Newbie, looking for advice on 1st 14er

[chrngoe]

Will be in Estes Park for a wedding beginning of Sept (and getting out of there as soon as possible lol). Thinking of heading to Lake City area for a few days. I consider myself in better than average condition but live at low altitude. Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.

[mtnkub]

Handies Peak would make a great first 14er, and it is near Lake City. Check you the route on this site. (And check the condition of the road to the trailhead).

[Jim Davies]

Lots of general advice here: https://www.14ers.com/14ers-faq
I'd also go for Handies. If you can spend a few days at medium altitudes first, that would probably help.

[nyker]

It's quite a long drive from Estes Park to Lake City. You may want to spend a day in RMNP. You can also acclimatize there and then do something in the front range which is closer for you, allowing you to spend more time in the mountains and less time in traffic.

[chrngoe]

Thanks all for recommending Handies!
I probably should have given a few more details of my schedule in my 1st post
Gonna be in Estes Park for 2 days, then explore RMNP for a day ending in Grand Lake for the night, then on to Lake City for several days (3,4,5?)
Before your thots on Handies, I had been looking at Redcloud. Any opinions on that?

[SchralpTheGnar]

Start with Handies, if that goes well try Redcloud and sunshine. If you handle the altitude well these should be doable, go slow, take breaks, drink water, eat good, start early, watch the weather

[seannunn]

Depending on what type of vehicle you have, you may or may not be able to get to Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch trailhead. I think I made it there in a minivan, but it wasn't happy. Check the trailhead conditions updates on here a few days before you leave. If not, you can climb Sunshine & Redcloud (why do one when you can do two with only a little more effort?) from the Mill Creek campground, which is accessible in pretty much any vehicle.
The trade off is a little more altitude gain, and a brutally steep beginning. I have done it twice though, and it is a beautiful climb.
Either way, the usual basics apply: start early (like 4am, not 8am), take plenty of water and some food, don't be afraid to turn around early if you see dark clouds.
Have fun.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

[Rick Canter]

For a low-elevation creature, the more time spent hanging out at altitude, the better (of course, minimize alcohol/caffeine, consume plenty of water and electrolytes). Be patient, you will feel much stronger after several days in Colorado vs. the first 1-3 days. Handies has a great view, and considering your itinerary, I cannot argue with anyone here who also suggested it. Take the spur to Sloan Lake to maximize the eye candy.

[Corndiggs]

As it's been eluded to, doing the standard route on Handies vs the standard route of Redcloud (or Handies via Grizzly Gulch) will come down to your vehicle. Past the Silver Creek/GG TH, you'll likely want 4WD and good clearance, especially if you drive up the American Basin road (which isn't mandatory - only saves about a mile each way of easy road hiking). My son and I were up there last week, road is ok but bumpy to Silver Creek, then continually gets more difficult from there.

But if you can make it to the American Basin cutoff, I definitely agree with all that Handies standard is an awesome intro to the CO 14ers.

[mtnkub]

Gonna be in Estes Park for 2 days, then explore RMNP for a day ending in Grand Lake for the night, then on to Lake City for several days (3,4,5?)

On your way to Grand Lake, you could walk toward Mt Chapin/ Mt Chiquita, to get some taste of how altitude affects you.
https://www.14ers.com/route.php?route=2 ... 0917176208

[mtree]

If you have the vehicle and decent driving skills, I think Uncompahgre is a far better hike than Redcloud or Handies. Its only a smidgen more difficult.

[chrngoe]

So assuming i can make the drive all the way to the Handies trailhead, anyone got an idea how much time that is from 149?