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So having lived in Colorado for a few years now, Quandary was finally getting checked off the list.
We were hoping to leave Denver before 4am and get to the trailhead by sunrise... but my wife has a way of taking her time.
By the time we were out the door was closer to 4:45am.
After passing through Breckenridge, we could see Quandary. I read a few trip conditions before leaving and was surprised on how much snow was still visible.
When we got to the trailhead I grabbed a quick reference of elevation and time from the GPS.
My wife seemed to be more interested in taking some photos than starting the hike.
We finally got going after several minutes of taking pictures.
Another stop for a picture at a hairpin in the trail... probably 45 minutes in at this point.
This is where we started to encounter some snow and decent mud along the trail.
I'm convinced that if it wasn't for the selfie, I wouldn't be in a single picture.
So once we were above timberline we encountered more and more snow.
A couple times this was discouraging as we couldn't find any solid footprints in the snow to tell us exactly where the trail should be and of course ended up wandering off the main trail.
Thankfully it was only about 30-40yards off the trail at any given time.
And then came the snow I saw from Breckenridge.
As long as I could convince my wife it would be easier on the way down, I would be in good shape.
We also met this guy and a few of his friends above 13,000ft. Just a heads up though: never turn your back on these creatures.
They look cool, but they tend to want to get close... and they have sharp horns if you didn't notice.
Quandary has a way of playing tricks on your mind more so than any other 14er that I've hiked... this is one of the 4 or 5 false summits that we encountered.
And the last homestretch!
This was my 11th 14er and I would have to say there wasn't anything incredibly special about it.
There was some decent views at the summit, but for me it was more of a checkmark in the box.
...ok, so we made a friend on the hike down -- my wife says it was the best part. She would probably go again just for the bird.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
There's snow without too many footprints near the summit on the northeast face. It only gets REALLY bad with footprints near treeline near the trail. I would imagine as long as you ventured away from the trail on your descent you should be fine.
I am getting ready for a 14er trip so I am reviewing the recent trip logs. Anyway, I am not being creepy, but, can you check with your wife to see what brand/model her pants are? I like those and am looking for similar ones. See all the pics do come in handy :-)
I know this was from a year ago, but I am trying to get an idea of what to expect at the end of June this year. Did you wear microspikes on the snow? Did you have any problems on the decent?
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