Castle Peak @ 14265 feet
It has been couple of years since our peak challenge group has disbanded. Since my friends and I have continued the annual hiking to a 14er (14000+ feet peak) tradition. We had couple of options in choosing which 14er to hike. We were debating whether to drive down to Southwest Colorado to hike Sunshine and Redcloud Peak combo. But since one of our other friend couldn't make it this time, my friends suggested we hike an Elk Mountain 14er, Castle Peak. The Elk Mountains surrounding Aspen in Colorado have had this bad reputation due to the ultra loose rock and difficult to climb mountain tops. Many deaths have been recorded on the top of these mountains. I was initially a bit hesitant. I started reading about Castle Peak. I started reading about Castle Peak. My confidence didn't increase. However my friend, who is really experienced, convinced me that it should be doable based on our prior experience and hiking abilities. So we settled on hiking our first Elk mountain 14er on August 8th, 2020.
On Friday morning, August 7th, I was all set with my equipment to embark on the long drive to Aspen, Colorado. My friend picked me up at 9.00 a.m. and by 9.15 a.m. we were headed down the highway. It was a weird feeling to be hiking during the time of Covid but there were definitely fewer cars on the road. We reached Glenwood Springs at 12.15 p.m. and then we started to look for a place for lunch. It was sad to see so many places closed. We tried looking up couple of local sandwich shops and were disappointed that they were closed. The lockdowns had definitely impacted this part of the state. Finally we found a Subway sandwich place. There was no indoor or outdoor seating. The shop was doing takeout delivery only. There were many people waiting in line. We were all masked up. After buying the sandwich, we drove to a local park in town. We found a picnic bench under a huge shed. We started having our lunch sitting at the end of a huge table. While having lunch we struck up a conversation with a local who was out with her child. We left Glenwood Springs for Aspen at 1.15 p.m. Within an hour we arrived at our hotel, Snow mountain Chalet in Snowmass at 2.15 p.m. The room was well appointed. The main lobby was all Covid proofed.
After having some tea we decided to head to the trailhead of Castle Peak to scope it out for the next day. We left the hotel at 2.37 p.m. and drove west away from town into the nearby forest. The highway was extremely picturesque with beautiful aspen tree forests, tall mountain peaks and the tributary of the Roaring Fork river by the side. The snow clad mountains around us were really impressive and looked like an impregnable fortress like a castle in the sky. After driving around 12.5 miles the paved road ended, the highway west was closed but there was a parking lot by the side. It was the lower 2 wheel drive parking lot for the Castle Peak trailhead. However there was a forest dirt road (CR 102) to the right. Within a few minutes the forest road became extremely bumpy. For the first 2 miles we saw many campsites all along. We reached a creek crossing. The water was still flowing. My friend put his SUV in full throttle and crossed the river stream quickly. The road from here was extremely sketchy with rocks jutting out and with craters that seemed difficult to pass. We drove for a mile and after we felt comfortable that we had come up this high we turned back to head to our hotel. The drive to and from the trailhead is really spectacular. The crisp air and the lush greenery with the snow clad peaks in the backdrop are truly inspiring. We were back in our hotel room at 4.30 p.m. We decided to relax for an hour while talking about the adventure that lay in front of us. We headed to Basalt for a takeout dinner at Timbo's pizza as well as a Subway sandwich for lunch at the Peak next day. We were back in our room at 7.20 p.m. where we enjoyed all the carbs in our pizza dinner. We then went to bed early at 8.00 p.m.
We woke up early at 4.00 a.m., took a shower, did some stretching, packed our bags and backpack, wore our hiking shoes and then headed to the trailhead at 5.21 a.m. We traced back the same way as we had done before. It was dark at this hour and we were glad to have scoped out the road the day before. After crossing the stream, our SUV hit a rock underneath but luckily there was no damage. We kept climbing up on this four wheel road. There were some hikers who had already started hiking up from lower down. The road was really in a bad condition. In many instances we had to find a way around huge rocks and ditches. After a mile and half up, the road became narrow and every more rocky. We decided to turn around and park there. The temperature was 37 degrees Farenheit. We were at an elevation of 11000 feet having driven 2.8 miles on the forest road. Surprisingly just above us was a beautiful waterfall. It was dawn and we could see the water gushing down.
After putting on our backpacks we started hiking up at 6.40 a.m. The trail continued on the narrow rocky road up. This used to be an old mine road eons ago. The sun was rising and up above we could see the clear blue sky. We reached a junction, Pearl pass road, stayed to the right and kept climbing up. We could see the moon set along the backdrop of the mountains around us. Along the way we saw some beautiful wildflowers grow. As we climbed higher the tree line gave way to the alpine tundra. There were couple of other hikers who passed up. We reached the upper terminus of the four wheel road at 8.30 a.m. at a height of 12800 feet. From here, we had to walk over huge boulders to get to the edge of a huge snowbank.
We were debating if and when to put our feet on the snow to walk up. From here we could also see the summit of Castle Peak. It seemed very narrow, steep and very far away. As the boulders became un-passable, we decided to skirt around the snowbank but after a while we gave up and put on our yaktrax traction over our hiking shoes. To our pleasant surprise the snowfield was nice and firm. It was much easier to hike. This snowfield was huge. It looked deceptively small from the distance. We easily climbed up. The traction device really helped. At the top we had to traverse the snowfield which was a little tricky as it was narrow and steep on the sides. We could see the four wheel drive road curve around down below. After traversing the snowfield the trail was not very easy to find. We realized that every one was just choosing the best path up. The trail had loose rock at many places. It was slow going. It was extremely rocky. We could see the castle wall with Castle Peak on the let and Conundrum Peak to the right. We reached the upper terrace at 9.40 a.m.
From here on the trail became even steeper. The trail now was clearly visible all the way up to the saddle. The trail was slippery at many places due to the erosion of the top soil. We could see marmots around. Down below the couloir, there was a beautiful circular lake with snow on its sides and on the sides of the mountain. It got windy as we approached the saddle of the northeast ridge. There are multiple routes up to Castle Peak. We had decided to take the Northeast ridge route. We were now at 13700 feet. My friend had gone to take a health break while I was trying to find a place to sit and add a layer of clothing. Surprisingly it was hard to find a stable place. The trail was extremely steep with steep drop off on either side. In the distant, I could see an even steeper trail which is the south ridge coming down right to the side of Conundrum Peak. I could see two hikers attempting to come down via that trail. It seemed very treacherous and the trail looked almost vertical. I could hear the rockfalls and the hikers shouting to each other. Somehow the hikers made it to the snow wall and then they slid down right to the edge of the pristine green alpine lake below. In the meantime my friend was back where I was and we were now ready to make the final ascent.
In the guidebooks we were warned that there were a few spots where we would have to really find our way and scramble. The remainder of the trail was the most difficult. As we headed up we had to climb up some boulders. We stayed to the right. Many times we thought we came to a dead end. There were steep 2000 feet drops on either side. But as the guidebook advised us, we paused and looked carefully around and each time we magically found a way up. We came to multiple points where we had to hug huge boulders to skirt around it, as there were steep drop offs on either side. We continued along the ridge crest and came to a point where we were at 14000 feet. We had climbed the most difficult part. It had really stretched me physically and mentally. But the adrenaline and sense of adventure kept me going. We had another 250 feet to climb up and we slowly made our way up.
The top of the Castle Peak was a little flat and we arrived at the summit at 11.40 a.m., a good 5 hours after we had started hiking. There was another group of hikers already at the top. It was really exhilarating to be on the top of the world at 14265 feet. We took lot of photos and video. We sat down and while having our sandwich lunch soaked in the magnificent views surrounding us. We could see the backside view of the famous Maroon Bells to the north of us, a view which we hadn't seen before. We could also see Capitol Peak and Pyramid Peak nearby. There were couple of hikers climbing up Conundrum Peak. As we were about to finish there was another hiker who came from Conundrum Peak. This treacherous hike was well worth the effort. The views and the thin clean crisp air don't get any better than this! We were surrounded by snow clad peaks all around us. We could see the trail we had taken up. It seemed impossible but yet we had done it.
We started our descent at 12.25 p.m. Since now we knew the route around and over the rocks, it seemed a little easier. We were albeit careful as to make sure not to slip as it would have not ended well. We were back at the saddle at 1.30 p.m. The descent down was slow going as it was steep and slippery. Some hikers were sliding down their butts instead. We reached the snow field again, put our yaktrax traction and hiked down the snow field. It was warm by the time we reached here. We were down in our T-shirts. We reached the boulder field and then on firmer ground at the start of the four wheel drive road. We were surprised to see a pickup truck parked high up there as the road seemed impossible to pass on the way up. It was 3.20 p.m. and we took a 10 minute break. We were reflecting on the wonderful hike up and how lucky we were to live in a state like Colorado. The descent on the four wheel drive road from here on seemed very long. We took our time and made sure to stay hydrated and fueled. We reached the car at 5.06 p.m. The temperature at that time was 73 degrees Farenheit.
After stretching and removing our hiking shoes, we started driving down the nasty rocky road. I was so glad that my friend had a big SUV which made it possible. We were back in Aspen at 6.30 p.m. and then we headed north to Glenwood Springs. We were hungry and so we decided to pickup food at the Italian Underground restaurant in downtown Glenwood Springs. We were really surprised to find the crowds in all the restaurants and bars; they were overflowing onto the streets. Due to the Covid restrictions many towns have allowed the restaurants to use up the sidewalk space for open air seating. We decided to do a takeout as the wait time was an hour. We got our food in 20 minutes and then we were back on the highway east to home at 7.52 p.m. The salad/bread/pasta dinner was delicious and filling. The drive back home was uneventful. We were back home in just under three hours at 10.45 p.m. where my friend dropped me off. This was the end to yet another magnificent hike up a 14000 feet peak. This one was a bit more special as it was my first Elk Mountain 14er and it challenged me throughout. I overcame my initial reluctance. I am grateful and thankful to my friend who suggested this hike and drove us all the way up to the trailhead. We spent ten and half hours on the trail, hiked 7.5 miles and climbed 3265 vertical feet. All in all it was a great workout!
Comments
Post a Comment