Anne & Trudy's Three 14er-Peak Bagging Challenge
to Raise Funds for
Bay Area Older Adults (BAO)
Anne Ferguson (BAO's Executive Director & Founder) & Trudy Neal (past BAO volunteer) climbed three of Colorado's peaks above 14,000 feet in four-days. The first is Mount Princeton (photo on the left above), one of the five Collegiate Peaks which rises from the upper Arkansas River. The second is Quandary Peak (middle photo) located in the White River National Forest. The third is Grays Peak (photo on the right), the highest peak in the Continental Divide.
These treks add up to a grand total of 21 miles and 10,000 feet in ascent!!
Photos from our climbs: we saw amazing views of many of Colorado's peaks and some of the wildlife along the trails.
Peak #1: Gray's Peak
After four hours of sleep and walking up at 4 AM, we started the climb at 6:30 AM
About mid-way up the mountain, we saw snow.
After three hours and more than 3000 feet in 3 miles, we made it to the top. My heart and lungs did a lot of hard work!
View of Grays peak with other people who made it to the top and the surounding rocky mountain range.
View of nearby Torrey's Peak, another 14er
View of part of our route up along the ridge.
Peak #2: Quandary Peak
We started the climb at 7 AM after taking a shuttle to the trailhead. You can see the peak in the background.
Anne hiking up the trail.
The last 1000 feet is showing in the background.
We see a pika hiding in the rocks. These small mammals with big ears prefer rocky slopes and eat grasses, flowers and young stems.
For the remaining mile, we followed this young woman up the mountain.
Our first sighting of a Rocky Mountain Big-horned sheep that was losing alot of its hide because of the summer heat.
Spectacular view of other 13 and 14ers at the top of the mountain.
We were very happy to have made it to the top of our second (Quandary) peak in three hours!
On the way down, we saw a handful of marmots, another rock-dwelling herbivore. They hibernate in self-dug burrow for three-quarters of the year
Video of the Rocky Mountain Big-horned Sheep mom and baby we saw on the trek up the mountain. Listen for the baby squeaking. Use the gear to choose 720p for best quality.
The sheep were not scared of us humans.
A view walking back down the trail.
Anne decided to stretch her muscles while waiting for the shuttle back to our car.
Peak #3: Mt Princeton Peak
Today's trailhead started two hours away from where we were staying so I woke up at 3:50 AM to get there at 6:30 AM. We drove to the two wheel-drive trailhead and stretched while waiting for Jery to pick us up in his Jeep Wrangler.
Jery dropped us off at the 4WD trailhead at 6:30 AM.
The road up was single lane with lots of rocks so we need a solid jeep to get us up there.
The trail started just below treeline. The day was sunny and cool.
This is a view of the gulch just below the false peak. We were about half-way up the peak.
I was not expecting so many large rocks to climb at only half-way up the mountain.
The rocks were so big that at times, we used our hands to help climb up them.
We lost the trail many times and just climbed the rocks. You can make out a faint trail up ahead.
Signage commemorating a woman who died climbing the mountain.
View of Trudy climbing up the rocky trail with the bright sun in the background.
Not quite rock climbing...
We made it to the top at about 10 AM!
View of the trail behind us.
I had time for a quick snack of nuts and chocolate chips before heading back down.
Video of the panoramic view from Mt Princeton Peak with Trudy heading back down the mountain. Use the gear to choose 720p for best quality.
Join us in building a sustainable BAO!
Now is the time to help us raise $50,000. Simply fill out the form below to sponsor Trudy & Anne by the number of feet they climb or make a donation of any amount by visiting https://www.bayareaolderadults.org/donate . You can also inquire by emailing share@bayareaolderadults.org about making donations using donor advised funds (DAF), a qualified charitable donation (QCD), stocks and even car donations. If you are still working, BAO is part of the Benevity Giving Platform so check if your company makes matching contributions.
As a reminder, your donation supports free programs that empower adults of all abilities to take charge of their health, embrace diversity, and become change agents for environmental sustainability. Please check out the video below the submit button to see and hear from the community.