Since the trail is not very technical, plenty of dogs accompanied their owners on their trek. I was surprised to see a beagle on the trail. This should give Boomer, my parent's lazy beagle, some motivation.
The trail ascended Grays Peak first. I wasn't sure how much snow might remain on the Divide from last week's storm, but it had pretty much melted away. You can see the snow lines from the switchbacks on the left side. The weather was fantastic.
Gray's PeakMe on top of Gray's Peak.
I guess I was. There were alot of folks up on top which was pretty annoying.
Since the hike was pretty tame, I was pleased that the road to the trailhead provided some excitement. Immediately after I exited I-70, I turned on a forest service road which had very little maintenance. I drove about 0.25 mile and begun seeing cars parked along side the road. "Crap," I thought, "there must be a ton of people hiking up here." It turned out part of the road had been washed away and only 4x4 vehicles were able to pass. Everyone else had to hoof it several miles to the trailhead.
A well-traveled trail linked the two peaks. There were alot of folks on these trails....much more than I have ever seen on any alpine trail...including Long's Peak. The crowds were kind of annoying, however there did seem to be alot of young girls hiking so that was a plus.
Torrey's Peak
This dog was pretty excited to be on top of Torreys.
I guess I was. There were alot of folks up on top which was pretty annoying.
Since the hike was pretty tame, I was pleased that the road to the trailhead provided some excitement. Immediately after I exited I-70, I turned on a forest service road which had very little maintenance. I drove about 0.25 mile and begun seeing cars parked along side the road. "Crap," I thought, "there must be a ton of people hiking up here." It turned out part of the road had been washed away and only 4x4 vehicles were able to pass. Everyone else had to hoof it several miles to the trailhead.
So for the first time without snow, I was required to switch on my four-wheel drive to get to my destination. I crawled my way through the washed out area and up the remaining rocky road. My Explorer seemed to survive alright. The parking lot had only 4x4 vehicles except for one toyota camry. I would have paid money to see them go up that road.
Driving through some water like the ol' Duke boys. (Not the washed out area)
A Land Cruiser negotiating the washed out area. Notice all the cars lined up. They shall not pass!
As always, I take alot of pictures, so if you would like to pretend you are hiking a couple of 14ers while you're at work, this link should do the trick.
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