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Peak(s)  McClellan Mountain  -  13,594 feet
Mt. Edwards  -  13,860 feet
Grays Peak  -  14,275 feet
Torreys Peak  -  14,272 feet
Grizzly Peak  -  13,435 feet
Date Posted  07/22/2026
Date Climbed   07/21/2026
Author  hobbes7714
 Tour of Grays Basin Ridges   

I started at the Grays & Torreys 2WD trailhead and began walking up the road. Just past the turn off to FS 319 (Stevens Gulch) I broke left/east and headed up to the ridge. I picked a route to avoid the private property as well as skirt the worst of the underbrush. It required a lot of serpentining around bush and downed logs, but there was almost always a clear-floor path. It's very steep and I was happy to go up it rather than slide down it, but some hard work and I'm at the crest of the ridge.

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A view east at sunrise from right below Ganley

Once on the ridge I walk the top of it up to Ganley Mountain where I stop for some food. Then a little longer on the ridge before dropping down to the 4x4 road which I follow until it ends a little under McCellan. I continue to McCellan and then onto Edwards.

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Looking NE along the ridge from Ganley
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The ridge circles around views of Kelso

At Edwards I pause for a couple minute to appreciate the view and take a look at the ridge traverse ahead.

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Ruby Mountain stands out from Edwards all the way to Grays

The traverse starts and ends on a use trail and, as I discover, keeps that trail almost the entire way. There are a few places along it where the trail disappears for a little or some steep scree makes other options attractive. However, mostly you just stay on the spine of the ridge.

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The Edwards to Grays traverse

Once you reach the final saddle and start the continuous climb up Grays, a non-official but very substantial trail takes over and runs all the way to the summit.

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Kelso and in the back with the ramp up Grays in the foreground

At the summit I stand around long enough to take some pictures, but it's a bit of a zoo so I quickly head down, looking over to Torreys.

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Chihuahua lake below Black Mountain

I just take the standard route to Torreys. Really nice trail.

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Just below the top of Torreys, looking at Kelso

Just like Grays, Torreys is pretty crowded, so some more pictures and then down the west face. There's a really good use (or maybe abandoned official) trail. It runs all the way down the scree slope to the saddle with Grizzly. I had to pause for a half hour for a work call, but otherwise it's down and up.

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Mountain goats graze on the west face of Torreys with Chihuahua lake in the background
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The route up the west face of Torreys

The use trail ends at the saddle, not picking up again until close to the top of Grizzly, but there's no real need for a trail: it's broad slope that's grass until the final ridge. At that point, just staying on the ridge line works great. I make it to Grizzly and begin encountering people coming over from Loveland Pass.

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The ridge down from Grizzly to Black Mountain and the Lenawees

Now I'm back on an official trail system again. I follow that trail down Grizzly and up to Cupid, where I leave the trails one last time. I'm headed down that ridge to Baker Mountain.

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Looking back at Grizzly from the route down to Baker from Cupid

There's a very steep scree slope just a little way east from Cupid, but there's a route down so it's just a question of going slow. And after that it's pretty much just tundra walking all the way. I head over to Baker and take in the views.

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Torreys north face from the Baker Mountain ridge
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The valley below Sniktau from Baker

Now the final drop down. The route just continues to follow the ridge line, including a drop into the trees. Some spots get a little dense with underbrush and deadwood, but mostly it's steep. Sticking to the spine keeps the worst of the undergrowth out of the way with some minor route finding. Finally, I break north and intersect the bike path a short distance from the trailhead and follow it back to the car. This was a great route to really circumnavigate the basin(s) there and keep in the views just about the whole day.


GPS Track(s) on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):




Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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