Gray's and Torrey's Combo

Woke up at 0400, got ready and was on the road leaving Colorado Springs at 0415. Stopped for a quick breakfast along the way and arrived at the beginning of the dirt road at 0645, just as the sun was coming up. Started up the dirt road with a low clearance 2WD car hoping I could make it at least 2 of the 3 miles to the trailhead. It was slow going, a little rough but I was able to make it all the way to the trailhead. Next time I’ll bring a higher clearance vehicle but 4WD wasn’t necessary. The trailhead was busier than expected. There were even 2 tents set up in the parking lot with a few sleepy looking campers just waking up as I arrived. I made a quick pit-stop at the trailhead, got my pack on, and signed in at 0715. There were quite a few others ahead of me but they were hiking much slower so I caught them quickly. The sun was at my back and was just hitting the top 1000 ft of Gray’s and Torrey’s Peaks. The trail was just north and ran parallel to the valley floor. For the first few miles I past a few other hikers and ran into someone that was going to attempt the Kelso Ridge trail even though there was a bit of snow. About a mile below the summit of Gray’s the snow was noticeable on the trail. Passed 2 more hikers about ½ mile below the summit, one just in from MO and having a tough time with the altitude. His hiking partner had done these peaks many times before so he was in good hands. The snow never really got deeper than 6 inches and within a few hundred feet of the summit the trail was mostly clear. Passed two more guys on their way down, they were only the 2nd and 3rd people to summit Gray’s that day. I made the summit in about 2:20, signed in, and had it completely to myself for about 10 minutes before the other 2 guys made it. This was my 8th 14er and the first time I have ever had a summit to myself. What views, I could see the ski slopes at Breckenridge and Keystone. Rather cold and windy but it felt very refreshing. After a snack, some pictures, and chatting with the other 2 guys I packed up and headed on my way. I could see dozens of other people on Gray’s trail not far from the summit. I descended straight off the summit to the saddle between Gray’s and Torrey’s. It was fairly steep but with less snow than the East face of Gray’s. The descent went very quickly and I was headed up Torrey’s in less than 15 minutes from leaving Gray’s summit. Hiked just behind another group and another guy that was soloing, they had hiked to the saddle and were doing Torrey’s first since Gray’s was so busy. This hike was steep and looked much shorter than it was but I still wonder why it is Class 2. Almost no snow to speak of all the way from the saddle to the summit. Once I reached the summit I had another snack and took about 2 pictures before my camera froze up. Again cold and windy, but what else would you expect in October on top of a 14er. The girl doing Kelso ridge made the summit about 5 minutes after I did, saying that the snow made it very difficult. Chatted for about 20 minutes and headed back down to the saddle. Once I reached the saddle I cut back towards the Gray’s trail. By this time the snow was well packed with all the people and it made the descent very fast and easy. Once I was below 13,000ft it warmed up a lot and I had to shed some layers. The return was uneventful, and I made it back to the car with a total time of 5:10 (including time spent on the summits). This was a great trip with some of the best weather I have ever seen.