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My friend Chris from Florida (known as "Florida Nuke"),
his wife and in-laws are visiting Colorado this week and we managed to hike to the summit of Mt. Sherman.
We successfully reached the gate past Leavick at 7:30 a.m. (somewhat late for least for my standards),
which I consider quite an accomplishment in itself!
It was fairly cold upon arrival and water flowing down the
road had been frozen over (top photo). I snapped a shot along the early
going on the road with ruins from an old mining operation on the left (bottom photo). |
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A nice view of Mt. Sherman. |
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A photo of "Florida Nuke" - a really great guy
who regular visits the forums on my ColoradoGuy.com web site. Chris lives in Florida, but owns lands in Chaffee County and hopes to build his dream/retirement home out here someday. |
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Autumn was definitely in the air in the lower parts of our hike.
Here's a shot of some red grass with another abandoned structure. |
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The view of Mt. Sherman from the saddle
between Mt. Sheridan and Mt. Sherman. From that point on, it was fairly windy
any time there was exposure to the west. In fact, Chris estimated the winds
were strong enough to call it a tropical storm! Do bring your winter gear on this mountain; At
some points the strong winds and windchill felt like in the 10's.
Yes, it felt that cold on one's face and bare skin! |
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Heading upward, here's a view looking back
down at the saddle with Mt. Sheridan's imposing northern face. (Mt. Sheridan's altitude is 13,748 feet.) |
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Two photos along the ridge as I approached the summit. |
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It was nice to be up there (top) and I really love this
picture of Chris and his wife Sue at the summit! :)
This was my second ascent of Mt. Sherman. You can see my August 2004 trip report
here. |
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Looking generally to the west, the view of Iowa
Gulch (top) and Dyer Mountain (bottom). An alternative route to ascend Mt. Sherman has been done by some via Iowa Gulch. |
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TOP: The view to the north. I can recognize Quandary Peak among the mix of peaks,
and somewhere in there is Mt. Democrat, Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Bross.
MIDDLE: The view to the northeast. Grays and Torreys Peak can be seen
way out there along the horizon on the far left.
BOTTOM: The easterly view. |
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I think I snapped this picture, showing the view of the gulch
and road we had just come up from, a bit down the trail. I like this view! |
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The view to the south. |
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There were a few patches of snow remaining from last winter
up there. I'd like to dedicate this picture to my many friends in Arizona
where the temperatures are still reaching highs in the 90's and 100's consistenly! ;) |
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Two more mining structures as I came down. |
