my stresses the night before the hike.  Instead of staying my tent as I had the previous couple of nights, I decided to stay in a quaint motel in Lake City.  I figured a shower and a comfortable bed would be nice before the hike.  The motel was a really nice setting but the comfortable bed I was searching for was far from cozy.  The bed was unpleasant.  An uncomfortable bed coupled with the small fears I was having lead to a night of unrest.  I did not sleep well at all.  I would have been better off sleeping in my tent and saving my money.

After a blissful 3 hours of sleep, I woke up at 4:30 am.  This was even earlier than my alarm clock.  Nonetheless, I was packed up and heading out of Lake City at 4:50 am.  The roads were wet from a recent dusting of rain.  I couldn’t see any stars because it was overcast.  Luckily, once outside of town the roads were dry so the wet roads in Lake City were hopefully an isolated incidence. This still didn’t provide me a tremendous amount of confidence that the weather was going to hold but I pressed forward.

I was driving along Henson Creek Road and it wasn’t long before I came to Nellie Creek Road.  My first obstacle was to overcome the 4 miles of 4WD navigation along this road.  The road definitely requires a 4WD vehicle and having a high clearance truck was an added bonus.  The driving was slow moving and some areas required careful navigation.  I crossed Nellie Creek twice, which was amusing each time.  After both crossings, I observed two tracks of water that had fallen off of a vehicle.  The vehicle must have been slightly in front of me.  This provided me some optimism that although I may be hiking alone, there may be some other people of the trail this Monday.  Similar to hiking, I found myself enjoying this drive the further I journeyed up the road.  About 45 minutes later, I was at the trailhead for Uncompahgre Peak.

Starting from the Nellie Creek Trailhead (elevation 11,400 feet), my plan was to follow the standard route to the summit of Uncompahgre Peak.  The South Slope Route has a Class II rating.  To acquire the summit, I would hike approximately 7.25 miles with a vertical gain of approximately 3,000 feet.

At 5:45 am, Nellie Creek Trailhead was quiet.  The trailhead was still dark and there was only one additional car in the parking lot.  I was hopeful that this was the vehicle from which I saw its traces while driving up Nellie Creek Road. 

I started hiking solo in the dark at 6:00 am.  Of course, as soon as I started I had the uneasy feeling of curious eyes stalking me.  Adjacent to me and the trail were a set of three glowing eyes in a grassy meadow.  Luckily it was only a small herd of deer watching me with curious eyes.  Quickly, memories of my solo hike up Missouri Mountain resurfaced.  How I became literally incapable of hiking due to fear.  However, today I felt comfortable, more confident.  I didn’t have the same fear as once before.  Experiencing fear aides in overcoming it.  

Prior to venturing to far up the trail, I signed my name into the register.  Within the register, I saw that someone else was hiking in front of me.  Knowing I wasn’t the only hiker on this day relieved all of my remaining concerns of hiking solo today.

Although two of my items that caused anxiety were gone, the weather remained and still concerned me.  It was breezy and the ample moisture that I felt in the air was alarming.  As light began to reveal my surroundings, the light also revealed abundant scattered clouds that appeared to be moving faster than the breeze that was impacting me.  The weather motivated me to hike fast.  I only took few pictures.  My focus was on moving.

When I exited treeline, I still couldn’t see Uncompahgre.  I moved quickly along Nellie Creek until I hit the plateau at 11,950 feet.   On top of the plateau, I obtained my first unobstructed view of Uncompahgre Peak. He was beginning to wake up with the sun rising.  The light was welcomed and revealed the impressive, unique mountain.

Some dark clouds were visible to the west and provided an attention-grabbing backdrop of the peak.  However, the ridge and peak really obstructed a distant view to the west.  Interestingly, when I looked to the east there were fewer clouds.  It was almost like they were dissipating or at least decreasing in size east of Uncompahgre.

The mountain and ridge obstructed my view and the closer I hiked to the base, the less I could see to the west. I could only see what was coming over the mountain.  I didn’t particularly like the feeling of not being able to see what, if anything was coming.  So with each step, I watched how the weather evolved.  Clouds were moving from south to north but seemed to be staying west of Uncompahgre. 

As I evaluated the route and knowing that I couldn’t really see what was happening west of the peak, I knew I would be able to quickly descend in the event bad weather reached me.  At this point, I questioned if I would summit.  I knew that I would make my final decision once I reached the ridge to the south of Uncompahgre Peak at approximately 12,900 feet.  At that elevation, I would have a better view of the west and be able to make a better assessment.  Even if I made the push, I knew that at any point I might potentially bail.

I moved through the large meadow below Uncompahgre hastily to acquire the ridge.  The hike along a defined path was gentle and easy.  I could see a couple ahead of me.  Logically, they must be the party that signed in ahead of me.  Besides the weather, catching them further motivated me to hike even faster.

I quickly acquired the ridge.  To the west there were clouds and more clouds.  Several of the clouds had dark bases, which is not an ideal sight.  Luckily the clouds were still in the distance so I decided pushing on would be okay.  Although the south and west looked bleak, the sunrise to the east was incredible.  The ridge also exposed a strong, cold wind.  The wind explained why the clouds were moving at a higher pace than the breeze I was experiencing down below. 

Once I acquired the ridge I also met the couple I was attempting to catch up to.  They were from Eagle and I briefly chatted with them.  However, my focus was truly on Uncompahgre Peak.  I had a summit to reach.

The beginning of the South Ridge steepened briefly before maintaining the gentle slope present below the ridge line.  Although there were clouds, I now also admired the view to the west.  The clouds were a unique dark blue and the sun was illuminating the peaks providing such a contrast.  Seeing Wetterhorn Peak from this view was awesome, especially considering the day before I was on top of it.

The gentle slope of the south ridge went to switchbacks at 13,600 feet.  The switchbacks took me to the base of Uncompahgre’s flat summit.  Now at approximately 13,900 feet and I was on the south edge of Uncompahgre Peak.  From this point, the hiking went from easy hike to a segment of what I would consider difficult Class II terrain.  It was a quick 200 foot ascent up the south face but it was along really loose talus.  With each step up, I slid back down the mountain about ¾ of a step.  Soon I found myself actually scrambling through this portion instead of fighting the sliding.  This portion was not sustained and was the only isolated section of Class II terrain on a relatively easy hike.

Once through the south face, I now stood at an elevation of approximately 14,100 feet.  I was essentially on the top of Uncompahgre’s massive summit.   The remainder of the hike was gradual and took me to the summit on the north side of this giant plateau at 14,309 feet.

I arrived at the summit of Uncompahgre Peak at 7:50 am.  I completed another solo summit and had this summit all to myself.  I continued to move quickly on summit because I didn’t want to spend too much time up here.  I wanted to get down and be safely below treeline just in case anything moved in.  The clouds to the west were moving quickly and didn’t look very nice.  No lightning, but I didn’t want to be this high to find out.

In all of my research, there was one thing I was looking forward to the most; it was the classic summit shot that Uncompahgre Peak offers.  As I mentioned earlier, Uncompahgre Peak has a 700 foot high vertical cliff along its northern edge.  The summit provides a perfect angle to capture a hiker overlooking the impressive cliff.  However, one unfortunate result of hiking solo is that I can’t capture the shot of myself.  I guess I could if I had brought my tripod and remote but I didn’t.  I was saddened that I couldn’t get the classic summit shot of Uncompahgre (I guess I will have to climb it again another day…oh darn!), so I settled for taking the classic shot with my Fat Tire.  Can you find it?  The can is small but if you look close you see it.

I spent about 20 minutes alone on the quiet summit.  I had hoped the hikers behind me would soon summit so I could have someone to take the classic summit shot, but with the weather approaching in the distance, I decided not to wait.  I left the summit at 8:10.

On my descent I encountered the couple as they were making their final approach up the gentle terrain.  His wife didn’t look like she enjoyed the steep, loose ascent up the south face.  However, they were pressing forward to the summit.

Descending the south face went really quickly.  Going down always seems to take less time.  Once through the difficult section, I really began to move because the weather was looking worse and worse.  I wanted to get off the ridgeline. At 8:40, I was off the ridge.

I felt a little more comfort once off the ridge but I still was moving.  The next goal was to get to treeline.  However, now feeling a little more comfortable I would take additional pauses to capture the mountain.  It was a great day to capture some powerful shots of Uncompahgre Peak with such a vivid display of contrasting colors.  I was thrilled with the pictures I was getting.  It was interesting to me how I was descending.  To someone watching, I probably looked crazy.  I would jog down, stop, take a picture, and then jog some more till I decided to take another picture.

As I neared the plateau at 11,950 feet, I encountered two people working on the trail.  They were working for the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) to stabilize the trail.  I thanked them for their service.

Soon after talking to them, it began to lightly rain.  I finished the quick descent and didn’t take a break until I was at the trailhead.  I arrived back at Nellie Creek Trailhead at 9:50 am.  In less than three hours I hiked to and from the trailhead, while covering approximately 7.25 miles and 3,000 vertical feet.   I realized that I can cover a lot of ground when I’m motivated to.  Since I was focused on hiking, I took fewer pictures than I typically do.  However, what I lacked in quantity was compensated by the great quality of the pictures.

At the trailhead were a few more trucks and a group of men standing around.  At first I thought it was odd.  Soon, a group of about 20 horses and three men on horseback came down from the direction I had just hiked.  The horses belong to an outfitter and the waiting men were getting ready to go deep into the backcountry to hunt elk.  I recalled it was that time of the year.  I then packed up and headed down the vibrant Nellie Creek Road.  It was steadily raining now and I counted my blessings for being off the mountain.  I now also had the glow of daylight through the clouds to enjoy the surroundings of Nellie Creek Road.  The changing aspens were still incredibly brilliant. 

After this hike, I was grateful for a successful three day outing in the San Juan’s.  I hiked/climbed three different, yet uniquely beautiful peaks.  I enjoyed two days with good friends doing something we all love and admire and then I took pleasure in a solo climb of Uncompahgre Peak.  God has created such great beauty around us.  I am thankful that I can enjoy it with Him.



All Photographs property of Josh Duncan
copyright 2009-2011
All Rights Reserved
The unauthorized reproduction and usage of any image is strictly prohibited.

 “The experienced mountain climber is not intimidated by a mountain – he is inspired by it.  The persistent winner is not discouraged by a problem – he is challenged by it.  Adversities are designed to be defeated; problems are sent to be solved.  It is better to master one mountain than a thousand foothills.” William Arthur Ward

• SUMMIT ELEVATION: 14,015 feet
• TRAILHEAD: Matterhorn Creek
• ROUTE: Southeast Ridge
• ELEVATION GAIN: 3,500 feet
• ROUNDTRIP LENGTH: 8.0 miles
• ROUNDTRIP TIME: 6 hours, 10 minutes
• CLIMBING PARTNER(S): Charlie and Jon

After a successful climb of San Luis Peak earlier in the morning, we left the Stewart Creek trailhead and headed to Lake City, Colorado.  Prior to traveling to Lake City, we stopped in Gunnison to pick up my truck and then stopped at the Gunnison Brewery for some grub and a brew.  The Gunnison Brewery was a nice treat after our hike in the morning and the beer was refreshing.  Two thumbs up!  After the brief stop in Gunnison, we made the trek to Lake City.

Lake City has become one of my favorite towns in Colorado.  Small, quaint and historic, Lake City is a hidden gem that has yet to be over commercialized like so many Colorado mountain towns along the Front Range.  My first visit to Lake City was approximately two months earlier when Charlie and I traveled through it on our way to hike Redcloud, Sunshine and Handies Peaks.  The drive only takes about an hour to get from Gunnison to Lake City with a good portion of the drive along the canyon walls carved by the Lake Fork of the Gunnison.  This time, the vivid fall aspen trees were beautiful in the setting.  A part of me wanted to stop and take some pictures but I knew we needed to get to Wetterhorn Peak. 

Once in Lake City, we dropped off Charlie’s car and then all climbed into the truck to begin the journey to Matterhorn Creek trailhead. We drove along Henson Creek Road, which was unique, a stream bed surrounded by cliff walls, abandoned mines and dams.  The aspen were on fire.  We were hitting the prime color change.  The aspen trees along this stretch were brighter than any aspens I had ever seen.  Saying the aspen trees were on fire is fair enough, the mountain sides ignited with a tremendous explosion of vivid yellow.  After passing the Nellie Creek turnoff at 5 miles (which was my destination for Monday), we drove approximately 6 additional miles to get to the Matterhorn Creek Trailhead.

We decided to venture up Matterhorn Creek Road in an attempt to reach the upper parking area.  The reward for traveling to the parking area would be to shorten our hike by approximately one mile each way.  Matterhorn Creek Road required a 4WD high clearance vehicle, which my Toyota Tundra meets the requirements for attempting this road.  However, after 0.2 miles up the 4WD road, the Tundra had enough.  Ok, I had had enough.  I was tired and a little nervous so I stopped at the first possible camping spot and turnaround available.  This turned out to be okay as it has a great camping spot overlooking Matterhorn Creek.  However, my decision to park didn’t come without a little friendly badgering from my friends.  It was well deserved but I didn’t want to press it.  Anyways, hiking an additional 1.5 miles is something we could all use.  It was 5:00 pm and time to set up camp and prepare some dinner.

We were all tired after our morning hike of San Luis Peak and bed called my name by 7:45.  Charlie camped in my tent this evening instead of car camping.  I read for a little while and once again wrote another note to my fiancée.  As you probably guessed, it also came with its badgering.

At 5:00 a.m. we awoke.  I had an incredible night of sleep.  The sound of Matterhorn Creek flowing below us, the mild temperature of the evening, and no wind…the perfect conditions for a great night of sleep.  I also credit hiking 13 miles the morning before to a restful night.  We broke down camp and we were off by 6:15 towards our destination…Wetterhorn Peak.

Situated within the San Juan Range, Wetterhorn Peak is considered a great introduction to the more difficult 14ers in Colorado.  Wetterhorn Peak is an impressive pointed rock spire whose name is inspired from its slight resemblance of the prominent European mountain in the Swiss Alps.  In fact, Wetterhorn Peak in German means “weather peak”, and the mountain is known for weather changing rapidly.  Wetterhorn Peak rises to 14,015 feet, which is approximately 1,900 feet higher than the more famous Wetterhorn Peak of the Swiss Alps.  To successfully climb to the summit, we would hike along the Southeast Ridge route for approximately 8 miles roundtrip with approximately 3,500 feet of vertical elevation gain.  The final pitch makes this an ideal introduction to the more difficult 14ers because it is an exposed Class III (some say easy Class IV) route, which causes some to rope up.   Of the three mountains I was climbing this weekend, I was most excited about Wetterhorn Peak because of its difficulty and splendor. 

The beginning 0.4 miles was along the remainder of Matterhorn Creek Road, which I reluctantly decided against driving up the day before.  We passed a few people who were camping further up.  One of the vehicles was a Jeep Liberty, which my fiancée owns, so that brought a new round badgering from my friends.  It made me realize that I could have driven up the road and that I needed to man up; especially because I was tackling Nellie Creek Road tomorrow morning solo.

Once past the trailhead, we were off the dirt road and on a single track, well-defined trail.  The trail continued along Matterhorn Creek.  The path would alternate between open meadows and the confining forest.  In the openings, I could see the summit of Wetterhorn Peak peaking above a large butte sitting in front of it.  About ¾ mile up, the trail opened into a large field.  There were a herd of white-tail deer running through it.

We approached the first fork in the trail. I unfortunately recalled the wrong portion of the trip route details and we went left at the fork instead of going right.  After about 0.25 miles, we followed the trail and crossed Matterhorn Creek to find the trail ended.  We further felt we were on the wrong side of the Wetterhorn Peak.  I pulled out the route description and investigated it more carefully by examining at the map and trip details.  I soon determined that we needed to take a right at previous fork instead of a left.  The fork where we turn left is further up the route.  Before backtracking, I took a slow shutter speed shot of Matterhorn Creek.  The picture made the wrong turn worthwhile. 

Instead of backtracking to the fork, we decided to hike directly up the side of mountain.  This would shorten the distance and allow us to reconnect with the trail higher instead of completely backtracking.  When we reacquired the trail, I apologized for my mistake.  I also told Charlie that “sometimes you have to get lost in order to find yourself”.  We weren’t lost but I figured the cheesiness would make us all laugh…success.

Although there was no damage or harm in traveling down the wrong trail, it made me realize the importance of planning by everyone in the group.  I tend to be the one who plans the trip and knows the details of the route.  Planning by everyone is critical for many reasons.  First, it helps everyone be responsible for themselves and not reliant upon one person in the group.  This is the idea of being responsible to the people around you instead of being responsible for them.  Everyone doing some planning also helps everyone be familiar with the route and to know what each of us are getting into.  Finally, everyone planning allows us to truly be responsible to each other in case someone gets injured or lost.  From this point forward, I am going to request my climbing partners be as familiar and prepared for our climbs so that everyone can be safe, or at least ready.

Once back on route, we ascended out of treeline into an open basin below Wetterhorn Peak and its sister mountain Matterhorn Peak.  The portion of the route between treeline at 11,800 feet and the ridge at approximately 13,100 feet was simple.  Open meadows, a small stream crossing, a unique boulder field and mild elevation gain.  The sun was lighting the mountains up and it was a beautiful sight.  We continued to hike north along the east side of the basin.  Soon we followed the sign that turned us west to hike along the base Matterhorn and Wetterhorn Peak’s connecting ridgeline.  This is a perfect route for photographing these peaks in the morning.  It is not the prominent side of the mountain but it provides great lighting for capturing its essence in the morning.

At 13,100 feet we connected with Wetterhorn’s Southeast Ridge….let the thrills begin!

From 13,100 feet to approximately 13,400 feet ridge compared to the trail we just came from except steeper.  It was simple Class II material along a defined, colorful trail, which included an interesting portion of very vivid yellow soil.

At approximately 13,400 feet, the climbing begins.  The once defined trail along a smooth path now turned to a compacted rock trail.  We followed the rock pathway that left the ridgeline and found ourselves traversing along the mountain but below the ridge.  The more we hiked, the higher the ridge parted from us.  From our vantage point, we soon obtained a great perspective of the next 400’ of vertical climbing leading to the Ship’s Prow of Wetterhorn Peak.  The Ship’s Prow is a large fin and rock outcrop that towers alone below the summit of Wetterhorn Peak.  We could see that our path would require us to ascend one gully and then traverse into another gully that would lead us to the Ship’s Prow.  Since we were the first ones on the peak today, we would follow the cairns when possible or ascend lines that felt comfortable.

The cairns lead our way up the first gully chute.  I quickly felt less intimated because the mountain was fairly solid.  This was easy Class III scrambling.  Solid rock was a nice benefit.  Once we reached the top of the gully and just below the ridge, we found ourselves not able to ascend to the actual ridge because some large formidable boulders blocked our passage.  However, to the left of the blocked passage was a “V” notch providing access into the adjacent gully.  We passed through the notch into the second gully.  Once through the first notch, we were able to ascend to the ridge along two routes.  The first was to traverse across the solid rock face and then ascend along the base of the Ship’s Prow.  The alternate route was to directly ascend the rock gully and traverse along the ridge.  After a quick assessment of the two routes we felt the one to the right and along the ridge was more solid.  The ridge was definitely steeper, but we preferred solid climbing over anything.  It turned out that this segment was a characteristic Class III climb and it was exhilarating.

The ridge flattened out at approximately 13,800 feet and at the base of the Ships Prow.  After passing around the base of the Ships Prow, we passed through the large notch near the cliff wall and then the real fun began.  This was the beginning of the distinguished Class III section with vast exposure.  As I looked down, I thought that if I fell, I wouldn’t stop for hundreds of feet, if not a thousand feet.  It was steep and compared to the North Ridge of Lindsey, I thought this was more exposed other than one small move on Lindsey on the miniature knife edge.

From 13,800 feet, I looked up at a steep wall leading to the summit. This Class III portion was like a vertical staircase.  We decided it was best to ascend this portion one at a time in the event of rock fall.  Charlie first led the way up this portion.  I followed and found it wasn’t technically difficult besides the stress of knowing the possible outcome if you fell.  I was intensely focused, paying attention to the precise placement of my hands and feet; alert to any possible mistake.  After about 100 vertical feet along the ladder, I reached a little ledge where Charlie was waiting.  I called this Wetterhorn Avenue as it was a pronounced ledge and it reminded of Kit Carson Avenue, only much smaller.  From Wetterhorn Avenue, I waited and photographed Jon making his ascent.  This was a great vantage point to capture some nice action shots. 

Once on the ledge, Jon followed Wetterhorn Avenue to the west to scope out the route to the summit.  What he found was that it led to a vertical drop of approximately 600-1000 feet.  I figuratively called this Wetterhorn’s Dead End.  It was an impressive, yet fearful view that we all had to witness and more importantly experience.  This view did not aid in my fear of falling and made my palms sweat even though I was not in harm’s way. The power of the mind is amazing. 

We turned back and realized that we needed to continue directly straight up from the ledge. There really was no defined path as now we were climbing.  This was one of the first peaks that as I stood so close to the summit, I was not sure how much more further we had to go because the summit was directly above me.   What we found was we were only about 30 to 50 feet below the summit.  It was a small undefined climb to the top. 

Here we stood on the summit of Wetterhorn Peak at 9:30 am.  The summit revealed itself quicker than any of us anticipated. I loved that I climbed to reach this summit and that literally my final step of the climb came after ascending a steep wall.  On every other climb I have been on, the summit is something that I have seen for a distance and the final steps are typically a walk.  Wetterhorn Peak required me to truly climb onto the summit.  My emotion was magnified due to the abrupt revelation of standing on top of this summit especially after functioning at a high level of intensity leading up to it.

This has been my most exhilarating peak to date.  I feel as though each mountain just keeps getting better.  The final ascent made Wetterhorn Peak so memorable.  It was steep, exposed and intense.  We were the first to summit today and we had this small summit to ourselves.  I didn’t hold back on the emotion.  The day was beautiful both figuratively and literally.  I was stoked and probably had one of the biggest smiles ever while on top of a mountain.  I felt like I was standing on top of the world.  Nothing was going to bring me down.  Thank you Charlie and Jon for joining me in this adventure and I am grateful that we worked together to get to the top of one my favorite peaks to date.

On the summit, I had an unobstructed view of Uncompahgre Peak.  That was my journey for tomorrow.  But before moving onto my next adventure though, I had to finish enjoying this peak, today’s journey, to its fullest.  I took my panoramic summit shot and my signature Fat Tire photograph.

We enjoyed this summit together for about twenty minutes before beginning our descent.  We knew other people were headed up as we saw some people ascending new the Ships Prow.  We wanted to get through the difficult piece to avoid any rock fall and congestion on the mountain. 

The downclimbing through the difficult section wasn’t too bad.  I recalled something a friend of mine told me about climbing 14ers “always keep three points of contact with the mountain and you will be fine”.  I did it on the way up and was intent on following this rule on the way down when gravity is working with me.  The downclimb back to the saddle went quickly.  From there, it was business as usual.  We occasionally stopped to shed clothing as the sun and heat intensified and to enjoy the views of our descent.  At one point we found ourselves hiking very quickly to reach the comfort of shade.  The sun was relentless so treeline became a welcomed relief. 

After some brief pauses for me to capture various parting shots of Wetterhorn Peak and the brilliant aspens, we soon arrived back at the trailhead at 12:25 pm.  Wetterhorn Peak was an impressive peak that provided some everlasting memories.  The gradual ascent to the saddle provided some great refreshing scenery.  The ridgeline provided the exhilaration and intensity I have started to become addicted to. 

Wetterhorn Peak also revealed the importance of all of us researching together.  The first revelation occurred because I lead us astray early in the hike.  However, the difficulty of the remainder of the hike reinforced the need for us all to be prepared.  So, a rule for my future hikes – If you are going to hike with me you need to do research, understand the hike, know the route, and know what you are getting into.  As hiking partners we need to be interdependent.  We need to be responsible to one another on the mountain because there may be a situation where it is vital.

Once back at the trailhead, we finished packing up our belongings and headed back to Lake City.  Prior to Charlie and Jon leaving Lake City, we stopped at a barbeque restaurant and ate some great food.  Charlie and Jon soon left Lake City to head back to the Front Range.  I made my way to the Matterhorn Motel and Cabins.  I would stay the night here before heading up Nellie Creek in the morning for a summit attempt of Uncompahgre Peak.  Prior to sleeping, I would take photographs around Lake City and watch the Broncos game.  I wasn’t roughing it tonight!



All Photographs property of Josh Duncan
copyright 2009-2011
All Rights Reserved
The unauthorized reproduction and usage of any image is strictly prohibited.