September 12, 2020
Grizzly Peak A 13,988'
Garfield Peak 13,780'
Grizzly Peak A 13,988'
Garfield Peak 13,780'
It's September and snow has officially hit Colorado; although it won't stick around long with temps in the 70's. Laura and I are decided that with the snow that had fallen this week, we better get to the mountains for a climb! We chose to attempt Colorado's highest 13er, Grizzly Peak A and would connect it with Garfield Peak that sits along the ridgeline within the same cirque. Leaving home at 7:00 am and dropping Hazel off in Woodland Park, we headed west toward Twin Lakes. By 9:30 am am we had reached the upper trailhead. It was a muddy drive in but we were here and ready for a beautiful day in the mountains. We set off up the road and quickly got grand views of the cirque and our objectives for the day. 
We hiked up toward the bands of rock on the snow covered trail, quickly coming upon some old mining equipment and an abandoned mine shaft. We passed by and walked to where the terrain steepened and the snow got deeper. I took the lead and broke trail while Laura and I worked our way up a 1,000' talus slope that leads to the ridgeline. We were having a great time, but moving slower than normal must have made us bored. We decided to build a snowman on the ridge in hopes to make the party of three we had passed a while back get a laugh. Continuing on, we quickly made the summit at 12:45 pm. The views surrounding us were spectacular as they always are with fresh now on all the high peaks. We stopped for a short break and looked at our descent options toward Garfield as well as off of Garfield after we would make it there.
We hiked up toward the bands of rock on the snow covered trail, quickly coming upon some old mining equipment and an abandoned mine shaft. We passed by and walked to where the terrain steepened and the snow got deeper. I took the lead and broke trail while Laura and I worked our way up a 1,000' talus slope that leads to the ridgeline. We were having a great time, but moving slower than normal must have made us bored. We decided to build a snowman on the ridge in hopes to make the party of three we had passed a while back get a laugh. Continuing on, we quickly made the summit at 12:45 pm. The views surrounding us were spectacular as they always are with fresh now on all the high peaks. We stopped for a short break and looked at our descent options toward Garfield as well as off of Garfield after we would make it there.
The traverse went quickly as the snow covered slopes were easy and fast to descend. As we started around a point on the ridge, we found ourselves following a mountain goat track all the way to the summit of Garfield. It was nice to have a guide who obviously knew the best way since he lived there! Leaving our goat guide as we descended off of Garfield, we chose some steep snow slopes and quickly were back in the basin. The snow helped the descent go quickly and with a just little sliding, we were on flat ground once again. We made the hike out through some willow trees and back to the road which was now muddy from the melting snow. We got back to the Jeep at 3:15 pm happy to have gone for the mountain this day rather than wonder how much snow there was and if we would even make it to the trailhead.
7.25 miles
3,110' elevation gain
5 hours 15 minutes
Hazel is so lucky to have you guys as parents. She will have a great and adventurous life!
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