We had debated and debated about whether or not we should do it. I guess I should say that Ken debated and debated about whether or not we should do it. One thing that we knew was that Miss Kya should not join us. We had read in advance that there is a lot of rock and shale on the trail and I am not so sure that it would be too friendly on our princess's feet. So, solo we went.
We stopped for lattes and a cinnamon roll before making our way towards Breckenridge. Moving forward, I think all hikes should start with such items. I am just saying.
We arrived to the trail head and started our hike up. Ken always remarks about how steep it is when we start out. I always reply with something about it being a mountain we are hiking up and all.
Hello Quandary Peak!
Ken and his signature pose
It was pretty chilly out and pretty windy as well. The temperature was in the 30's and at times the wind was blowing 30 mph. Being from Kansas, we are used to the wind, but it feels slightly different at 10,000 feet.
Ken painfully aware as to where we are heading, straight up.
Excited for another 14er!
Getting close to being above the treeline
We reached a point where Ken said he was not sure if he had it in him to continue on. I kind of laughed it off and he agreed to go to the next ridge and we would re-assess the situation. We saw a few hikers coming down and they told us it was in the 20's on the summit and super windy. Brr...
So much rock and oh so steep
We made it to the ridge and Ken said he was done. He looked up at the impending trail and said there was no way he wanted to do it, especially since we would be exposed in the wind. Now, if you know we very well at all, you know I was not happy about not continuing onto the summit.
In my sweetest and most intimidating voice, I asked Ken if he was really a quitter. Yep. I went there. He told me he guesses that he is. We sat and ate some gummy worms for a while and I was hoping that would change Ken's mind. After all, I could tell that he was having a little bit of low blood sugar and needed to eat something, home boy was a little cranky. I thought the gummy worms might have enticed him to continue on, but alas, he was finished.
Don't let my smile fool you, I am really mad at my husband here.
So, we started the hike down and we ended up seeing what Quandary Peak is known for, mountain goats! We were super excited to see them and there was even a baby goat! The baby started crying at one point and it was pretty cute!
Four mountain goats enjoying some lunch
Mama and baby mountain goat
All smiles with the mountain goats!
Hoping mama mountain goat does not decide to push me off the mountain
Apparently Ken has a knack for seeing wild life. He wanted to see a big horn sheep in the Grand Canyon and he mentioned it and BAM, we saw a big horn sheep. He mentioned the mountain goats and look, we saw them. That lucky dog.
Overlooking McCullough Gulch
Same spot we stopped on the way up, but the big thumbs down this time.
Some pretty views on the hike down
We made it back to the car and I was a little bummed, but we still hiked a little over six miles and did quite a bit of climbing. We decided to go into Breckenridge for some beers and lunch.
Quandary has a reputation of being an "easier" 14er. Looking back at it, I thought it was a more challenging trail than Mt. Elbert. Just my two cents.
We had lunch in Breckenridge and walked around and shopped a bit. We stopped at Crepes ala Cart for dessert since it was the first time we were in the area without the line being out to the street. We still waited for 25 minutes and then I realized we would probably have to wait another 20 minutes for our crepes. No thank you. I will just eat ice cream. Moving on...
We got back to Frisco and took Kya for a walk and then we all relaxed for a while.
Mom and husky snuggles
After we relaxed, we took Kya to downtown Frisco to for shopping and to find a place for a drink and some snacks. We decided on Bagalis for wine and appetizers.
Kya and me walking and shopping around downtown
We also found a little park and a creek for Kya the water dog to play in for a few minutes.
Pretending to not be afraid.
Even if we did not make it to the summit, we still had a wonderful day together and enjoyed the beautiful day.
1 comment:
Your dynamic sounds like ours! We were at Dollywood this weekend, and I totally could have squeezed in 1-2 more rides on the coasters, but the hubby was done. I definitely think it's the overachiever thing in me. Like, I want to maximize my time since we spent money on the tickets to be there sort of thing.
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