Mount Sherman - 14,036 ft

Gemini Peak - 13,951 ft

Date: 7-16-2005

Climbers: George & Abby Barnes

Route:  Fourmile Creek I, Class 2

RT distance:  6.5 miles

Elevation gain:  2,600 feet

USGS Quadrangle:  Mount Sherman

Trip Report:

Hoping to beat the monsoon season's afternoon weather, Abby and I got a relatively early start, leaving the 4x4 parking lot shortly after 7 AM.  Sherman would be a new fourteener for Abby, but a repeat for me so I thought I'd spice things up with a unicycle descent.

Shortly after the Dauntess Mine I'm amused to see several groups heading straight for the Sheridan-Sherman saddle from the mine.  I'd done this route the first time I climbed Sherman, and wasn't going to repeat it.  Taking a right turn onto a subtle mining road yields a much easier route as it allows you to walk on a Class 1 road almost all the way to the saddle.  This route also takes you past some small lakes at 12,500 where the early morning light was perfect for photographing my unicycle below the Hilltop Mine.

Above the saddle we don't waste any time getting to the summit.  The weather looks great so I decide to run over to nearby centennial Gemini Peak.  Abby doesn't yet subscribe to my "it doesn't have to be fun to be fun" school of thought, so she'll wait on the summit of Sherman for me to return.

Gemini doesn't have a summit register, so after a few pictures I turn around and hoof it back to Sherman.

Back on the summit of Sherman I gear up for a unicycle descent by downing a ClifShot and donning my protective gear.  The relatively flat summit of Sherman is pretty rideable at first.  Upon reaching the southwest ridge I opt to push the unicycle because the trail is largely unrideable -  rocky class 2 with potential for nasty falls to either side.

Below the rocky ridge, portions of the trail become rideable, albeit on soft/loose scree.  A few hundred feet below the saddle the trail becomes 100% rideable all the way to the trailhead and I'm reminded why I lugged my unicycle up the mountain.

From the mining road we notice large clouds building over the summit of Sherman.  It's pushing noon, so we're glad to be well below the ridge.  Not to be stopped by an afternoon thunderstorm, we meet several groups slowly making their way up at the speed of cotton.

The road out passes quickly, and we're soon on our way to refuel at the Brown Burro in Fairplay.