Redcloud Peak & Sunshine Peak
Day 2 of our EPIC "4 fourteener's in 3 days weekend". This is our first snow crossing on our way up to Redcloud Peak from the Silver Creek Trailhead where we camped. We woke up at 4:15am chowed down our bagels with cream cheese and reached the National Forest register around 5:00am. It was still very dark at this time so headlamps were essential. Being a little freaked out about bears, I made sure Toby had on his bell! 
The sun was just starting to hit the peaks opposite the drainage we were hiking up. It was a beautiful sunrise!
Yes, I am a big dork.
The last ascent up to Redcloud Peak. Not too bad, although it looks more like ski turns!
Brian sitting at 14,034 feet signing us into the registry of Redcloud Peak! After signing our names he checked out the names of the folks that had peaked the day ahead of us. He discovered one of our friends from Gunnison, Mr. Evan Strauss and girlfriend had just hiked these two mountains 1 day ahead of us. CRAZY! we've never seen the names of anyone we knew on a registry before so that was really cool!
We had gained 3,700 feet of elevation gain over a period of 4.5 miles. This is not where we stopped however, we were in for "bagging" as they say two fourteeners today! Toby, below, is looking over toward Sunshine Peak which is 1.5 miles South of us.
Knowing we would be exposed above treeline for several hours we didn't stop for many pictures on the way over to Sunshine Peak. Redcloud is behind me to the right. We ate lunch on Sunshine at oh, 14,001 feet! Hmmm...Peanut butter and honey pitas!
Marmots and Pikas and wildflowers oh my!
On our way down, almost to treeline, nearing the end of our 12 mile hike. We made it back to our toasty tent early afternoon and took a nice long nap before we packed up and headed over to Handies Peak which was the next day's adventure.
This was something we had to be careful of when crossing those snow fields. Some other Gunnison friends of ours were checking out an area like this above Gothic and the cave collapsed on one of the guys. His friends were able to rescue him but had to call reinforcements to winch him up hill in a litter, because he had some critical injuries. SO, be very very careful around these beautiful snow caves!
Day 2 of our EPIC "4 fourteener's in 3 days weekend". This is our first snow crossing on our way up to Redcloud Peak from the Silver Creek Trailhead where we camped. We woke up at 4:15am chowed down our bagels with cream cheese and reached the National Forest register around 5:00am. It was still very dark at this time so headlamps were essential. Being a little freaked out about bears, I made sure Toby had on his bell! 
The sun was just starting to hit the peaks opposite the drainage we were hiking up. It was a beautiful sunrise!
Yes, I am a big dork.
The last ascent up to Redcloud Peak. Not too bad, although it looks more like ski turns!
Brian sitting at 14,034 feet signing us into the registry of Redcloud Peak! After signing our names he checked out the names of the folks that had peaked the day ahead of us. He discovered one of our friends from Gunnison, Mr. Evan Strauss and girlfriend had just hiked these two mountains 1 day ahead of us. CRAZY! we've never seen the names of anyone we knew on a registry before so that was really cool!
We had gained 3,700 feet of elevation gain over a period of 4.5 miles. This is not where we stopped however, we were in for "bagging" as they say two fourteeners today! Toby, below, is looking over toward Sunshine Peak which is 1.5 miles South of us.
Knowing we would be exposed above treeline for several hours we didn't stop for many pictures on the way over to Sunshine Peak. Redcloud is behind me to the right. We ate lunch on Sunshine at oh, 14,001 feet! Hmmm...Peanut butter and honey pitas!
Marmots and Pikas and wildflowers oh my!
On our way down, almost to treeline, nearing the end of our 12 mile hike. We made it back to our toasty tent early afternoon and took a nice long nap before we packed up and headed over to Handies Peak which was the next day's adventure.
This was something we had to be careful of when crossing those snow fields. Some other Gunnison friends of ours were checking out an area like this above Gothic and the cave collapsed on one of the guys. His friends were able to rescue him but had to call reinforcements to winch him up hill in a litter, because he had some critical injuries. SO, be very very careful around these beautiful snow caves!
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