Distance RT: 8.25 miles, but we went ~8 miles since we took a shortcut switchback on the descend.
Time: 6 hrs
Difficulty: Moderate-Difficult
Permits required: None
Brief Description
This route includes climbing two mountains that are taller than 14,000 feet in elevation (Gray's at 14,270' and Torrey's at 14,267'). Gray's peak is the tallest mountain on the Continental Divide, with Torrey's Peak only a 0.65 mile saddleback hike away. The beginning of the hikes starts out in lush lowlands with thriving mountain flower fields nearby gushing snow-melt streams. Near 12,000' the trail transforms into a rocky staircase with many switchbacks. The views from both summits provide unique panoramas of summit valley, including Breckenridge ski slopes, Long's Peak, I-70, and high altitude frozen lake.
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| Thanks to 14ers.com |
Trail Map
The map above shows the trail to the top of Gray's (green) and then Torrey's (blue), beginning from the summer TH parking lot. The trail is a tidy gravel/dirt path in the lowlands, which eventually becomes a rocky footpath twisting up to Gray's summit. This is the standard eastern slope climb (the others sides increasing in difficulty). From the top of Gray's, climb down its rocky north side to continue up to Torrey's Peak. Although Torrey's Peak is slightly less tall than Gray's, it will seem just as tall (if not more) since this second summit requires another strenuous, steep climb to the top.
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| I-70 W from Denver to Exit 221 to Gray's Peak TH (B). Thanks for Google Maps. |
Directions from Denver
-Take I-70 westbound into Summit valley.
-Take exit 221 towards Bakerville.
-Leave the highway and drive south over to the dirt parking area (for winter parking) near the start of Forest Road 189/Stevens Gulch Road.
-Continue on FR 189 to a junction after about one mile- stay straight and follow the sign for Grays Peak TH (the summer parking).
-Continue another 2 miles to the trailhead parking lot at 11,280'.
Parking
Public bathrooms (but bring your own toilet paper). No Fee. Our Honda Civic braved the steep gravel road that extended from the highway to Gray's Peak summer TH. However, parking and hiking from anywhere along FR 189 is common for low-clearance vehicle drivers who wish to save themselves the stress of potential car damage.
The hiking websites grade Gray's Peak as "easy" but we graded both Torrey's and Gray's as "moderate-difficult" because the first three hours of the hike was up, up, up, and more up! The start of the hike through the flowering meadows felt great, even despite our early wake up call at 4:30 AM so that we could make the drive and begin hiking at 6:30 AM. There was good cloud cover so we wore gloves and hats, even at these lower altitudes.
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| Starting up around 6:30 AM. |
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| At times it felt as though we were walking up an old creek bed, and in fact, on the way back down there were small water streams. |
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| Mountain flowers brightened the otherwise austere, rocky mountain sides. |
Eventually, we reached an altitude (around 12,000' we are guessing) where the footing beneath us consisted of nothing but rocks. This stretch of our hike was a bit difficult since it was hard to navigate the trail due to a few snowmelt runoffs, sliding rocks, and steep drop offs. Nevertheless, we continued meandering up the long, winding switchbacks until we reached the summit of Gray's. We stopped more often towards the top for water and air. Oxygen was obviously at lower supply, as it felt like our lungs tighten and our pulse beating in our heads and hands as our hearts beat furiously to feed our tiered muscles. The switchbacks seemed to go on forever at first, and in a way, the summit of Gray's came out of nowhere! We looked up at one point and realized that we were almost to the top!
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| Mid-summit. A mountain spine. |
When we surfaced at the top, we took our first look from 14,000 feet. It was magnificent. The thrill of reaching the top seemed to pump life right back into us as we walked around snapping photos and smiling ear to ear. Many climbers were perched at the top as well, enjoying a mid-morning meal with similar expressions of amazement. We met a mother and son who were hiking Gray's for the first time, just as we were. The mother had hiked Bierstadt Peak (another "14er") three years back, but for her son it was his first 14er. We congratulated each other on surviving the climb. The temperature was quite chilly at this altitude (pack additional layers, hats and gloves). To the north we could see and hear Torrey's Peak calling our names. As we were preparing to depart towards our second summit, we say a women who we had passed earlier that morning in our car. We were driving to the TH parking lot as she was running up the steep FR 189. We had both agreed that running that road along was gutsy, and now we realize that she had continued her morning run up Gray's, over to Torrey's, and now she was happily jogging down her return route. What?! Ok, now that is one insanely fit woman!! We getting quite the challenge just walking!
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| Gray's Peak summit. |
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| Views as far as the eye could see... Here we are looking at a frozen mountain lake. |
As we descended the rocky saddleback trail (don't miss the stair path!) towards Torrey's, we surveyed the surrounding skis for dark clouds. Being the summer season it is very dangerous to be up on top of a mountain when an afternoon popcorn thunderstorm approaches since your body acts like a lightning rod (this is especially daunting for Emily who is very frightened by being outdoors when there is the threat of lightning). We saw a few dark clouds in the distance but decided to continue hiking. It was now around 10:30 AM.
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| Second summit of the day, Torrey's Peak. |
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| More amazing views. |
Our legs felt surprisingly refreshed at the crux of the saddleback, but that didn't last very long. Almost immediately, as we started to climb the rocky switchbacks taking us up to Torrey's Peak, our leg muscles burned with fury and our breath quickened. But. We. Had. To. Reach. The. Top! It took us ~45 minutes to complete the short climb. At this second summit, we felt exhilarated and totally wiped at the same time. After a few more pictures, we found two free rocks amongst the crowded peak (there were lots of groups and friends hiking together that day, and many people had brought their dogs too)! We ate our peanut butter sandwiches, some trail mix, and long drags of water from the Camelbak before deciding that we better start our journey down. The dark clouds were moving in quickly and becoming more ominous looking. Our goal was to make it down by noon.
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| A snowy shortcut. |
To make this possible, and to give our legs a break, we took a shortcut switchback across a snowy slope that began at the bottom of the saddleback trail, that veered off the the left of the trail that would otherwise take you up to Gray's Peak again. The trail consisted of packed snow from previous hikers' boots. Thank goodness for our multi-weather hiking boots that were able to keep our feet warm and dry as we made our way through some (sometimes calf-deep) snow banks. During the descend, Emily paid close attention to her footing, as the rocky mountain face provided many opportunities for tripping. The closer we got to the lowlands, the easier it was to breath, and the more energy noticeably came back into our limbs. Also, relative to the dry, snowy conditions near the mountain tops, the temperature felt tropical once we reached the gravel path in the meadows! Off with the extra layers, hats and gloves.
This trail was unique from others that we have hiked, in that there were no private outdoor spots to use the restroom if needed (no tall bushes or trees to hide behind), so make sure you don't hydrate with caffeinated beverages beforehand or you may find yourself in trouble, especially for females!
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| Parking lot pic. |
Upon returning to our car at the TH, we slowly took off our shoes and wound up chatting with a nice older couple in the parking lot from Wyoming. We had seen them trekking up the Gray's Peak path with alpine skis and boots swung over their shoulders! They told us that they were hiking up just high enough to access a snowy face to freestyle ski back down. Joe and I had kept our eye on them and, sure enough, they had successfully skied down the mountain! Their adventurous spirits were inspiring. That same day we learned that there were other unique ways of getting down the mountain in a hurry... sliding! As we were slowly making our way back down the trail path, we had recognized some hikers that we had seen at the summit of Torrey's sliding down the snowy mountain side on their rear ends in some kind of manmade snow slide! We will pocket that idea for the next Gray's and Torrey's climb.
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| Umm... latte. |
Driving down eastbound I-70 towards home, we decided to stop off in Georgetown for a hot cup of coffee and a snack. Dull headaches had settled into both of our brains and a little caffeine sounded rejuvenating now that the climb was over. Plus, it seemed like a celebratory drink to honor our first successful 14er(s) hike! We found a small cafe called, Mountain Buzz Cafe and Pizzeria. This place has forever gone down in our books of great cafe finds. The barista whipped up some fantastically frothy espresso drinks and delicious handmade pizzas. We ate and sipped happily while looking west at the mountains we had just climbed.
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