2 down, 52 to go.

I summited my first 14,000+ peaks today, making a training run out of the Grays/Torreys combination. They are two of the easiest to hike. Running them was tough. I had to switch to hiking once I got above 13k and started to get a little light-headed.

I started at the Bakerville exit (9,780′), which is 3 miles and 1,500′ below the actual trailhead. I topped out on Grays (14,270′) in 2:11, then made my way over to Torreys (14,267′). To truly ‘bag’ a 14’er in style, it is thought that you should gain at least 3,000′ for each summit, rather than traversing from one to another like I did today. No worries, I’ll be doing this route again and will hit Torreys first next time.

It was an awesome run, if a bit crowded. Glad to see people out enjoying the mountains, though.

My run/hike totaled 14.9 miles and 5,100′ of climbing in 4:22. A little slower than I would have liked, but considering all the traffic on the trail, lots of snow on the Grays traverse, and the 18 miles I put in yesterday, not bad.

Grays Peak straight ahead

Torreys Peak on the right

Up the big pile o’ rock

Nice view of Torreys from the Grays trail

The trailhead is near the stand of pines just above center

Grays Peak summit

Crazy to be looking ‘down’ on some very big mountains

Part-way up Torreys, looking back at Grays

Looking down from the top of Torreys at the freeway exit where I started

Nice way to ruin a great view

Big-time rush hour traffic on the descent