Last weekend, I achieved a huge milestone! We made it to the tallest point in Colorado (the second highest in the contiguous United States) – the summit of Mt. Elbert, 14,433 feet. This hike was a bit brutal, with 4,700 elevation gain and a total of nine miles to the summit and back. Plus, we faced much more ice + snow than we were expecting.
It was pretty cool to hike along the Colorado Trail for a little while (a 500 mile trail that goes from Denver to Durango), and who can complain about walking through aspens in all their fall glory? It seems like it takes forever to get above tree line, but once you do, the views are crazy. You are literally above everything else that you can see! Our state is certainly a stunner.
I’m going to be totally honest and say that I was pretty miserable for most of this hike. It was steep and exhausting and took all day in the freezing cold and biting wind. Our tradition of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the summit was hurried because we wanted to rush back to lower elevation where there was less wind and more warmth. I wish I could have enjoyed it more. But I’m SO glad that we made it + that it pushed me way out of my comfort zone (this was one of the most mentally challenging 14ers I’ve done due to the cold + steepness).
This was definitely one of those adventures that was hard while we were in the midst of it, but was super rewarding afterwards. And now I can say I’ve made it to the tallest point in Colorado!
Have you ever achieved something you never thought you’d be able to do?
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Those views look absolutely amazing! Congrats on the achievement, that’s a heck of a lot elevation gain in such a short distance. I probably would have been suffering during a hike like that too.
Thanks Adina! And I was being a total baby about it, but to be fair it WAS an intense climb 😉