On the first of September, I climbed my second 14er of the season (#6 total). Mt. Sherman in the Mosquito Range is located within Pike Forest. It is little more than a 2-hour drive southwest from Denver, near to Fairplay and Leadville.
From U.S. 285, I drove the final 10 miles on a rough dirt road that seemed to drag on forever. Let's just say that it was still dark outside when I turned onto the road, and light when I parked. In a high-clearance vehicle, it is possible to drive all the way to the gate at 12,000'. However, I did not want to chance it in a passenger car, so I parked shortly past a mining building at the Leavick site.
The popular Class 2 route follows the Southwest Ridge from Fourmile Creek. I set off by 6:30am, walking almost a mile up the road to the main gate, desperately hoping that the clouds would clear up.
The trail passes several mining buildings on a steady climb to the base of Mt. Sherman. 13ers, Mt. Sheridan and Gemini Peak, lie on either side.
I made my way to the saddle between Sheridan and Sherman, using cairns as a guide to stay on the trail. From the 13,150' saddle, Sherman's Southwest Ridge lay directly ahead.
There appeared to be two defined trails leading up the initial bump on the ridge. My breathing became more rapid here at the steep climb.
The most difficult part of the hike was the narrow ridge with somewhat loose rock. I moved slowly through here, especially given my bum knee and the gnarly weather. It was very windy and impossible to see anything more than a few feet away in any direction; I was essentially hiking in a cloud (or on another planet).
Finally, the ridge opened up with a small rock shelter on the left and a large patch of snow on the right. It was impossible to know where the true summit was, so I decided that I was close enough, if not already there. There had only been two hikers in front of me, one of which boldly continued on to Gemini, and the other who had turned around at the narrow ridge. I will admit that I was disappointed to not have had the classic 14er summit panoramas, but I was still proud of my determination to reach the top, against all odds.
It was pointless to linger at the summit--and I was freezing--so I headed back down the way I had come. Not surprisingly, I passed very few hikers on my way down. Mt. Sherman is typically a crowded 14er, but apparently not in unfavorable weather conditions.
As I neared the start of the trail, the summit of Mt. Sherman--which had just been encircled in a thick white cloud--was already starting to become visible as the skies cleared up. I quickly started to shed both my frustration and layers of clothing as the sun came out at last.
I arrived back at the car by 11:30am, clocking 7.82 miles and 2,850' elevation gain. Not counting my extra distance from the trailhead, I officially completed the 5.25 mile hike in ~3.5 hours--an enormous improvement from my time on Quandary Peak.
This experience confirmed that weather conditions can make or break a hike. When considering the forecast the night before, I decided to take the risk, knowing how quickly the weather can change. While I was clearly mistaken, the important thing was that I brought enough layers to keep warm.
