Sherman Peak, Dyer Peak

mount sherman - 14036' - class 1
Dyer mountain - 13855' - class 2
september 2009

Sunset over Mount Sherman

This was a trip Josh and I did in mid-September right after Drift Peak. We initially planned to climb Hagerman Peak but after trying to drive to the Crystal Mill in his Subaru, we realized we weren't going to make it all the way to the mill and we decided to try something else. So we drove all the way back to Leadville and Josh decided we should drive up to Iowa Gulch. From there we could hike up three peaks at start at 12,000 feet. These high trailheads were a new thing to me. Roads literally blanketed Colorado! Since I was recovering from a sickness I had that week, I was moving pretty slow but it didn't really matter. We walked up to a large mining shed on the slopes of Dyer Mountain and explored around inside. We noticed newspapers from the 70's all over the walls. As we went higher, we ran into some fresh snow and soon enough we were on the summit of Dyer Mountain which was my first, ranked 13er I have ever done! Both Drift Peak and Mount Spalding that I had done prior were unranked, although I didn't even know what that meant! We had a nice break on the summit, then began traversing towards Gemini Peak. I was shocked to see huge powerlines heading over the mountains and down the other side. It appeared to transfer power from Leadville to Fairplay but I wasn't sure. We got to the saddle, then went up to the small notch between the two summits of Gemini Peak where I waited for Josh to run up and down Gemini. I found a large set of bones here that Josh imagined came from a mountain goat...kind of creepy. We continued the traverse to the next peak which at the time I had no idea was even a 14er but Josh just said it was Mount Sherman. Not until we stood on top did I realize it was a 14er! It was my third one behind only Mount Evans and Mount Bierstadt. From here we hiked down the very nice trail all the way back to the trailhead. Josh mentioned a forth peak further south called Mount Sheridan but we didn't have time for it...nor was I interested at the time. Once back at the car we watched the sunset and a crazy guy descending through cliffs with about 5 dogs. I thought he was going to die but he managed to make it down.