Quandary Peak: Conquering a Fourteener and Spending Time With Mountain Goats

A mountain goat majestically surveys it’s surroundings.

Knowing we were heading up to Breckenridge (Colorado) this summer, I asked my children what sort of things they wanted to do while we were there. A ‘14er’ (aka fourteener) topped their list since they knew hiking would without a doubt be on the agenda. This way they could obtain a personal goal (doing their first 14er) and appease me with a hike. The bonus for me and for them turned out to be the numerous mountain goats we saw on the way up and down Quandary Peak!

We checked out the weather and picked a day during the week that had the littlest chance of rain, and hopefully, thunderstorms. Then we went online and made our reservations which are necessary in order to hike Quandary. We decided to be at the parking lot by 6am so that we had plenty of time and would hopefully miss those dreaded summer thunderstorms.

Conquering the 14er

Everything went off without a hitch. We made it to the parking lot, there were plenty of spaces, a bathroom (port-a-potty), and not tons of people. Up we went…and went…and went. Once we made it out of tree line we had a good look at how far up we were going to need to go. Matter of fact, Quandary Peak is 14,265’ high, ~6.75 miles roundtrip, and 3,450’ of elevation gain. As far as fourteener’s go, in Colorado, it’s one of the easier ones. About an hour and a half in, I was a little disappointed because I’d not seen a mountain goat yet and everyone had told me (even google reviews) that I would see mountain goats. I was hoping I hadn’t brought my heavier lens (70-200) and large camera backpack for no reason. My ears perked up when I heard the pika’s calling to one another. After a quick search of the surrounding rocks, I was finally able to capture some wildlife with my camera. It wasn’t a mountain goat but it would have to do for the moment.

A pika sits in the early morning light on Quandary Peak.

Spending Time With Mountain Goats

After a bit, my daughter started calling to me. “Look”, she says….. It’s a good thing she pointed it out. Once you start climbing and breathing hard, sometimes you forget to look up and enjoy your surroundings. Besides the beautiful mountains that were coming into view, a mountain goat was backlit by the early morning sun.

A mountain goat doesn't even notice the amazing view as it nibbles on its breakfast.

I was expecting Quandary Peak to be busier in mid July. However, starting early and on a weekday seemed to help ease the crowds. It was fun to see the mountain goats and humans using the same trails. They didn’t seem to be bothered by the steady traffic flow. We all stayed out of each others way except when we needed a break and couldn’t help stealing a photo or two of them.

Humans and mountain goats share the trail on the way up and down Quandary Peak.

We were probably about half way up when we encountered the mountain goats. After huffing and puffing for an hour and a half it was nice to take a seat and enjoy these fine creatures! As you can see below, we still had a ways to go.

Quandary Peak looms in the background. Closer, but still far away…

It was worth bringing my longer lens to get closer shots of the mountain goats!

Getting to experience the goats in their natural environment was a thrilling experience.

Around 8:30am, my daughter and I summited Quandary Peak. My son and husband had achieved their summit about 20-30 minutes earlier. Thankfully, we had blue skies the whole way. The wind was blowing quite a bit so we snapped a couple of quick pics and headed down. The views from the top of Quandary can not be beat. There are endless views in every direction!

Views of the Ten Mile Range (Fletcher Mountain, Atlantic and Pacific Peaks) from the summit of Quandary Peak.

After a quick snack, we headed back down the mountain to warmer areas. Nothing feels better than passing all the people that are still climbing up the mountain panting away. Since we had the hard work done, we took our time when we ran into more mountain goats. This guy was resting after a hard morning of snacking.

A mountain goat soaks in the morning rays as he naps.

A different angle of my majestic, sleeping mountain goat.

I think he knew he was on candid camera…

As we made our way down, we heard tittering from the people coming up the mountain about more goats. This time there were babies!!! (Kids, if you want to be exact and scientific about it!) I was so excited!!

A herd of mountain goats march by.

The kids were so fluffy!

They walked so close to us that it was hard to react fast enough by pulling out with my lens.

If you could bottle cuteness, this would be it!

It’s hard to believe these cute, little goats are ready to brave the wild, mountainous landscape.

A mother and father goat hang out with their young.

A kid gets a thorough sniff over from it’s parents.

Strangely, the flopsy, mopsy hair on this mountain goat reminds me of my son’s hair.

Looking back where we had come from, I saw these two goats passing a cairn on the trail.

Further up the mountain I noticed the stream of traffic and then happened to notice the goats that were going with the flow. It was a sight that made me laugh!

A steady stream of humans and mountain goats climb Quandary Peak.

Downward we went, until we ran into our last mountain goats on Quandary. This one seemed to know that I needed a good send off from him. He faced the sun and almost smiled.

Picture perfect, a mountain goat stands amongst wildflowers with a mountain lake as a backdrop.

He had his nose stuck in the ground for awhile and came up with water dripping from his face.

Busted, he caught me snapping photos.

Reminds me of my kids when they catch me photographing them.

We reached the bottom a little after 10am, mildly tired but strangely energized from whipping out that fourteener. Quandary was a great experience for a first 14er for the kids: challenging but not exhausting. As for me, honestly, 14er’s aren’t big on my to-do list. Most of them seem very rocky with little of interest for me personally. I’d take a river, lake, waterfall, wildflower, or wildlife type hike any day over a fourteener. Quandary Peak nicely combined the wildlife, mountain views, and cachet of completing another fourteener. I’d highly recommend climbing it if you are looking for a quick day trip with wildlife interest!