My second time solo-ing a 14er, and I went for a 2-for-1. Grays and Torreys peaks are separated by a ridge that’s about ~0.8 miles. I hiked Grays and then took that ridge to summit Torreys before heading back down.

Some thoughts

• I started at about 3:30am. My car is not capable of making it up the dirt road to get to the trailhead, so I had to park at the bottom of that road. It was a 3-mile stretch, so I was expecting to make it up in 1.5hrs, giving me a 5am start to Grays Peak. Thankfully, another hiker who was driving up the road picked me up maybe 15 minutes into the hike.
• Climbing up Grays was a slog. I took the slow and steady approach, rarely stopping for breaks and if I did, they would be really brief.
• Watching the sun rise mid-hike is always worth the early start.
• After taking a break at Grays Peak, I started the descent toward Torreys. As soon as that ridge started ascending, I was kinda over the climb up. I made it eventually, but having to summit again after an already strenuous summit just felt wrong. However, it beats having to do these mountains in two trips.
• Some people were doing Torreys first, and Grays second. I’m not sure which route is better, but Torreys felt harder. That might have been because I was already fatigued from climbing Grays.
• On my way back I had to hike the dirt road down to my car. No hitchhiking to save me. This was my least favorite part of the hike.
• Next time I want to do Keslo Ridge, which is a Class 3 route to Torreys. It involves some exposed scrambling and some route-finding, but I’m game. At the peak, I met someone who had taken that route and was casually doing this summit before work (it was a Tuesday).