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I have been dying to head up to my first 14er and just haven't had the chance till this morning. Quandary is the closest peak to me, so it was the obvious choice.
Woke up at 5:30 am, and got to the trailhead by about 6:10 am. Weather was brisk, but the sky was clear and as an added bonus - no other cars at the trailhead! (Thank you, flexible work schedule that lets me go on a Wednesday morning).!
First wildlife sighting was about halfway up to treeline, quiet little doe just watching me a few feet from the trailhead.
Felt pretty good as I started getting to treeline at about 7 am.
Saw plenty of Pika as I started getting up into the rocks and skree. The little guys kept following me to see what I was up to.
Peak's in sight!
Finally summited at about 8:05 am. Barely a cloud in the sky, and was surprisingly warm. Not long after summiting I was joined by a friend, who decided I shouldn't spend my time on the summit alone. Seems like there are perks to being the first up, not only did I get to see some wildlife, but I also was enjoying the view and weather so much I stayed on top for about 1.5 hours hanging out and eating some grub.
Started heading down around 9:30 am, and the snow was already starting to soften up considerably. Maybe it was the fact that I still have a lot of faith in my knees, but I decided to set a pretty fast pace down, jumping boulders, etc. Passed about 20-25 people heading up, felt pretty lucky I got to spend so much time alone on the summit.
Reached the trailhead at exactly 10:30. About 2 hours up, 1.5 hours on top, 1 hour down. Good fun, and a great start to my 14er career!
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