Time for me to play a bit of catch up on these outdoors posts before I get sidetracked, again. On August 6th, it was just me, Matt and Lindsay headed out to the south side of the Grays/Torreys duo. When we hiked Torreys from that side, I noticed a multitude of dispersed campsites along the Peru Creek Road. The road is a bit rough with a couple of tricky washouts, but typical passenger cars should have no problem with a bit of care. Private property extends past the Chihuahua Gulch Jeep road so we had to drive up another half mile or so before we found a spot. Our arrival was a bit hampered by I-70 traffic and darkness was setting in fast once we parked. The tent was quickly setup, we had a small dinner and then it time for sleep.
My alarm was set for 4:30, but my half awake fumbling fingers tapped "Dismiss", instead of "Snooze". I ended up snoozing another hour away and by the time we were leaving camp it was 6:58am. Quite a late start by our standards. The morning clouds were thick and dark, hinting at what may come a few hours up the trail...
We were all feeling sluggish that day, but we managed to get up the 4x4 road in just over an hour. At the main Chihuahua Gulch trailhead, I couldn't find the route up into the Ruby Gulch area for our attempt at Grays. The old road bed was clearly visible about 300 yards away, across a creek, through some willows and in the trees. A few branch scrapings later I found a narrow spot in the creek with some good stepping stones to get across. Then it was a simple walk through the trees to get on the old mining road. I now know where the turnoff was. Both times we've been up this road people were camping there, obscuring the fact that there's a road/trail right there...
Back on a real trail, we made quick work getting to Ruby Gulch...
Over and over again I was looking over my shoulder to the west, just waiting for the clouds to bunch up...
Somewhere around 9:00am the crowds on top were not only visible, they were audible. The gulch was like a massive pair of cupped hands filtering every sound our way...
The plan was to hook up with the west end of the ridge and hike up from there. Then we watched a guy come straight down from the hump just below the summit. It was obviously steep, but looked manageable...
At 12,600' we started hitting the wall...
13,100' thinned our group out by one. Matt was done, and content to wait there while we pushed for the ridge high point just out of sight above us...
The views are starting to be a good measure of altitude. That and hiking every weekend helps too, I'm sure...
13,500' saw the departure of Lindsay and Tambi. I knew we were right friggin' there, but getting to the ridge and looking up another hundred or so feet did them in. Sleds, meanwhile, were more than willing to forge on. So forge we did...
I made it, 13,604'. Then while watering the dogs I discovered something suck. The bowls were still on the ground back with Matt. The water supply was low, just enough for them if I had bowls to keep it from spilling out. "That's okay", I thought. Lindsay could take the Malamutes back and Ridik would accompany me to the summit...
I rounded the ridge hump and followed the trail a few yards back to see if I could get Lindsay's attention and hand off the Mala-sleds. Sadly, I saw her back down at 13,000' with Matt. There was no way I was going to let them head down by themselves. If the terrain wasn't so loose and rocky, I would have sent them down and watched until they were safely back. The summit was so annoyingly close, I could hear conversations and make out colors on the clothing people were wearing. We went back up to the hump, I looked around at the summit approach, checked and re-checked the water levels, referenced my GPS track to determine how much time I needed and made a decision. No summit that day. I told the others I was just going to the hump, and the summit would need another hour round trip. Not knowing if they would see me on the way to the top, I knew the best bet for all of us was to call it and head back down. With wine in hand, I swallowed the facts and we began the descent...
Sleds and I made quick work getting back to the others. The descent continued...
Ugh, it was
SO close...
Doggies
love their Uncle Matt...
Much greenery surrounding this spring...
Stupid sled dog...
To make matters more annoying in my mind, the weather held out until well after dark. I could have made it with hours to spare...
We hustled down the gulch and bushwhacked our way across the hill following the creek. These hills had much less fallen pine than the other places we've busted our own trail. It actually worked this time, Jenn!...
Once on the 4x4 road again, the fact that we were still 3-4 miles away from camp started to sink in...
The road was such a welcome sight. It meant we only had a half mile to go, and not having to drive after hiking is sweet. Lindsay took a nap and I took my brother out into the forest and we fired off the .22 for a while. We got pretty damn good after 40 rounds a piece. Then it was straight to camp mode: drinking, eating, illin' and junk...
Exhausted piggy...
More tired sleds...
Yes piggy, the burgers smell really F*****G good...
Despite the failed summit bid, we had a damn good time. Our hike still carried with it some big numbers. 14.68 miles, 3,342 feet vertical gain and 7 hrs 44 min...
Fin.
