Two (or is it Three) 14'ers in 1 day

Flushed with success at completing our first 14'er, a few us of decided to attempt to do two 14'ers in 1 day. This is actually easier than it sounds because the two we chose were right next to each other.

We selected Grays at 14, 270 feet and Torreys at 14,267.

Alan, Steffen, Damith, Sabrina and Uyen made up the intreprid hikers who met up Sunday morning to start the hike. We had to endure 3 miles from the I-70 exit to the trailhead of rutted dirt tracks, pot holes and a distracted Steffens driving, but we eventually starting hiking at 8:30am.

This seemed a lot harder than Mt Bierstadt. We started at a lower elevation and had more elevation to climb. Steffen and I had run the day before so were feeling in pretty good form. Uyen, Damith and Sabrina were setting a slower pace, but were coping well with the hike.

About an hour in with the weather turning a little rainiy and the two peaks covered with mist and clouds I proposed that Steffen and I go ahead, complete the first peak, hike to the second, then hike back to the first to meet the three tortoises..

Everyone agreed so off we went. The climb up seemed to take a long time, with quite a few short stops and a lot of switchbacks, but we did make it to Grays in pretty good time, so that was one 14'er down.

Then we set off down the mountain to the saddle and a direct shot up the other mountain to the top of Torreys. Second 14'er down

We hadnt seen the other three all this time, so we decided to head down the mountain and take the middle path back to the trailhead.

Imagine our surprise when we got to the saddle and the trail down to see Damith, Sabrina and Uyen waving to us from a distance. We spent a few minutes deciding if they were going up or going down.. We could see they were going up, so we decided to take the direct path up to meet them. Yes that is us in the middle of the picture, just one step away from going down the mountain..

All five of us managed to arrive at the same time at the top. Third 14'er for us

Damith and Sabrina were excited that they had completed their first 14'er, but Uyen was even more happier (probably to see the top).

We spent a few minutes taking pictures, signing the log, eating all of Uyen's sandwiches, then as the weather started to turn and snow we decided to head back down the trail.
The journey down seemed fast although like Bierstadt there is a quick descent, then a long path to get back to the trailhead. We did pass a few people going up, but when we arrived back at 3pm most people had already left. Around 9.5 miles for the entire trip.

We then faced the dreaded 3 mile dirt road and the busier than normal I-70 traffic as we headed back. We stopped off in Idaho Springs for Beau Jo's pizza where we had the 5 pounder pizza.

Then a quick trip back to the rendevous point where the rain magically started as we arrived.We have maybe a couple of weekends left to do a few more 14'ers. Mt Elbert beckons and possibly Pikes Peak.