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Handies
Group Colorado 14ers: Redcloud, Sunshine & Handies 14,034; 14,001; 14,048 |
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My 14er partners, Robert and Patrick had already knocked off Redcloud
and Sunshine Peaks while I was on a Denali climb so I was left to do
these on my own in late July 2008. But I was to meet up with them the
following day for a weekend of climbing in the San Juan Range. We would
go after Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn together. This was my first climbs
in the San Juan. I was going for 5 peaks in three days and was thoroughly
impressed in all aspects. I made the 7 hour drive to the tourist town of Lake City Colorado and had an overpriced sandwich at a local restaurant. The drive to the Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch (10,400') trailhead took about 40 minutes on good dirt roads and a final few miles on a moderate 4WD road. I was glad to have my Jeep for this entire weekend in the San Juan but a regular car could have made it to this trailhead.
A few other climbers were on the trail but it was mostly quiet .. except for the squeaks and peeps from the pikas and marmots. The wild flowers were in full bloom making the entire area look like a Van Gogh painting. I gained a saddle at 13,000' and began the climb to Redcloud summit. The trail was strong and route finding not an issue. Soon on top of Colorado's 46th highest peak at 14,034', I enjoyed the nice views and got a chance to scout out my next objective.
As I went down, I took the time to enjoy the wild flowers again and take some pictures. But since I was moving so well, I begin to consider climbing Handies that afternoon instead of a few days later as I originally thought.
The trail to Handies, Colorado's 40th highest peak, is very well marked and defined so it was a matter of going up as quickly as possible to beat the late afternoon storms. I had heard the views from the summit of Handies were one of the best but with all the clouds around all I did was get up and down as quick as possible. Yes, it was a pure 'peak bagging' experience! The Handies Group was not very taxing and in fact would make an excellent introduction to the Colorado 14ers. The San Juan Range is spectacular and offers phenomenal views from every summit. With these three complete, I now prepared to meet my friends for Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn the next day. |
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