Life Lessons from Hike up to Handies Peak
I hadn't climbed any of the fourteen thousand (14er) peaks in the San Juan mountain ranges of southwest Colorado before. So it was very exciting when a few of us agreed to go down to Lake City to hike one up. Initially we had settled on climbing two fourteen thousand peaks together, Red Cloud Mountain and Sunshine Peak. As word spread around that we were going down to the San Juan's, a few other friend of friends decided to join as well.
Note to Self: Set audacious goals. Join like minded people in achieving those goals!
Since the drive was long, we started at noon from Denver. We ate a sandwich lunch on the way at one of our favorite sandwich shop, Which Wich. The drive from Denver to Lake City is through some very scenic parts of Colorado. You pass through different mountain ranges. We took US 285 West through Fairplay and Buena Vista; then onwards to Poncha Springs and on US 50 West to Gunnison. We took a tea break in Gunnison at a gas station. We then continued driving on US 50 to the beautiful Blue Mesa Reservoir. Here there was a turnoff to CO 149 South to Lake City. After an hour of drive through windy roads we arrived at the beautiful small town of Lake City nestled in the San Juan valley. It was 6.00 p.m. and it was drizzling. It looked ominous.
Note to Self: Mentally prepare yourself for everything.
We checked into the Silver Spur Motel after which we went searching for a nice dinner place. We were all craving for some Pizza and carbs! We went to Lake City Cafe right across. We were trying to find a menu to see if they served pizza. Just then a man walked beside us. We asked him if he knew of a good pizza place in town. He responded back saying the Lake City Cafe served great food. We mentioned to him that we were all in mood for some pizza. He reluctantly mentioned that the only place in town that served the pizza was Restless Spirits and pointed us in its direction. He then grumbled and went inside the Cafe. We then realized that he was the owner of the Lake City Cafe!
Note to self: Don't settle for less.
It was still drizzling and we went around searching for Restless Spirits. Lake City downtown is quite small and is about two blocks. We couldn't locate it and thought we had to drive out of town to find it. As we were heading back to our motel we saw a Saloon named Restless Spirits. It was in an old western brick building right next to our motel! We had passed by it once before and had dismissed it as it was a saloon. I had always associated saloon with a smoky bar with bad food and had always avoided such establishments. To my pleasant surprise I was completely wrong. The saloon was pretty busy that evening. There were only two girls taking orders and serving food and drinks. Inside the kitchen was just one chef cooking up all the dishes. I ordered the pesto pizza. We were getting real hungry. It was a long wait for the food. But when it arrived I was really surprised by the quality of the food. The pizza was amazingly delicious and I would rate it pretty high.
Note to self: Never have any preconceived notions of any business or anybody!
After a sumptuous meal, we walked back to our motel rooms. We got our backpack ready for the early morning hike. We decided that we should wake up at 1.15 a.m. since we wanted to hike two fourteeners. The wireless speeds were very slow and internet was spotty. We checked the weather and the forecast was cloudy initially and then clearing up by morning. We went to bed at 8.00 p.m.
Note to self: Prepare, Prepare, Prepare.
We woke up at 1.15 a.m. and got ready to leave. While we were packing our car, our friends in the other room came by and said that they had read on one of the 14er websites that the trail might be closed due to landslides. We were debating what to do but then we all decided that we could head towards the road closure to verify and if true then try an alternate less travelled albeit much longer route to the two 14ers. We checked out of the motel room and headed to the trailhead at 2.15 a.m.
Note to self: Always have alternate plans.
We drove south outside of Lake City (CO 149 South) and missed the turnoff to the dirt road (Co Rd 30) leading to the trailhead and eventually heading towards the town of Silverton on the west side of the San Juans. We finally took the right turn to the dirt road from the main highway. We headed west. It was slow going. After around 10 miles we came to an abrupt end with a sign saying the road was closed. As soon as we got out of the car in that darkness we could feel the mist in the air and smell mud. The ground was soaking wet.
Note to self: Nothing goes according to original plan.
We were then debating whether to head back to catch the alternate trailhead to the two 14ers. We knew that it would be tough to finish the two 14ers from this alternate trailhead since it was much longer. We also learnt that there was another trailhead further down the closed road to a different 14er, Handies Peak. We calculated the distance to the top of Handies Peak from where we were and it came to around 19 miles. We had come this far and this early in the day. All of us felt like hiking even at that early hour. We all settled on hiking Handies Peak. The altitude here was 8348 feet. We had around 5700 feet to climb.
Note to self: Be ready to pivot from your original goal. Surprises await you.
After parking our car, we crossed the closed gate and started hiking at 3.15 a.m. We were the only group hiking up at that time. We had our headlamps on. The dirt road was super wet and extremely muddy. We could hear streams of water coming from the walls of the mountain flowing across the muddy dirt road down into the valley below. There were couple of tricky spots where we had to find a foothold without getting mud into our boots and pants. We saw couple of bull dozers parked along the side of the dirt road which were there to cleanup the mess during daytime. The air was crisp with smell of rain, mud and the trees in the forest. It was a long hike up to the east slope trailhead of Handies Peak.
Note to self: The beginning is always hard.
At 5.00 a.m. we reached the real trailhead. There was not a single soul at this place. After a restroom break at the pit toilet, we put our names in the register at the trailhead. It was still dark as we passed through streams. The trail was quite steep but we kept going. We had to cross couple of big snowfields along the way. While trying to cross the second snowfield, we accidentally went off trail and almost lost our way but somehow we found our way back. At daybreak, we could see several tall peaks in the distant to the west of us. Behind us to the east we could see several other tall peaks. We identified them as Red Cloud and Sunshine Peak, the peaks that we were supposed to climb.
Note to self: There will always be setbacks. Don't panic! You will always find your way back.
We were above tree line by then. The alpine tundra was lush green with a stream rushing down by our side. The wildflowers were in full bloom and it was simply spectacular. Words or pictures are simply not enough to describe what we experienced. It was as if someone had taken a paintbrush and painted the valley with all different kinds of colors. We stopped to take lots of photographs and also re-fueled ourselves with breakfast. Handies Peak, our destination, was now visible to us. The route looked very daunting. However we focussed our minds on the immediate route, one rock at a time, instead of the final destination.
Note to self: Hard work is rewarding.
We had to cross streams several times. Below Handies Peak was a wonderful cirque with an alpine lake in the distant. Handies Peak also had couple of couloirs cut by snow and ice. The route split and after a while, we reached a point where the terrain became very rocky and the switchbacks started. The Peaks around us still had snowfields. We could see crevasses. There was one huge snowfield on Handies Peak and we were wondering where the route would take us. The switchbacks had drop offs on one side and we had to be careful at couple of places. We then reached the saddle of the mountain. We decided to take one final break before starting the final pitch to the summit.
Note to self: Don't obsess about the final destination. Baby steps!
It was slow going from here on. The altitude and thin air did its work on our bodies but we soldiered on one step at a time. The route took us around the snowfield. It was extremely rocky. After around 45 minutes, we reached what seemed like the summit. But alas it was a false summit.
Note to self: Don't count your chickens before they hatch!
We had to hike another 15 minutes on a slightly inclined terrain followed by a small climb to reach the summit of Handies Peak at 14,048 feet. It was 9.30 a.m. We had a feeling of exhilaration.
Note to self: If you persevere you will be rewarded.
The view at the top was simply breathtaking and spectacular. We had a 360 degree view of the San Juan mountains and its tall snow covered peaks around us. To the west we could see the Ouray and Silverton valley along with many fourteen thousand foot peaks including Mount Sneffels and Uncompahgre Peak. There were beautiful alpine lakes. We finally met another soul; a couple who had reached the summit of Handies Peak from the standard American Basin trailhead. They had driven from Silverton on the dirt road. The standard trail to Handies Peak is much shorter and starts at a higher elevation. We took lots of photographs, relished the scenery and had our lunch. We then headed down from where we came back at 10.00 a.m.
Note to self: Take a moment to enjoy what you have achieved.
We made good time and reached the saddle in short order. From there we continued on to the switchbacks and then finally to the cirque. Two of our friends were waiting in the tundra meadows as they couldn't summit with us. It was their first time climbing a high mountain and the altitude had caught up with them. We were surprised to find couple of marmots surrounding them so close. We took a small break and then headed down. The sound from the streams was very pleasant. We passed the valley of flowers again and then down to tree line. Our knees were getting sore from all the breaking we had to do because of the steep descent.
Note to self: Don't bask in your success.
We started noticing some clouds enveloping Handies Peak which is typical for Colorado at that time of the day. After a long descent we finally reached the trailhead at 2.30 p.m. Our group was still the only one that was on this trail all along. Behind us was the massive Handies Peak. We signed off at the register. We were surprised to see a car at the trailhead parking lot. Then we saw ATVs followed by cars on the main dirt road. We realized that the forest service had cleared the mud slide and reopened the road. However since our car was parked way down below, we had to walk our way back on the dirt road. We also realized that the trailhead to Red Cloud mountain and Sunshine peak was right across from the trailhead to Handies Peak.
Note to self: Life is a continuous journey
It was a long walk back. The road was still muddy at some places. Couple of our friends hitchhiked back. When we had around just a mile left, our friends came to pick us up in our car. We couldn't believe our eyes that we had walked all this way that early in the morning amidst a mud slide.
Note to self: Rewards await you where no one has ventured before. Take setbacks as opportunities and be ready to pivot!
After changing into a comfortable pair of sandals and rehydrating, we drove back to Lake City. We drove past the beautiful green Lake San Cristobal that lords over Lake City. We made our way back to the city of Gunnison where we decided to have an early dinner at the High Alpine Brewing company. We were super hungry and settled on pizza again! After dinner we drove back to our home in Denver with just a pit stop in Fairplay. By the time we reached home it was 10.30 p.m.
I have done numerous fourteen thousand feet peaks over the years but the east slope route up to Handies Peak beats any other 14er hike I have done hands down. If not for the mud slides that prevented us from climbing our original target, Red Cloud Mountain and Sunshine Peak, we would have never taken this breathtaking route ever as most people end up taking the much shorter American Basin route while hiking up to Handies Peak.
Note to self: Play the slow game. Don't burnout. Be persistent and bide your time. Your time will come!
Our final statistics read as the following:
Miles Driven: 550
Driving Time: 14 hours
Sleep time: 5 hours 15 minutes
Door to Door Time: 34 hours 30 minutes
Handies Peak: 14048 feet
Route: East Slopes
Roundtrip Miles Hiked: 18
Total Elevation Gained: 5700 feet
Drive to Trailhead: 2.15 a.m.
Start of Hike at Gate closure: 3.15 a.m.
Summit: 9.30 a.m.
Descend: 10.30 a.m.
Back to Car: 2.30 p.m.
Memories: Priceless!
Note to self: Road less taken is the most rewarding.
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