I Have Climbed The Highest Mountain

I revisited a spot from the old 1981 trip this past weekend and did what I couldn't do then. On Saturday, I went to the Leadville, Colorado area and camped at Halfmoon Campground. I needed an early start on Sunday, for I planned to climb Mt. Elbert, the highest mountain in Colorado at 14,433 Ft. I attempted this mountain on the family vacation in 1981, but I didn't have the will power as a 9 year old from Florida to fight through the altitude. I dropped out at around 13,000-foot mark, which is just below the final ascent of the first false summit. I hung out in a rock shelter with my sister and the marmots while my parents and my brother went to the top. I've always wanted to revisit this hike. Now that I live in Colorado, I have the opportunity to do it as a weekend hike.

I was on the trail before sunrise. I had to use a headlamp for about the first mile. The Sun was up by the time I reached tree line. It looked like it was going to be a good day.

The view of the first false summit of Mt. Elbert from just below tree line.

I hike at a pace that I can keep moving. Nothing too fast or too slow. At about the 13,000 feet, I find that the altitude starts to affect my normal pace. I needed to take a break. I found the rocks that we used for shelter in 1981 and took a 15-minute break there to let my body adjust. This time I had the will power to keep going. I climbed the first summit, and the next, and the next. I lost track of all the false summits. I just kept on going till I made it to the top.

Me within 50 yards of the summit of Mt. Elbert. La Plata Peak, a 14er, is visible on the right.

Me on top of Mt. Elbert. (14,433 Ft.)

After hanging out for quite awhile on top and informing Goat Boy through the marvels of technology that he can't bug me about this anymore, I went down. There were lots of people going up as I was going down. I was worried about them, because the clouds were building up. On the way down, the marvels of technology struck again. The Disco Smitty sports service gave me a live report of John Smoltz setting the Braves' all-time franchise strikeout record. I wasn't expecting to hear that on the side of a mountain in Colorado. It started to rain when I got back to tree line. Fortunately for the people who were still going up, there wasn't any lightning in this storm. Plus the weather cleared up after it rained, so they should be all right. I made it down without any problems and drove home. Not a bad weekend.

Happy Trails,
-MM