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| Taylor Peak B viewed from Sky Pond |
July 4th weekend usually gets pretty crowded in Estes. So, to avoid the crowds, Brad and I started dark and early to do a hike of 13er Taylor Peak B. I lay in bed all night trying to sleep unsuccessfully before a 2:50 wake up. This is only the 3rd all nighter I've ever done, and I wasn't happy to be hiking my first mountain of the year on no sleep. Even when we arrived at the trailhead at 4:30 am, the Glacier Gorge parking lot was half full. It was good to catch up with Brad who I've probably hiked more mountains with than anyone else, but haven't seen for a couple years. The hike in was beautiful with a sunrise near the Loch.
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| The Loch |
One of the coolest parts of this hike was an ascent up Andrew's Glacier. The snow angle was just steep enough to make it exciting, but not too dangerous.
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| Andrew's Glacier |
Once at the top, the remaining route to the summit of Taylor is straightforward, but tedious on tundra and talus. The unique views of Longs from the top were awesome! It was cool to peer down to Sky Pond and the cool Sharks Tooth rock formations from above. We hung out on the summit for a while, then Brad continued on to bag Powell Peak while I tried my best to take a nap while bugs tried their best to eat my legs. We had a great glissade down the glacier and long trek back to Estes for a good ole man handler at Smokin' Daves and some much needed sleep!
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| Sky Pond and Lake of Glass |
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| From left to right: Longs, Pagoda, McHenrys, Powell, Chiefs Head, Alice |
All photos credit to Brad
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