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| Pettingell Peak - Grand County HP, CO | |
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| | Pettingell Peak - Grand County HP, CO | | | |
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Pettingell Peak - Grand County HP, CO
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| Hiking | 9.26 Miles |
3,269 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.26 Miles | 6 Hrs 59 Mns | | 1.52 mph |
| 3,269 ft AEG | 53 Mns Break | | | |
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| Partners |
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none
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| no partners | | This hike went to the summit of Pettingell Peak (elevation of 13,553 feet and prominence of 1,563 feet). The hike started and ended at the Herman Gulch TH, which is about 200 feet from an I-70 exit ramp. Any vehicle can get there, even a subaru!
I was the second car at the TH, and I mostly had the trail to myself. I was moving kinda slow early in the morning. I stopped to take a break at the 2 mile mark, and some girl who was trail running whizzed right by me. That didn't exactly make me feel too good!
This was a tale of 2 hikes. The first 3.5 miles were on the Herman Gulch Trail, which was a nice well-maintained trail ending at Herman Lake, and gaining about 1,700 feet of elevation along the way. The next mile or so to the summit was totally off-trail, and went up some steep talus slopes, and gained a little over 1,500 feet. There were some snow fields that I had to navigate around, which added a bit of spice to the hike. The snow was in 2 places: just past Herman Lake and at a ridgeline just below the summit. On the ascent, I went below the ridgeline to avoid the snow, and had to do some class 2 rock scrambling to get up to the summit.
There were great views at the top, which made the climb worthwhile. I thought that I would have the summit to myself, but I had to share it with a too-friendly marmot.
Synopsis
If you like scenery and solitude, and don't mind some route finding, then this hike should fit the bill. This peak is my 3rd favorite summit in Colorado, behind only Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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Herman Lake |
76-100% full |
76-100% full |
| | | There was a good bit of snow melt going into the lake. | | _____________________
| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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