Mount Shavano

July 24th, started hiking at 3:15am. (The dirt road coming in was intense, I barely made it in my low clearance Honda). Sunrise was at 6, I made it to the summit at 6:30am. Decided I had enough time and energy to hike over to the Tabaguache summit. It added about 2 hours to my hike. Worth it! The view on Tab was stunning, even more beautiful than Shavano I think. Coming back up to re-summit Shavano took the last of my energy. Happy I brought two sandwiches. I made it back to my car by 11:20. Clouds were building by 11:30 and I passed many people getting a late start. The trail was rough, steep/fast elevation gain, pretty much straight up with very few switchbacks. Thanks to the trail crews, much of the trail is improved, many log steps in permanent place. I was glad I had poles. I wish I had more grip on my Hokas but they are worn out from a couple summers of hiking. Lots of loose rock. I felt like I spent lots of energy on foot placement on many parts of the trail. A few people I passed said this was their first 14’er.. which I would not recommend. It was tough. I enjoyed the hike and it felt worth it (especially bagging both peaks) but relative to other 14’ers I’ve done, this is not one I want to do again.

9+ miles round trip to the summit. Great views and limited traffic on the trail. Add 2-3 miles for Tabeguache and be prepared for a little more challenging double if you plan to do both. Trail is well marked and clear almost to the summit. The last portion is a slight scramble but manageable.

Beautiful views along a consistently rocky trail. Overall definitely a 14er worth hiking for the views. The trail is not really treacherous at any point, but it is consistently rocky throughout, which makes it a hard slog for a full day's hike. Nonetheless, highly recommend! We also come in close proximity to some mountain goats crossing the trail a bit above the tree line!

Cant go wrong with another beautiful Sawatch 14er!

Beautiful and nice. Don't get off the trail though. At the summit it can get really cloudy and easy to lose the path. Also there's a lack of stacks of rocks to show the paths. Nicely maintained though short of that.