Quandary Peak 14,265 feet.

Right outside of Breckenridge, Colorado. This peak is actually a pretty heavily trafficked 14er. Around 7.5 miles that’s technically considered a class 2 peak even though there is a small section of maybe a couple hundred yards that’s pretty steep and makes you use three to four points of contact, very doable though. Part of the reason that it is heavily trafficked is because it is often referred to as an “easy 14er”. Just as the sign says at the trailhead, there are no such things as easy 14ers, but this one was very moderate and doable, even for fairly inexperienced hikers. Always be extra safe trekking any mountain especially above timberline.

This trip should have only taken around 7 hours at a comfortable pace that we were traveling and turned into a 10 a hour trek as we encountered a rough ankle sprain about halfway down the mountain. Sure glad we had trekking poles! We also ended up running into a group of young medical students who had troubles making it down as one of their buddies was dealing with some bad altitude sickness. Remember, hydrating the day before is just as important as the day of. Each of us carried two full Nalgenes, a full Camelback and brought Pedialyte packets for extra hydration. We took frequent breaks, even when we weren’t feeling that thirsty, and timed refueling stops to make sure we were preventing fatigue, not reacting to it. That group and ours were the last off of the mountain (us due to the sprained ankle and limping on trekking poles for 4 hours). Always be ready for what you might encounter either in your group or to help out other travelers. We had a medical kit to wrap the ankle and trekking poles, and we shared some of our hydration/electrolyte powder with the other group. Despite the shenanigans we encountered on the mountain, it is quite moderate and very beautiful.

Dozens of rock marmots and close encounters with mountain goats made the experience even more enjoyable and after summiting, we were able to do a little sledding (dangerous but very fun!).