Over a course of 3 days, I hiked/climbed to the top of Blanca Peak and back.  Day 1 was an uphill hike to Blue Lakes, where I camped.  Day 2 was the day I summitted and camped again at Blue Lakes.  Day 3 was a hike back down to my truck.

This route to Blanca Peak is considered a hard Class 2 or Class 3 climb.  It was very challenging for me at my age.  Going up was hand over hand in many places with many treacherous spots with no room for error.  Coming down was even harder and scary at times.  In summary, it was the hardest mountain I have climbed, especially since was very windy and there was 2-3" of snow/ice to make it slippery.  I saw no one else on the trail or on the mountain so I had it all to myself.

Bagging Blanca Peak was my 10th 14er.

My track file only shows the route one way (7.8 miles), so total distance was 15.6 miles. 

My wife and I hiked up to High Dune.  2.87 miles round trip took over 3 hours.  Walking up and through sand is very challenging since for every step you take you slide back half a step.

This is my hike down East Spanish Peak back to the trailhead.