One of the best things about being a 'retired' bike racer is that you can do things like hike five 14ers in 8 days, and your coach won't be mad at you! And you can do this any time of the year, as well as ride your mountain bike, camp, lift weights, run, etc...
Here are a bunch of photos, complete with captions, from our most recent foray into the wilderness. We started out near Twin Lakes, which is outside of Leadville, CO. We hit three 14ers in three days, including the highest one of them all, Mt. Elbert. Then we came home to work and went out again, this time to Crestone, CO, to hit Challenger Point and Kit Carson Peak. I'll admit I was nervous for these two peaks, as they are rated "very difficult" in our 14er guidebook. Turns out I don't much like loose, steep scree (which was most of Challenger Point), and much prefer the more technical, but more solid, rock of Kit Carson Peak.
One of the reasons we are ticking off the 14ers is because it gives us a good goal, as well as it brings us to new and different places in Colorado that we might not otherwise see, like Crestone. We are currently half-way through: we've completed 28 summits, and have 28 to go. Differing sources list the total number of 14ers in Colorado between 54 and 58. So we're getting there! Hoping to finish the rest next year, we'll see how it goes...
 |
| Heading up to Mt. Massive, the first 14er of our trip. |
 |
| Mt. Massive summit-unbelievably good weather! |
 |
| View coming down Mt. Massive... |
Mt. Massive took us seven hours to hike. It was 15 miles long, from our Elbert Creek campground, with 4,500 ft. elevation gain. Had the good fortune to see a
long tailed weasel at the summit!
Next up was Mt. Elbert, the tallest 14er. We did this the day after Mt. Massive, and I felt less than stellar. Even after Labor Day, mid-week, there was still a small crowd of people making their way to the top, and not all of them looked athletic. This is why we've started carrying extra food in our packs, in case someone looks like they've bonked and need a snack... Mt. Elbert took us 5 and 1/2 hours, because we spent more time resting and enjoying the view. It was 10 miles long, roundtrip, and we did 4,475 ft. elevation gain. Our mini-guidebook says it's a 'walk-up' but to us, it was more difficult than Mt. Massive.
 |
| Hal multi-tasked: hiking, talking on cell phone, and feeding wild gray jays! |
 |
| Apparently gray jays are very curious and will often land on your hand, seeking food... |
 |
Official height of Elbert is 14,433 ft...we found this sign at the top and someone obviously rounded up!
|
After Mt. Elbert, we broke camp and drove around Twin Lakes to get to the La Plata Peak Trailhead. Because it was late and we were out of camping options, we spent the night at the trailhead. I do not recommend this unless you have to-very noisy, right on the main road, and lots of people pulling up early to get a 3am start.
La Plata Peak was one of our favorites because it was so different than all of the other 14ers. Not that it didn't go straight up, because it did! But because the scenery was so unique; it kept the hike interesting the entire way. We also passed a 70+ year old lady on our way down, who was heading up, and who had hiked all the 14ers. So that made me feel like less of a bad-ass, but also gave me hope for the future! Who knows what we will be doing in 40 years?!
La Plata Peak was a 5 and 1/2 hour, 10 mile roundtrip hike for us, with 4,246 ft. elevation gain. My Uncle Ed just completed this summit a few weeks before us, and it gave me newfound respect for him, as this wasn't an easy one! Lots of steep, off-camber terrain. But again, we loved it! Saw another long tailed weasel, and as we rarely see big game animals, I'm beginning to think our spirit animals are very small, rodent-like creatures, and birds!!!
 |
| Twin Lakes... |
 |
| Cool little slot canyon at the start of the hike to La Plata Peak! |
 |
| Views from the trail... |
 |
| More great weather makes us smile :) |
 |
| Summit of La Plata Peak |
From La Plata Peak, we headed home to work. Hal says he goes to work for 48 hours to get a 'break' from our regular life! Only he would say that firefighting is a break...!
On to Crestone, to camp and hit Challenger Point and Kit Carson Peak in one push. It was one hell of a push, taking us 10 hours and totaling 16 miles. The biggest challenge was the elevation gain for the day, which was over 6,500 ft! Whew! Thank god for hiking poles! If you want an epic day, do both in the same push. Otherwise, there is a beautiful lake, Willow Lake, about 5 miles in. You can set up camp there, and then make for the summits the following morning. This hike was also very different, which is another great thing about the 14ers...They all have their unique beauty, and that keeps it refreshing and new for us each time.
 |
| Heading up, with Challenger Point up to the right |
 |
| Pretty waterfalls |
 |
| Above Willow Lake |
 |
| Summit of Challenger Point-yes, we wore helmets for this one! |
 |
| Looking out from Challenger... |
 |
| Summit of Kit Carson Peak (probably our Christmas card picture!) |
 |
| "The Avenue" leading to Kit Carson Peak (it's much wider than it looks!) |
 |
| More of our 'spirit animals'! Marmot family! |
Thanks for reading, please let us know if you want more information on any of these peaks-we'd be more than happy to share :)
