The false summit of Elbert from near the treeline
The false summit of Elbert from near the treeline
Don't underestimate this hike! We definitely did, and we paid for it. Josh started with the goal of "carrying a heavy pack up the mountain, for the exercise". I was carrying a six-pack, because wouldn't that be a great idea at the summit. At the end of the day, I found a towel shoved into the bottom of my pack. And although a towel can keep you warm on the cold moons of Jaglan Beta, and provide comfort on the marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, it's pretty damn useless on Mount Elbert.
Regardless, we started the hike feeling pretty good. It was only 11 miles, round-trip, and we'd spent the night camping at 10,500 feet. And granted, that 6 hours or so was the extent of our acclimatization, since we had driven straight through from Illinois the previous day. But it was 6 more hours at altitude than I had when I climbed Mount Whitney the previous year.
And surprisingly, the first half of the hike went really well. The views were great, and the trail was well-maintained (it's a popular hike), even if it was fairly steep (at least for those of us from the Midwest).
We started hiking around 7:00, and reached the treeline a little after 9:30, where we stopped in a nice little glen to fix up something to eat. Note to self: don't bring canned tuna on a hike again. The can opener on a pocket-knife has a suboptimal design.
Josh and I on the Elbert trail with Mount Massive in the background
After slapping on some more sunscreen, we set off up the sloping meadow, towards the first of three false summits. Not too long into this stretch, Emily got hit with altitude sickness pretty bad, and she and Joe decided to head back down to the trailhead
Josh and I soldiered on. Quickly, we realized that it would be a good idea to drop some weight, and the beer was the first and most obvious casuality. We opened each one, took a swallow (that first swig is always the best, anyways), and dumped the rest. As we moved further up the mountain, we decided to move all our unnecessary equipment (like that damn towel!) into Josh's pack, and leave it behind for the remainder of the ascent. After dropped probably half of our weight (we were that bad), and fashioning a camelback into a canteen to keep the weight even, we headed up the final stretch.
Josh on the ridge crest near the summit
Finally, around 1:30 or so, we came up over the final crest, and stood on the top of Colorado. We snapped a few pictures and tried to sign the register. Unfortunately, the register was on the verge of disintegration, presumably since the hike is too popular for the Forest Service or whoever maintains the thing to bother collecting it so often. We shared the summit with a dozen others, or so, and a few more people arrived as we were there.
Standing on the top of Colorado
We made good time down to the treeline, where, as on Whitney, I got altitude sickness again. Finally, after a few hours of feeling awful and descending incredibly slowly, I puked and (again as on Whitney) immediately felt better. We quickly reached the trailhead, and were off for a delicious pizza dinner in Evergreen and a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.