Grizzly Peak Trip Report 10/18/2016

Peak(s):	Grizzly Peak - 13,997 feet
Date Posted:	10/18/2016
Modified:	07/03/2017
Date Climbed:	10/15/2016
Author:	JQDivide
Additional Members:	FoodieHiker

A Grizzly Sunset & Moonrise
Grizzly Peak A: Sunset and Moonrise Centennial Sawatch Hike Sunset and the Elk Range, sun setting just to the left of Castle Moonrise over the Sawatch Prologue: At the end of 2015 I said I wanted to do at least one sunrise and one sunset hike in 2016. I got the sunset hike in unexpectedly in January on DeCaLiBro. We hiked Massive for sunrise in August. We had a busy week and I'd been gone the past two weekends so I didn't want to spend the night at a trailhead or be gone all day Sunday. I suggested we do a sunset hike so we could attend our daughter's soccer game in the morning and sleep in our own bed. The WIND was forecasted to be strong all weekend, 20-30 mph, gusts in the 40s and 50s... but the 13ers weren't as bad, and Grizzly looked even better. I'm not sure how I picked Grizzly, just happened to click on it when I was looking at the 13er list, probably because it was the highest... and the plan came together. Sometime during the week, I saw or heard something about the full moon. I checked to see that it would be up on the hike down, but didn't pay attention to the actual timing. Game went long, traffic was slow and our first stop for lunch at the Subway in Florrisant was a waste of time, so slow. So we went across the road to Mountain Burger. All in in all, we were an hour behind schedule. The original plan was to hike Grizzly and make our way over to Garfield for the sunset. Because we were late, we talked about skipping the loop idea. Once we guessed our summit timing, we decided to call it off and just waited on Grizzly for the show. We both agreed it was a great call. (All photos are iPhone images) The Sawatch Range, north to south, from Grizzly Trailhead: The road(s) in to McNasser Gulch was 4x4 only for clearance. We took our stock Suburban up the road which was scattered with mud puddles, dips and some small rocks. No major rocky sections or switch backs. I did get out once to guide my wife through one "obstacle." There were two large rocks about 1/2 mile from the end, just didn't feel the Suburban could go over or straddle them. A tight fit to the side and we were fine. The Hike: I always prefer the western routes up the Sawatch 14ers, they just have better views than the eastern routes with views of the Arkansas River valley. But hiking in the "interior" of the Sawatch for Grizzly was a cool experience, it was like we weren't even in the Sawatch... mountains all around. Garfield Peak from the trail/mine road Sun dropping behind Grizzly We followed the road to the mine, then continued west. There was a slight trail, mostly obvious because of the matted grass and gravel. There were cairns, some large and some small to guide you through the willows. I think the trail split... one way went through the willows, the other below, but they both ended up on the other side of the willows below the grassy slope. We traveled too far west, under the gendarmes. We saw the saddle between two gendarmes and wrongly headed that way. We moved back east to hit the saddle between the first gendarme and point 13,441... Again, there were some cairns to guide if you spent the time to look. Grabbed a snack and put on a layer and headed over the 1st and 2nd gendarmes. We went low on the 3rd gendarme...scree on the way back up, and finally found some solid rock. The slope from the gendarme to the ridge has some snow along the trail then it mostly covered the slope, 2 to 4 inches with a crusty top. I got a little spooked as a slip could have sent either of us on a dangerous slide, or deadly if we went off the north edge. I told Staci to move left, to a thinner layer of snow. At the top, the slope was steep and the snow blocked the ridge. Staci looked at me like, where am I supposed to go? There was no way were going to traverse the east side of the ridge, cornices (which the setting sun glowed through, so cool). I directed her to hike up some rocks, which dropped us on the west side of the ridge and good trail to the summit block. Grizzly and ridge at sunset The Summit and Sunset The summit area had plenty of snow to keep our attention. A couple of inches of snow covered some of the route. The rock was pretty smooth and wet boots made for a slick step. We carefully made our way up to the summit. I left boot marks on purpose to help guide our way back down in the dark (which we eventually didn't need.) We quickly put on several layers as we knew we would be up there for a while to watch the sunset. The wind was strong and the dropping sun brought dropping temps. We took some photos and decided the summit pitch would be easier to descend in the light, so we slowly and carefully made our way down to the summit ridge to watch the sunset. Sunset and the Elks, watching from the summit ridge Sunset and the Elks, (The snow... we didn't use microspikes, had them, might have help on the rocks. Anymore snow on this route, spikes and ice ax will be nice to have.) WOW, the sunset was amazing in the clear sky. We sat and watched the sun disappear behind the Elk Range. I took a quick look east to see the sun tips on the Sawatch Range. The colors were awesome. Sun tips, Massive and Elbert at sunset Sawatch at sunset Then something unexpected timing-wise happened... the moon began to rise. Yes, I knew it would rise like every evening. But I had no idea the timing of the sunset and moonrise would happen so close together. It was beautiful. Photos just don't do the colors or the grandness justice. By far, one of the coolest things I have experienced on a hike. Moonrise over the Sawatch Moonrise over the Sawatch, Staci on the descent Moonrise over the Sawatch The sunset and moonrise were slow enough we were able to experience it, to take in the beauty of the mountains at a time most people never see, and had time to take photos. Simply amazing. I kept thinking about the sunset/moonrise on the drive home (no need for caffeine to keep me awake). It was the first thing I thought of when I awoke... I have trouble putting the feeling into words. I hope everyone who enjoys 14ers/13ers can experience such a breathtaking scene in the mountains. Moonrise and LaPlata Hiking out at moonrise Descent: We made our way back over the ridge and headed toward the first gendarme with some light still in the sky, taking pictures as we went. We didn't turn on our headlamps until we arrived at the 3rd gendarme (west one). The full moon gave us enough light to see the basin's details for directions, but not enough for immediate details on the rocky slopes. We dropped low, like we did on the way up. Always easier going down scree than up it. We hit the 2nd gendarme, and thought we were following a trail, but it took us too low and we completely skipped the 1st gendarme (east one). We ended up below the saddle nearly were we had come to far west on the way up. We found a cairn and headed down. The temps rose, and the wind died down and we began taking off layers. We hiked through the willows and made our way east toward the mine, sometimes on the trail, sometimes just guessing. But we dropped right into the mine area were we had left it. Back on the road, we hit the gate and were out. Route East Ridge from McNasser Gulch 6 miles, 2,800 feet 5 1/2 hours, with about 30-40 minutes at the summit/ridge. The route description can be found here: Grizzly Peak A Times: 3:00 (O:00) TH/gate 3:30 (O:30) mine 4:42 (1:42) saddle 5:30 (2:30) between the 3r gendarme and summit ridge 5:40 (2:40) ridge to summit 5:55 (2:55) Grizzly Peak Summit Sunset/Moonrise 6:50 (3:50) below the 3rd Gendarme (west) 7:10 (4:10) below the saddle 8:00 (5:00) mine 8:30 (5:30) TH/gate (It was about a 40 minute drive from the LaPlata TH to the gate at McNasser Gulch.) Route Photos Photos of the route from our hike. McNasser Gulch and LaPlata Past the mine Looking back toward mine (hidden below) Willows, follow cairns below or through Grassy Slope up, stay right of the rocks and gendarmes Grass slope up Grassy slope is steep Grassy slope Rocky area, gendarmes, stay hikers right to reach the saddle. We went to far west and had to back track just a bit to hit the Above the gendarmes Above the gendarmes Topping out on the summit ridge Summit Ridge Summit Ridge Snow and wet boots made for a slick summit pitch. Coming off the summit Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

A Grizzly Sunset & Moonrise

Grizzly Peak A: Sunset and Moonrise Centennial Sawatch Hike

Sunset and the Elk Range, sun setting just to the left of Castle

Prologue:
At the end of 2015 I said I wanted to do at least one sunrise and one sunset hike in 2016. I got the sunset hike in unexpectedly in January on DeCaLiBro. We hiked Massive for sunrise in August.
We had a busy week and I'd been gone the past two weekends so I didn't want to spend the night at a trailhead or be gone all day Sunday. I suggested we do a sunset hike so we could attend our daughter's soccer game in the morning and sleep in our own bed. The WIND was forecasted to be strong all weekend, 20-30 mph, gusts in the 40s and 50s... but the 13ers weren't as bad, and Grizzly looked even better. I'm not sure how I picked Grizzly, just happened to click on it when I was looking at the 13er list, probably because it was the highest... and the plan came together. Sometime during the week, I saw or heard something about the full moon. I checked to see that it would be up on the hike down, but didn't pay attention to the actual timing. Game went long, traffic was slow and our first stop for lunch at the Subway in Florrisant was a waste of time, so slow. So we went across the road to Mountain Burger. All in in all, we were an hour behind schedule.

The original plan was to hike Grizzly and make our way over to Garfield for the sunset. Because we were late, we talked about skipping the loop idea. Once we guessed our summit timing, we decided to call it off and just waited on Grizzly for the show. We both agreed it was a great call.
(All photos are iPhone images)

The Sawatch Range, north to south, from Grizzly

Trailhead:
The road(s) in to McNasser Gulch was 4x4 only for clearance. We took our stock Suburban up the road which was scattered with mud puddles, dips and some small rocks. No major rocky sections or switch backs. I did get out once to guide my wife through one "obstacle." There were two large rocks about 1/2 mile from the end, just didn't feel the Suburban could go over or straddle them. A tight fit to the side and we were fine.

The Hike:
I always prefer the western routes up the Sawatch 14ers, they just have better views than the eastern routes with views of the Arkansas River valley. But hiking in the "interior" of the Sawatch for Grizzly was a cool experience, it was like we weren't even in the Sawatch... mountains all around.

We followed the road to the mine, then continued west. There was a slight trail, mostly obvious because of the matted grass and gravel. There were cairns, some large and some small to guide you through the willows. I think the trail split... one way went through the willows, the other below, but they both ended up on the other side of the willows below the grassy slope. We traveled too far west, under the gendarmes. We saw the saddle between two gendarmes and wrongly headed that way. We moved back east to hit the saddle between the first gendarme and point 13,441... Again, there were some cairns to guide if you spent the time to look.

Grabbed a snack and put on a layer and headed over the 1st and 2nd gendarmes. We went low on the 3rd gendarme...scree on the way back up, and finally found some solid rock. The slope from the gendarme to the ridge has some snow along the trail then it mostly covered the slope, 2 to 4 inches with a crusty top. I got a little spooked as a slip could have sent either of us on a dangerous slide, or deadly if we went off the north edge. I told Staci to move left, to a thinner layer of snow. At the top, the slope was steep and the snow blocked the ridge. Staci looked at me like, where am I supposed to go? There was no way were going to traverse the east side of the ridge, cornices (which the setting sun glowed through, so cool). I directed her to hike up some rocks, which dropped us on the west side of the ridge and good trail to the summit block.

The Summit and Sunset
The summit area had plenty of snow to keep our attention. A couple of inches of snow covered some of the route. The rock was pretty smooth and wet boots made for a slick step. We carefully made our way up to the summit. I left boot marks on purpose to help guide our way back down in the dark (which we eventually didn't need.) We quickly put on several layers as we knew we would be up there for a while to watch the sunset. The wind was strong and the dropping sun brought dropping temps. We took some photos and decided the summit pitch would be easier to descend in the light, so we slowly and carefully made our way down to the summit ridge to watch the sunset.

Sunset and the Elks, watching from the summit ridge

(The snow... we didn't use microspikes, had them, might have help on the rocks. Anymore snow on this route, spikes and ice ax will be nice to have.)

WOW, the sunset was amazing in the clear sky. We sat and watched the sun disappear behind the Elk Range. I took a quick look east to see the sun tips on the Sawatch Range. The colors were awesome.

Then something unexpected timing-wise happened... the moon began to rise. Yes, I knew it would rise like every evening. But I had no idea the timing of the sunset and moonrise would happen so close together. It was beautiful. Photos just don't do the colors or the grandness justice. By far, one of the coolest things I have experienced on a hike.

Moonrise over the Sawatch, Staci on the descent

The sunset and moonrise were slow enough we were able to experience it, to take in the beauty of the mountains at a time most people never see, and had time to take photos. Simply amazing. I kept thinking about the sunset/moonrise on the drive home (no need for caffeine to keep me awake). It was the first thing I thought of when I awoke... I have trouble putting the feeling into words. I hope everyone who enjoys 14ers/13ers can experience such a breathtaking scene in the mountains.

Descent:
We made our way back over the ridge and headed toward the first gendarme with some light still in the sky, taking pictures as we went. We didn't turn on our headlamps until we arrived at the 3rd gendarme (west one). The full moon gave us enough light to see the basin's details for directions, but not enough for immediate details on the rocky slopes. We dropped low, like we did on the way up. Always easier going down scree than up it. We hit the 2nd gendarme, and thought we were following a trail, but it took us too low and we completely skipped the 1st gendarme (east one). We ended up below the saddle nearly were we had come to far west on the way up. We found a cairn and headed down. The temps rose, and the wind died down and we began taking off layers. We hiked through the willows and made our way east toward the mine, sometimes on the trail, sometimes just guessing. But we dropped right into the mine area were we had left it. Back on the road, we hit the gate and were out.

Route
East Ridge from McNasser Gulch
6 miles, 2,800 feet
5 1/2 hours, with about 30-40 minutes at the summit/ridge.
The route description can be found here: Grizzly Peak A

Times:
3:00 (O:00) TH/gate
3:30 (O:30) mine
4:42 (1:42) saddle
5:30 (2:30) between the 3r gendarme and summit ridge
5:40 (2:40) ridge to summit
5:55 (2:55) Grizzly Peak Summit
Sunset/Moonrise
6:50 (3:50) below the 3rd Gendarme (west)
7:10 (4:10) below the saddle
8:00 (5:00) mine
8:30 (5:30) TH/gate
(It was about a 40 minute drive from the LaPlata TH to the gate at McNasser Gulch.)

Route Photos
Photos of the route from our hike.

Grassy Slope up, stay right of the rocks and gendarmes

Rocky area, gendarmes, stay hikers right to reach the saddle. We went to far west and had to back track just a bit to hit the

Snow and wet boots made for a slick summit pitch.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

rajz06	Beautiful... 10/19/2016 8:16pm ...pictures! I've been eyeing the Grizzly-Garfield combo for a while. How are the current snow conditions on the ridge traverse?
JQDivide	Sent PM 10/20/2016 1:33pm Sent PM No snow issues that I recall seeing, but any new snow changes that. JQ
Trotter	pretty 10/20/2016 5:12pm I need to get that mountain, looks like a pretty hike

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