#19 Castle Peak- 14,265 & #20 Conundrum Peak ā 14,060
For those of you considering doing the combo:
Ā·Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Bring a helmet
Ā·Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The info I had said thereās usually snow until mid-July, but I hiked this August 18 and there was still quite a bit of snow.
Ā·Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ladies, this entire trail is above treeline and there are no restrooms at the trailhead. Plan accordingly.
Trailhead info:
I drove my Tundra all the way to the 11,160ā trailhead that intersects with Pearl Pass, but if you can make it that far you can make it to 12,800ā (as long as you donāt mind the elevation decreasing). Ā The road actually got EASIER after Iād parked but I didnāt know this until Iād started hiking. Ā The only dicey parts would be if you had a long vehicle and needed to turn around. You wouldnāt be able to. Ā (pictures later). Ā Hereās a short video of the hardest part of the 4WD trail, just to give you a visual. Ā Note: The sounds are not rocks hitting the underside of my car truck but the stuff I have hanging from my mirror making noise.
Hereās a video of the current conditions of the creek:
Both of these videos were taken on the way back down, as I crossed them first in the dark and videos wouldnāt have turned out. Ā
OK, now on to the hike.
I woke up around 1:30am to make it to the trailhead by 6am. Ā I donāt live close, and I donāt like to sleep at trailheads if I can help it (Iām better rested this way). Ā This trailhead was not difficult to find, but it is 4WD.
Just after I crossed the creek I saw a group of 4 hikers. Ā I passed them, then I got to thinking about how they had almost 2 miles to go, and I had an empty truck. Ā There were storms predicted this afternoon, and I could save them at least an hour on their hike, valuable when storms are possible. Ā If I was hiking and a vehicle passed me Iād want to be picked up (Como anyone?). Ā I stopped, got out of my truck and asked if theyād like a ride to the upper trailhead.
I wasnāt sure theyād take the offer, mainly because some guys are big on making and bragging about mileage, but surprisingly they were thrilled with the opportunity. Ā This made me feel good. Ā Two sat in the cab and two sat in the bed of the truck. Ā They were all very nice. Ā We chatted for a bit as I drove up the 4WD trail about my truck (Tundra) and how well it was handling everything the road threw at it. Ā They were from Kansas City on a guys trip to hike a few 14ers. Ā Apparently they do this twice a year. Ā Cool! Ā
I parked at the Pearl Pass junction and we parted ways. Ā Here are some pictures of the rest of the 4WD trail. Ā
By the time Iād hiked to this junction at 12800ā I couldnāt see the hikers Iād picked up. Ā I never saw them again on the hike, but I hope they summited! Ā They had great attitudes!
Here the trail split in two and I went left to follow the trail to Castle Peak. Ā
I crossed a small stream and then came to the first snow of the hike. Ā It was easy to cross and hard-packed, if a little slippery (hey, itās snow).
I took a shadowselfie with the snow because I do that kind of thing. Ā
From here I could see Conundrum Peak to my right. Ā You can hike this peak first, but Iād recommend hiking the higher peak first. Ā
As you can see from this wonderfully edited picture, the trail zig-zags with switchbacks up the left side, and then follows a straight path across the mountain to the right.
This is what you see when you reach the top of all that wonderful scree.
Here is where the fun begins! Ā There are several difficult class 2 scrambles on this route. Ā I found several gullies that didnāt lead anywhere but up. Ā Just know if you keep to the low right you should be able to find an easy route. Ā If youād like a challenge (and your party has helmets) by all means have fun going up the gullies. Ā I did. Snap, Crackle, Pop!
Hereās a look back at what youāve accomplished. Ā
And a view of Conundrum Peak (notice it has 2 summits? Ā The ātrueā summit is to the north).
Picture proof I summited
I was the only one on the summit and couldnāt see anyone on the trail behind me. Ā I took several pictures of the mountains all around. Maroon Bells anyone?
I started my decent and immediately found a feather. Ā I feel a Game of Thrones reference is valid here. Ā Iāve never actually watched the show, but I have seen memes about sending a raven, and since I was on Castle Peak and allā¦.
Moving on.
The feather parallels Conundrumās ridge. Ā I get to climb that!
But first I had to descend to the saddle, which included more fun scrambling.
And then going up another ridge.
I stopped to take a picture of the pond/small lake below. Ā Anyone know the name of this pond, or is it just considered drainage? I looked (quick search of my topo and Roachās book) and couldnāt find any info. Ā
Hereās looking back at the ridge I just descended from Castle Peak. Ā Notice the red rock at the bottom right of the ridge? Ā Thatās where the trail picks back up to head back down. Itās importantā¦
Most of what I saw on these mountains consisted of rocks, but at least they were pretty to look at.
When I got to the top of the ridge there was a long flat section that was easy to cross.
Then there was a descent, and another ridge to climb. Ā This wasnāt difficult.
Once again I was the only one on the summit (but I could hear hikers and their scree-valanches snap-crackle-popping from across the ridge). Ā
Picture Proof I summited:
Now to head back down. I went back the way Iād hiked in, and at the saddle saw another hiker. Ā He was surprised I was on the mountain (he thought heād be the first to summit). Ā We chatted for a bit, and he told me heād hiked this mountain a few years ago. Ā He offered me some advice, which I gladly took (side note: Ā I notice most people DONāT take advice when offered on the trail, which doesnāt make much sense to me? Ā If someone has more experience than I do on a mountain and is offering advice I gladly take it!)
He didnāt know me, so he asked me how much faith I had in my abilities? Ā He said the trail drops off into a gulley and leads out to snow. Ā Itās full of scree and can get pretty dicey. I told him I had a helmet and gloves, but Iād think about what he said and decide when I saw the trail. Ā I knew no one was in front of me, so I didnāt need to worry about hitting anyone below me with scree, but heād be above me. Ā He offered to spend a little extra time on the summit to allow me time to descend.
I thought over what heād said. Ā How much faith did I have in my abilities? Ā Well, Iād just summited my 20th unique 14er (and 31st overall). Ā Iām now about 1/3 of the way done with the 14er challenge. Ā Iāve climbed a few difficult class 2ās and Iāve hiked in the snow. Ā How would I know my abilities if I didnāt challenge them? Ā Looking down the mountain I could see where I needed to go. Ā Even when I lost the trail (which was going to happen because there wasnāt a trail) I knew which point I needed to hike towards. Ā
I decided to go for it. Hereās a picture of what it looked like when I started
I was pretty much on my butt with my feet sideways the entire time. Ā Rocks were falling at a rapid pace below me and I was sliding fast. Luckily near the snow the rocks were wet and more packed. Ā I was very thankful I was the only one on this part of the mountain. Ā Anyone below me would have been hit in the head several times. Ā This picture shows whatās below me and what Iāve just hiked. This is what it looked like after about 300 feet of hiking through incredibly loose scree. Ā
I kept going and went directly down the gulley. Ā As promised, it turned to snow. Ā There was no good trail since I was the first one hiking today, but I could see where others had traversed in the past. Ā I sat down, put my feet in front of me, and took a deep breath. Ā And a picture.
Knowing what I had to do I started out slowly inching my way down, trying to get a feel for the density of the snow. Ā It was hard packed but soft due to the sun. Ā I didnāt have an ice pick (hello, August?) so I tried to slow myself by directing my feet into a āVā. Ā That seemed to work pretty well. Ā I didnāt want to go too fast and slide out of control since I didnāt have anything to stop myself if that happened. Ā
Things started progressing pretty well and I got into it. This was fun! Ā I made a great trail all the way down the mountain. Ā When I stopped in front of the lake I thought to myself āThis would make an awesome picture!ā and reached for my cellphone. Ā
It wasnāt there! Ā It had fallen out of my pocket somewhere on that slide! Ā Drat!
So I did the only logical thing: Ā I hiked back up that mountain, praying inwardly the hiker Iād met and promised to wait for me didnāt start his descent until I was done. Ā As luck would have it, Iād lost my phone at the very top of the slide. Wonderful. At least I was able to find it! Ā
On a positive note I got in extra elevation on this hike, and since Iād already made a pretty good chute to slide down the first time, the second slide was much easier than the first. And since I had my phone I decided to take a quick video of the fun
I got up, knew I was supposed to hike left but hiked right instead because it meant traversing less snow and I knew it led to the Castle Trail back down. Ā
When I got past the lake I turned around to look at my route. Ā Iād started in the gulley (upper left) and slid down the entire mountainside. Twice. Ā Awesome!
And my butt was wet
Now to hike back out. It was pretty simple, as I just followed my hike in. Ā Funny thing: I never did see that hiker who gave me the advice? Ā I didnāt see him go down the gulley or on the entire trail back. Ā And you could pretty much see everything on that trail for about a mile in either direction. Ā So he either spent a LOT of time on the summit, or took a different route down. Or we just missed each other somehow? There were about 5 cars at the 4WD trailhead when I got back down to my truck. Ā I remember a 4 Runner but forgot what the others were.
In any event, this was a great hike! Ā I was singing the entire way down, which means it was fortunate I was the only one on the trail. Ā I always love new adventures!
Castle Peak Summit Video:











