Hiking and climbing in Colorado - Day 7 of 8
Mt. Elbert, standing at 14,440 feet, takes the crown as the highest peak in Colorado and in the Rockies mountains. It is also the second highest peak in the contiguous US. But although it is 179 feet higher than Longs Peak, it is a much easier hike. The North and South Mt. Elbert Trail are both class 1 trails, extending to the summit from the parking lot in a relatively straight line. According to the guidebook, the normal roundtrip time is only 6 hours.
For these reasons, I set my alarm for 6 am (instead of the 1 am for Longs Peak) this morning. I hoped that we could catch the sunrise above the treeline when we started our hike. However, when the alarm went off, it was still chilly and very foggy outside the van. My hope of catching the sunrise lost, I uncharacteristically turned off the alarm and went back to sleep.
I awoke again at 7 o'clock to the sound of other cars arriving at the trailhead. Looking through the window, I saw three more cars have arrived. I supposed it was time to get moving. Megan and I got up, packing the exact same gear as we had brought for Longs Peak, and set off for the summit. The people who arrived in the other cars were ahead of us.
Half an hour into our hike, we caught up with two other hikers with a large husky. They were both carrying overnight-size packs. Thinking they were carrying climbing gears, I casually inquired if they were going rock climbing. "No, we are just going to the summit. But at 14,000 feet anything can happen, you need to be prepared." I nodded my understanding, wished them a good day, and we passed them. We would meet them again on our way down from the summit, gaining about 2 hours of time on them.
Slowly hiking uphill
Photo: Megan Dunn
An hour from the parking lot, we came above the treeline. The morning mist was a long way below now, leaving us a clear view miles around us. Mt. Elbert was still about 3,000 feet above us. Fresh snow had fallen the night before, covering the trails at higher elevation. The trail was not technically challenging, but the grade was steeper than the Keyhole trail, so even though I had just hiked Longs Peak two days prior, I was still breathing pretty hard. The weather was still clear at this point, not a cloud in sight. But it was windy, and the clouds built with surprising speed. It seemed like one minute I was looking at clear blue skies, then the next minute I looked up there were ominous dark looking clouds everywhere.
The next few hours were spent slowly walking uphill. The fresh snow made some spots slippery, but still nothing technical. We made it to the summit after a long boring slog. The clouds were hanging much lower and darker now, we were afraid that an thunderstorm was imminent. Russell the Moose asked us to take a photo of him at the summit, we quickly did so, then turned around for the hike down without even stopping for food and water.
Dark clouds gathering all around us at the summit
But to my total dismay no sooner than we had left the summit the clouds started to clear. By the time we made it half way down to the timberline it was seemly a nice day again. Oh well, better safe than sorry. There were a few more people behind us going to the summit, but this highest peak in Colorado was certainly not as busy as Longs Peak. The descent to the parking lot was fairly uneventful, save for our encounter with a lost and scared puppy. We had seen the same dog earlier near the summit happily hiking along his owner, so we figured he must got separated from his owner somehow on the way down. The puppy was confused, looking around for his owner, barking and whimpering at the same time. We tried to call him to us and bring him back to the parking lot, but he was scared and didn't want to come to us. Fortunately his owner finally came jogging up the trail looking for him, and he ran to his owner like a bullet, barking happily. A happy ending for all.
The sky is clear again
Photo: Megan Dunn
It was 1:00 pm when we made it back to the parking lot, still early. Megan and I had lunch at a Mexican place in Leadville (I ate half of her food), and then we started driving back to the Boulder/Denver area. I would have liked to spend more time around Leadville, but since we were leaving in two days, it made sense to be closer to Denver tomorrow, so we don't have to drive a long way Saturday night to make our flight.
Another long scenic ride in the mountains of Colorado, we were back to the Front Ranges, spending the night in a little National Forest campground on the Peak to Peak Highway.
Twin Lakes viewed from the summit of Mt. Elbert
For these reasons, I set my alarm for 6 am (instead of the 1 am for Longs Peak) this morning. I hoped that we could catch the sunrise above the treeline when we started our hike. However, when the alarm went off, it was still chilly and very foggy outside the van. My hope of catching the sunrise lost, I uncharacteristically turned off the alarm and went back to sleep.
I awoke again at 7 o'clock to the sound of other cars arriving at the trailhead. Looking through the window, I saw three more cars have arrived. I supposed it was time to get moving. Megan and I got up, packing the exact same gear as we had brought for Longs Peak, and set off for the summit. The people who arrived in the other cars were ahead of us.
Half an hour into our hike, we caught up with two other hikers with a large husky. They were both carrying overnight-size packs. Thinking they were carrying climbing gears, I casually inquired if they were going rock climbing. "No, we are just going to the summit. But at 14,000 feet anything can happen, you need to be prepared." I nodded my understanding, wished them a good day, and we passed them. We would meet them again on our way down from the summit, gaining about 2 hours of time on them.
An hour from the parking lot, we came above the treeline. The morning mist was a long way below now, leaving us a clear view miles around us. Mt. Elbert was still about 3,000 feet above us. Fresh snow had fallen the night before, covering the trails at higher elevation. The trail was not technically challenging, but the grade was steeper than the Keyhole trail, so even though I had just hiked Longs Peak two days prior, I was still breathing pretty hard. The weather was still clear at this point, not a cloud in sight. But it was windy, and the clouds built with surprising speed. It seemed like one minute I was looking at clear blue skies, then the next minute I looked up there were ominous dark looking clouds everywhere.
The next few hours were spent slowly walking uphill. The fresh snow made some spots slippery, but still nothing technical. We made it to the summit after a long boring slog. The clouds were hanging much lower and darker now, we were afraid that an thunderstorm was imminent. Russell the Moose asked us to take a photo of him at the summit, we quickly did so, then turned around for the hike down without even stopping for food and water.
But to my total dismay no sooner than we had left the summit the clouds started to clear. By the time we made it half way down to the timberline it was seemly a nice day again. Oh well, better safe than sorry. There were a few more people behind us going to the summit, but this highest peak in Colorado was certainly not as busy as Longs Peak. The descent to the parking lot was fairly uneventful, save for our encounter with a lost and scared puppy. We had seen the same dog earlier near the summit happily hiking along his owner, so we figured he must got separated from his owner somehow on the way down. The puppy was confused, looking around for his owner, barking and whimpering at the same time. We tried to call him to us and bring him back to the parking lot, but he was scared and didn't want to come to us. Fortunately his owner finally came jogging up the trail looking for him, and he ran to his owner like a bullet, barking happily. A happy ending for all.
It was 1:00 pm when we made it back to the parking lot, still early. Megan and I had lunch at a Mexican place in Leadville (I ate half of her food), and then we started driving back to the Boulder/Denver area. I would have liked to spend more time around Leadville, but since we were leaving in two days, it made sense to be closer to Denver tomorrow, so we don't have to drive a long way Saturday night to make our flight.
Another long scenic ride in the mountains of Colorado, we were back to the Front Ranges, spending the night in a little National Forest campground on the Peak to Peak Highway.
posted by Boer @ 9/23/2005
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