Mt. Sherman in the Mosquito Range of central Colorado viewed from Iowa Gulch

My destination for this weekend Mt. Sherman. For the first time year, I would not be alone, though. My friend, Georgene, whom I met when our mutual friend, Vaune, introduced us last September before we hiked the Decalibron, was joining me for the hike. Vaune, her partner, Dave, and I met over the July 4th weekend last year when we all hiked Redcloud, Sunshine, and Handies Peaks. I was thrilled to have someone else along on my hike with me even though Mt. Sherman is considered the easiest of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks by many mountaineers. Located in central Colorado about seven miles southeast of Leadville, CO, Mt. Sherman is named for William Tecumseh Sherman, a Union general during the American Civil War. Its summit is 14,036 feet above sea-level.

As I have for the past month or so, I awoke at 1:00 AM and was on the road by 2:00. The drive to Leadville would take about three hours. Georgene and I had agreed to meet in the parking lot of the Safeway located in town. Her husband, Steve, would be dropping her off and going kayaking down the Arkansas River while we were hiking. The sky was mostly clear on my way up, but were quickly clouding-over as I approached my destination. I arrived at the Safeway about five minutes before 5:00. A few minutes later, Georgene and Steve pulled up. We exchanged greetings, loaded up my truck with Georgene’s gear, then were on our way to the trailhead.

The directions I had said to look for Monroe St. at the southern end of town. After unsuccessfully driving through town a couple times, we decided to stop at a gas station and ask for directions. What Georgene was able to find out was that Monroe St. was on the opposite side of Hwy. 24 from Elm St., which was a few blocks down, but unmarked. We quickly located the street and were on our way to the trailhead. The trailhead, however, posed another challenge. It was unmarked. Georgene and I were actually supposed to have another party on our hike — Beth. She said that she was probably going to be sleeping in her car along the road the trailhead. We passed it on our way up, but I didn’t see anyone in it, so I figured she was already hiking. We drove to the end of the road, but did not find the trailhead, so we turned around and went back. I thought that Beth might have been parked at the trailhead, so we headed back that way. On the way down, we saw Beth driving up the road. She had hiked Mt. Elbert the day before and respectfully bowed out of the hike up Mt. Sherman. We wished her well and went our separate ways.

After parting ways with Beth, Georgene and I drove up and down the road a couple of times while looking for the trailhead. On our way back down again, I looked over to my left and saw a trail heading up into the mountain in the distance. I brought out my trail guide and examined some of the photos. I knew we where in the correct area. As I continued down the road, I saw a spur road go off to the left. I knew the trailhead had to be right around there, so I parked right there. Georgene and I got out and put all of our gear on, then started walking down the spur road. About a minute later, I spotted the trail on our left heading down toward a creek. After a short sojourn back to my truck to retrieve Georgene’s map, we we on our way! Being that we had such difficulty locating the trailhead, we didn’t start the hike until about 6:00.

The clouds were pretty thick when we started — obscuring our view of Mts. Sherman and Sheridan — but were showing signs of breaking up. The weather forecast for the area changed three times in the 24 hours leading up to the hike. First, the forecast called for 60% chance of rain and/or snow above 11,000 feet. Then, the chance of precipitation decreased to 50%, mostly occurring after 2:00 PM. When I checked the forecast again just prior to leaving, all it said was “mostly cloudy” with no indication of rain or snow. Evidently, the NOAA was having difficulties forecasting the changes that were blowing in with a cold front.

Because of the shortness of the hike, Georgene and I were hoping to bag a couple of 13ers while we were up there. The total round-trip distance from Iowa Gulch is 4.5 miles. A side trip up Mt. Sheridan would add another 1.2 miles and Gemini Peak would add 1.4 miles. We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to make those due to the weather, but I was hoping that the clouds would break and give us a nice day. Georgene warned me that she was probably going to be hiking slowly due to the fact that this was going to be her first hike at altitude, so I let her set the pace. We crossed a foul-smelling creek near the trailhead and continued across a muddy tundra. The mountains around Leadville (and in the Mosquito Range, in general) have been heavily mined for many decades. The summit of Mt. Sherman is actually privately-owned, but the landowners have chosen to allow access to the public. Hopefully, this will continue. The mining operations, however, have scarred the land irreparably. The foul-smelling stream that we crossed was due to the fact that the stream created from snow runoff filters through a large tailings pile from a mine at the end of the road in an area called the Iowa Amphitheater. Knowing that the area was heavily mined and that water filters cannot filter out heavy metals, I chose to pack my water at home rather than try to filter it (which is what I normally do).

Georgene and I made our way across the muddy tundra. There were several trails that seamed to meander in different directions, but we knew the general route. Soon, we were walking on talus as we started ascending Iowa Gulch. There were a few unmelted snow fields that we had to cross, but they were short and didn’t pose much of an obstacle. Once we started walking on more sun-exposed slopes, the trail was easy to follow. The clouds seemed to be thinning and sunshine beamed down on parts of the landscape. Our route ahead, however was still obscured by clouds. I half-jokingly said to Georgene that it would be perfect if we arrived at the summit and that we were above the clouds. That, or if the clouds would just clear out by the time we reached it. My luck with weather the past few weeks has been nothing short of disastrous. After the disappointing summit of San Luis last week where the clouds cleared-up after my summit, I didn’t have a good feeling about this one. Both Georgene and I had agreed that if there was nothing to see at the summit, we would forgo the other summits and go back to town for an early lunch.

Panorama looking to the west from Iowa Gulch (a little more than half-way up to the Sherman/Sheridan saddle)

Georgene during one of our breaks while hiking up Iowa Gulch

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As we were nearing the Sherman/Sheridan saddle, we heard voices. Georgene and I were the only ones that we had seen making our way up Iowa Gulch, but we soon discovered that hikers were making their way up from the Fourmile Creek Trailhead, the standard route up Sherman. I prefer to take non-standard routes when I hike because there is less foot traffic, which is exactly what we experienced coming up Iowa Gulch. While we stood and watched the other hikers, we decided to put on some additional layers of clothing. The closer we got to the saddle, the windier it became. My fingers were getting numb in my softshell gloves, so I put on my glove liners and thick winter gloves. Georgene put on some mittens and some rain/wind pants.

The next portion of the hike would take us up Sherman’s summit ridge. With the wind blowing and our heads in the clouds (literally), it was going to be interesting! There was also a steady stream of hikers heading up from the Fourmile Creek side, so traffic seems like it was going to be an issue. As we started ascending the ridge, we noticed a woman hiking up in shorts. She had with her another woman and a little girl in a pink jogging suit. Everyone else we encountered was dressed in appropriate clothing. We couldn’t help but comment on how stupid this woman was. It was one thing to expose yourself to the conditions on the mountain that day, but to have a child hike up in clothing that wasn’t even appropriate was borderline neglect. Cotton is not your friend when hiking. It absorbs water (or sweat) quickly and is slow to dry. If the temperature drops, that moisture is held against your skin and can cause you to become hypothermic. The other woman wasn’t dressed much better. Georgene mentioned that the Colorado Mountain Club would have a field day pointing out how not to dress in alpine climates.

Another thing that we noticed coming up from behind us was a couple and their three dogs. I have nothing against dogs, but I really don’t like them on trails and peaks. There are some responsible owners, but for the most part I always see dog crap on the trails. If you’re going to take your dog on the trail, pack-out its crap. It’s the proper thing to do. The other issue I have about dogs on peaks is that often times these mountains have rocks with sharp edges. You can buy doggie boots to put on their paws, but a casual dog owner is not wiling to invest in that equipment. I’ve seen way too many dogs limping off of mountains and I feel bad for them. Georgene and I also saw a pit bull puppy that was shivering. Some of the dogs that I’ve seen don’t have long coats of hair. They are as susceptible to cold as humans are, and it was definitely cold.

The people with the dogs passed by us and Georgene and I made our way slowly up the ridge. At one point, Georgene decided to go around some snow while I continued up along the ridge on the snow. I looked down as I was hiking up and noticed some splattering of blood every few feet. When we met up again, I told her that someone must be bleeding. Georgene said that it must have been one of the dogs. Sure enough, when we caught up to the couple, they were using gauze bandages to wrap their golden retriever’s paws up. Idiots. I always here people saying, “Oh, he likes coming on these hikes with me.” Really? Do you think if he had the choice of being extremely cold and having his feet cut all to hell on rocks that he would actually enjoy that? Those people should be charged with animal cruelty.

Georgene and I made our way up the ridge. Eventually, people started heading back down the other way. When one woman was approaching, I asked, “Not much of a view from up there, is there?” She shrugged her shoulders and said that she didn’t even know she was on the summit until she found the summit register. Well, at least we knew we were close. Eventually, we did get close enough where I could make out some shadowy figures through the clouds. A few minutes later, we reached the summit! There were anywhere between 20-30 people up there at the time. During our hike up the ridge, the sun managed to break through the clouds a few times. Here and there we could see some of the scenery below, but it was a disappointing summit.

The idiot woman

The idiot woman’s friend and the little girl

Looking west from Mt. Sherman’s summit. Not much to see.

As we stood around on the summit, clouds would pass by in waves. Occasionally, we would be able to get a glance at the scenery to the west and northwest toward Leadville. Sometimes, we would get a glimpse at the view to the east as well. It was kind of funny to watch people run from one side to another trying to get a picture (I was among them). Here’s an interesting factoid about Mt. Sherman — it’s the only 14er that has had a plane land on top of it. Andrew Carnegie wrote about it in his book Round the World.

A break in the clouds on Mt. Sherman’s summit

Looking east from Mt. Sherman’s summit

Panorama looking west from Mt. Sherman’s summit

Obligatory summit shot!

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Georgene and I descended Mt. Sherman and headed in a northerly direction toward Gemini Peak. We had to cross a short snow obstacle. I got down just fine, but Georgene slipped and slid down to the bottom of the snow. She realized that she forgot to call her husband to let him know that we had summited and were heading over to the second peak. She also wanted to put on her gaiters, so I stopped and took a photo while she was on the phone.

Georgene making a high-altitude phone call

Georgene and I didn’t stick around the summit for very long due to the population. Because the weather improved slightly, we decided to hoof it on over the Gemini Peak. A mere .7 mile away from Mt. Sherman, Gemini Peak is 13,951 feet above sea-level and one of Colorado’s Centennial Peaks (the highest 100 peaks in the state). Because its topographic prominence is less than 300 feet, though, it is considered by others as a sub-peak of Mt. Sherman. Either way, it was close enough to Mt. Sherman to bag, though a re-summit of Sherman would need to be accomplished.

Gemini Peak is the “peak” furthest to the right of center

I managed to take a panorama while the clouds were parting

Panorama looking back toward Mt. Sherman

The walk over to Gemini Peak was pleasant. The weather was clearing up and the landscape was flat, so there wasn’t much to worry about. There were a few boggy areas from the snow melt, but nothing major. As we approached the peak, we saw that it was basically a big pile of talus and scree. There were no cairns marking any kind of trail up it, so we were just going to have to sight a good line and hike carefully to the summit. A short ten minutes or so later, and we walked triumphantly to the summit! There was a wind shelter built, but it was filled with snow. Georgene and I found a place to sit on the leeward side of the peak and took a few minutes to sit and have some snacks.

The rest of the Mosquito Range 14ers to the northeast — Mts. Democrat, Lincoln, and Bross

Panorama looking from the northeast to the southwest (Mt. Sherman is on the right side)

Georgene at the summit of Gemini Peak

Me on Gemini Peak’s summit

After spending about 20 minutes to ourselves on Gemini Peak, Georgene and I decided that it was time to start heading back over. We carefully descended off of Gemini Peak, taking care to watch our steps so as not to slip and fall. There were a lot of edges on the rocks; consequently, a fall could have meant some serious body damage. Trekking poles are really useful when descending — whether it’s on rocks or on a regular dirt slope. They help you maintain your balance and transfer some of the exertion on your knees into your upper body. I wouldn’t ever go hiking without them. They are a virtual extension of my body. Once Georgene and I were off of the peak, we started back over to re-summit Mt. Sherman.

Along the way, we finally spotted a couple more hikers heading across to Gemini Peak. The weather was absolutely gorgeous by then, so it didn’t surprise me. Georgene asked me to snap a photo of one of the guys who was descending the snow field.

A hiker descending a snowfield from Mt. Sherman

I also took a few minutes to snap a mega-panorama of the Sawatch Range to the west of Mt. Sherman.

A mega-panorama of the Sawatch Range west of Mt. Sherman

When Georgene and I reached the summit of Mt. Sherman again, the weather was a lot better! There was one other hiker on the summit at the time, so I asked him to take a photo of us and returned the favor for him.

Obligatory summit shot x2!

While we were on the summit the second time, a couple of women walked up and announced that they were lost. They were wondering if they were on the summit of Mt. Sherman. There were more people on the summit by then, so we all shot each other confused glances and told them that they were. They had apparently hiked straight up the slope from the end of the road down below because they couldn’t find the trail. That is a difficult Class 2 borderline Class 3 climb straight up to the summit. While it is a lot shorter distance-wise, but a lot more strenuous than I would have liked. I told them that they could follow us down if they wanted to hike the correct trail as it would be a lot safer. They agreed, but followed at a distance.

Georgene and I made it back to the trailhead without incident. It was great to have someone hiking with me and I thoroughly enjoyed both her conversation and her company. She asked me to keep her in mind if I have any other short 14er hikes planned. The rest of my 14er hikes this summer are pretty lengthy, but I did extend an invitation to do some lake hikes with me later if she’s available. We packed-up and headed back to Leadville where we were to meet her husband. After lunch at a local burger joint, we moved her equipment out of my truck and bade each other farewell. Hopefully, we’ll be able to hike together again before the end of this summer.

Longs Peak’s east face as seen from the Chasm Lake Trail

Chasm Lake has been one of my goals for a couple of year. Last year, I wasn’t able to get to it because the snow didn’t melt out early enough and I was already in full 14er mode. The lake lies directly beneath Longs Peak’s eastern face (also known as The Diamond due to it’s shape). Not only was I interested in seeing the lake itself, but I also wanted to see The Diamond for myself. Longs Peak contains more climbing routes than any other major mountain in North America. The eastern face alone contains about 75 different routes, most ranking Class 5 and above on the Yosemite Decimal System. These are routes that I can only dream of right now. These technical routes require a lot of training and a lot more upper body strength than I have. I think I’ll just keep to regular ol’ hiking, for now.

Like I do so many morning in the summer, I woke at 1:00 AM and was on the road to Rocky Mountain National Park by 2:00. The familiar drive takes me about two-and-a-half hours because there is virtually no traffic. It was a warm night; by the time I reached Denver at 3:00, the temperature outside was still 68°. I arrived at the trailhead at 4:30 and was on the trail by 4:45. There wasn’t much to see in the dark, but as soon as the sun rose, I began to see some of the features of the trail, including several small cascading waterfalls. One of the things that I enjoy most about hiking in RMNP is that the trails are so clearly marked and easy to follow. They may not be the most challenging trails, but any trail within the park is worth taking. Of course, one of the drawbacks is the number of people who walk the trails. Some of the busier trails like, say, Mills Lake, can see hundreds of people on any given weekend. This is why when I usually get to hike in RMNP, I make sure I’m on the trail before the sun rises. This way, I beat casual hikers to various destinations and can get people-less photos. This happened a few years ago when I took a wrong turn up the Boulder Brook Trail near Glacier Gorge when I was supposed to be going up to Lake of Glass and Sky Pond. That was a bummer.

It was only about an hour into my hike when I emerged into the sunlight right around treeline. I stopped to take some photos (which didn’t turn out well) and while I was fumbling with the settings on my new camera, a couple of young guys caught up to me. We exchanged a brief greeting and I let them by. I was a little upset by this. Here I was hiking on a Tuesday of all days hoping that I would have the trail mostly to myself and now I might have company at the lake.

Once I emerged above treeline, the trail flattened out and Longs Peak came into better view. I caught up to the hikers while they stopped to put on some sunscreen. It was then that I found out that they were heading over to The Boulders and trying to get up to The Keyhole. I asked them if they were going to try to summit and they said they were going to try, but I warned them that there was probably still significant snow and ice on the route and they did not have technical climbing gear. I let them move ahead of me since they were going at a quicker pace than I was. I was a bit relieved that I wasn’t going to have to share the lake with them, but I’m selfish like that. The closest I’ve ever been to Longs was actually on the back side of it above Black Lake at the heart of Glacier Gorge, so I was excited to get a better view of it.

I passed a fork in the trail which took hikers to Battle Mountain, but continued to the left toward Chasm Lake. I caught up with the hikers again when the trail split off to the right to go over Granite Pass to The Boulders. This was an important landmark for me because I will be hiking this route in August when my friend Chris and I will attempt to summit Longs Peak. We took a moment to take some photos, then parted ways again.

Longs Peak (right) and Mt. Meeker (left, 13,911 ft) seen from the Chasm Lake/Granite Pass junction

Longs Peak (right) and Mt. Meeker (left, 13,911 ft) a little further on the trail

As the trail descended downward, Peacock Pool and Columbine Falls came into view. I knew from my map that Chasm Lake was only .7 mile from the junction that I had just left. The Park Service had warned me about a snow field above Peacock Pool. Since it was on a particularly narrow ledge that the trail traversed, it was reported as being a little tricky to get over. When I reached the edge of the snowfield, I saw that two trails had been created across it. One went straight across and followed he side of the mountain; the other trail angled downward. The upper trail had more of a platform to walk on, so I opted for it. I stared walking on it and my foot slipped a bit on the hard snow. I turned back around and went back to more solid ground. Because it was only 7:00, the snow had not started melting and was slick. Luckily, I was still carrying my YakTrax, so I pulled them out of my backpack and put them over my shoes.

Before I attempted to cross again, I took some photos of a couple of the features I recognized, namely Dreamweaver Couloir and The Loft (a route up Longs Peak which is only slightly more difficult than The Keyhole route). When I stepped back onto the snow, I had more secure footing and renewed confidence. I followed the upper trail as it rounded a boulder jutting out from the mountainside. As I approached, I noticed that the snow next to the boulder had melted out about five or six feet below. I wasn’t too worried about it since the snow was solid, but it posed an extreme danger to others who decided to walk it later in the day when the snow becomes softer. I managed to make the traverse with no problems and found where the trail continued briefly on the other side. From there, I wasn’t sure of the direction the trail went, but I knew that the lake was on the shelf above me. So, rather than looking around for the trail, I sighted a trail line and rock-hopped across a boulder field. I knew that Chasm Lake was the water source, so all I needed to do was follow it upstream.

There was snow bridge covering the creek leading up to the lake. It probably wasn’t the best decision, but I decided to walk across it. I was careful to avoid the rocks that were jutting above the snow as it tends to be weaker right next to them. The snow felt fragile, though, and I didn’t know how deep the water was below it (hence why it wasn’t a good decision). Despite this, I made it across without incident. A minute later, I arrived at my destination — Chasm Lake! The lake was still mostly frozen, but it was nice to make it to my actual destination.

Chasm Lake and Longs Peak

Panorama of Chasm Lake and the eastern face of Longs Peak, also known as “The Diamond”

Another panorama from a slightly different angle

Close-up view of The Diamond

I stayed at the lake for about half an hour and ate a snack to replenish my strength. As I sat there, I could have sworn that I heard voices. It was then that I noticed that someone’s sleeping pad and something else was stashed in the rocks across the water from me. I eventually saw two small figures heading down from the snow on the other side of the frozen lake from me. I thought about waiting for them to have a conversation, but it was getting later in the morning and I really wanted to get home before traffic became really bad through Denver and Colorado Springs.

I decided to follow the same route back down sans walking across the snow over the creek. When I got back to the snowfield, I put my YakTraks back on and decided to take the lower path across. By that time, the snow had become soft and was difficult to walk on without slipping. There was a section that was on dry ground, though, and I discovered that it was on the actual trail. The second portion of the trail angled upward to meet the upper path before getting back to dry ground again. When I reached the end, I realized that I had an audience. Four hikers had stopped to watch me cross. Seeing me do it, they decided not to continue on. It was a lot more treacherous than I may have made it look. Even on the lower path, a slip would have sent someone sliding down about fifty feet into jagged boulders.

As I stood there and took off a layer of clothing, two figures emerged on the other side and crossed the snow. Now, THEY made it look easy! They had big packs on with ropes and a lot of climbing gear. I asked them where they had been and one of the them said they had been up a technical route called the Red Wall, which was ranked about a 5.10 on the Yosemite Decimal System. I was impressed!

I basically walked out with them, though I pulled ahead since I was carrying a lighter load. We met again at the trailhead and I found out that one of them was from Arizona and the other from San Diego. They had done a lot of technical routes in California and in the Tetons of Wyoming over the years, but this was their first foray into Colorado. They had apparently enjoyed themselves. One of the guys asked me if I knew of a good place to eat in Estes Park. Oh, do I ever! I told them to go eat at the Grubsteak. It’s my favorite local restaurant as they serve elk and buffalo. They thanked me for the information.

I packed up and was back on the road by 10:45.