April 22nd, 2006

Aside from a few backcountry snowboarding trips over the winter where we barely broke treeline, I hadn’t been above 13,000 feet since finishing the 14ers last August. It was time to remedy that situation so I accompanied Greg and Laura on an outing with Mt. Spalding and Gray Wolf Mountain as the goal. Amy disappointedly couldn’t join us on the hike since she is recovering from an ankle injury. These peaks lie just north of Mt. Evans and are accessed via Guanella Pass. On paper, the route looks relatively mild, an eight mile loop with just a tick over 3,000 feet of vertical gain. Anybody that has spent a reasonable amount of time in the high country knows, things always look easier on paper.