I started writing this post last year right after it happened. Well, here we are almost 13 months later, and I finally decided to finish it. Better late than never I suppose. It is a story worth remembering.
A few years ago, I decided I wanted to climb a fourteener. A fourteener is a mountain that is at least 14,000 feet tall or higher and Colorado has 58 of them. After years of thinking about it and never pulling the trigger, this year, I finally hatched a plan. We would go climb Mount Elbert, the tallest mountain in Colorado on my 41st birthday. Just Kevin and me. So I booked a cabin, and plans were set. On July 22, after depositing our children with family members, we headed off through the mountains and over Independence Pass to a little town called Leadville.
We decided to check out the trailhead the day before, so we knew what to expect the next morning at the break of dawn. It took us nearly 45 minutes to get there from the town, and there was plenty of dry camping spots along the way, so we decided the best thing to do would be to camp in the back of our Expedition. Truth be told, the cabin looked a little sketchy and was deemed too far away from the trailhead, for the early morning we planned to strike. So back to town we went and bought ourselves two warm sleeping bags and a couple mats to sleep on. We found a nice looking place to eat, got our food to go, and headed back to find a suitable camping spot.
Sleep came easily that night, but unfortunately, it didn’t stick around. Both Kevin and I woke up numerous times, nervous about the climb next day and uncomfortable on our inadequate cushioning. Dark and early, at 5am, my alarm went off. We hustled to get ready and get to the trailhead. It’s a good thing we started out so early, because by the time we made it to the trailhead parking lot at 5:45 a.m., it was nearly full. We strapped on our packs, tied our shoes and off we went!
The first mile or so into the trees, we barely came across anyone. Then we made it past the tree-line and met up with a large group of people trudging up what was becoming a fairly steep path. At this point, the air was a wee bit thinner, and everyone (well most people, anyway) started to move a little more slowly. That being said, Kevin and I still made our way past a lot of them.
Mount Elbert is one of the easiest 14ers in Colorado to hike, along with being the tallest. Or so I was told. The tricky part about Elbert is the two false summits. These are the summits you can see from the trail you’re hiking. You think they’re the top of the mountain, only to get to the “top” and find out you still have a ways to climb. I found the best thing to do with this strenuous part of the trail was to take smaller steps and just keep moving. I also took small breaks to keep myself hydrated. Kev was ahead of me for much of the time, being the mountain goat that he is. I will also mention, that he did not feel the need to drink any water at all during his ascent. (I describe him as a freak of nature, or a beast, frequently. He is not your average human being. But you know, that is why I married him. *wink*)
At around 9:30, three and a half hours after we started, we summited Mount Elbert. The tallest mountain in Colorado. The first one I have ever climbed. (Hopefully not the last!) I was a little unprepared for the wave of emotion I felt at accomplishing this particular feat. Tears come more easily these days, and as I was leaving a video message for my family to show them the scenery and let them know I made it, I started to cry. I have since thought that perhaps this is what certain athletes feel like when they earn a medal. And also perhaps it was due to the lack of oxygen? (LOL!)
After a quick break, eating a few bites of an energy bar and grabbing the requisite summit pic, we decided to head back down. The thing about 14ers in the summer, is that there are almost always afternoon thunder showers. So one must summit and get back down below tree line well before the afternoon. Hence the very early start time. At 9:30 a.m. that morning, the clouds were already rolling in. You almost feel as if you could reach out and touch them. (In some cases, you can.) So off we went, back down.
This was supposed to be the easy part, and it certainly was as far as breathing is concerned, but perhaps not on your leg muscles or knees. Here, I used my brand new hiking poles for the first time. I was super grateful I had decided to bring a pair. (Truly, I could have done away with 90% of the things I packed in my pack, and brought just the poles and water, and been just fine! And lighter!) The hiking poles definitely saved my knees, and made it a little easier to navigate the never ending pull of gravity on the way down.
One thing I should mention is there are no bathrooms on Mount Elbert. (You aren’t surprised?) This becomes particularly tricky above tree line, which means, there are generally no places to hide and relieve yourself. Having made a valiant attempt to keep myself well hydrated, (one of the musts of hiking in high altitudes) I had to GO pretty bad. At some point, I realized it was a choice between being embarrassed because I had obviously peed myself, or being embarrassed because I was obviously off squatting on the rocks to relieve myself. (This is where it would be nice to have male… um…apparatus.) So thankfully, my gracious hubby held up his jacket and I held up my own and was able to reasonably hide whilst answering a different call of nature.
Once that little side journey was taken care of, we were free to enjoy the rest of the trip down the mountain. We arrived back at our vehicle at approximately 12:34 p.m. In total, we had been on the mountain for 6 hours and 11.28 miles.
We headed home that day, but not before eating a nice greasy burger at Wild Bills in Leadville.
I will say that, even though I am a Colorado babe through and through, I was not immune to the serious change in elevation, and definitely needed a Tylenol and a coffee to deal with the headache.
We made a little stop at The Grottos outside of Aspen since we had the time. One of the benefits of your hike being done by midday, I suppose.
It was definitely one of the highlights of the year. Can’t wait to try another one in the near future!
Sarah Bearah 