WETTERHORN AND UNCOMPAHGRE PEAK LOOP

The Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre Peak loop one day hike 18.2 miles 6,500 ft gain. I wanted to tag these 2 peaks together because I have very limited time off and is a very long drive to the San Juans. I had read a few trip reports of people doing, and after I mapped it I knew it would be possible for me since I have done Pikes Peak 26 miles 8,000 ft gain a few times. My biggest concern was being tired from such a long drive, so I set out the afternoon before and made it a few hundred feet higher than the 2WD parking lot before I decided the road was too rough for my taste especially at 11 pm at night. I tried to sleep in the back seat of my truck, but was tossing all night never really got any sleep, got up at 5:00 am, and although I didn't sleep I was so pumped and excited I felt good. Quick oatmeal and coffee and I was on the trail or road at 5:20 am. I started with a light jog up the road and caught up to the first hiker who was also doing both peaks in one day, we talked for a little and then I took off on a light jog again. The first part of the trail is really gentle and easy to follow. The wildflowers were in full bloom this time of the year the view was really amazing. The upper part of Wetterhorn Peak is the fun part that's for sure, a great intro to class 3 scrambling since the exposure is minimal as compared to others. I was able to find my way easily with the information from the 14ers website. Identifying the rock rib was the trickiest but once you see it is easy to follow and from then on is pretty much all fun class 3 scramble. The last section has an option that rounds around the left and is a little easier, but straight up wasn't that bad going up. I made it to the summit in under 2 hrs and I was really excited because I knew I had plenty of time to do both even if there were afternoon storms. I was the first one on the summit of Wetterhorn 14,015 ft and took a few minutes to enjoy the views which were amazing with the haze from the smoke. Coming down Wetterhorn Peak I took the alternative route which coming down is on your right. After I made it down the class 3 section I could see the route I was going to take to get to Uncompahgre Peak and was able to run all the way down, after the boulder field you can see a faint trail that goes to a creek and then under Matterhorn Peak. Stopped at the creek and refilled my water and started making my way across, I joined the standard trail to Matterhorn Peak that eventually continues towards Uncompahgre Peak, really easy trail to follow. A little over 8 miles in I got the pass that goes up the ridge and joins the Uncompahgre standard trail. Trail is pretty easy and mellow, until a few hundred feet under the summit there is a small area of class 2 climbing. I made to the summit of Uncompahgre Peak 14,309 ft at 10:00 am, there were a few groups of people on this one. Took a few minutes break and ran down, in my mind I could possibly do Matterhorn Peak too, but once I got to that split again I was really tired and wanted to save the little energy for the drive back home. I made it to my car before noon 6:35 hrs trip, took a quick splash on the Henson creek and got on the road back home. Gear: Filmed with: Insta360 ONE X and a 10ft selfie stick. Here is a link to it with a free selfie stick ONLY through this link below!!! https://www.insta360.com/sal/one_x?in... Insta360 One X amazon link - https://amzn.to/2MLLzBp 10 ft invisible selfie stick - https://amzn.to/2JosKiW Garmin Inreach GPS - https://amzn.to/3fa5btb