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| Hiking | 9.58 Miles |
4,483 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.58 Miles | 6 Hrs 40 Mns | | 1.76 mph |
| 4,483 ft AEG | 1 Hour 13 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I had originally planned to hike Mt. Elbert in July of last year, but a variety of circumstances prevented that from happening; so, for the last year, I've been letting everyone know that it was happening this July, no matter what. After keeping a close eye on the weather forecast, I saw a stretch of good days that fit my schedule, booked a hotel for three nights, and drove up to Leadville on Thursday.
I got to the trailhead just before 5:30am and got started. The parking lot was already over half full, and everyone getting ready to start was in a great mood. The weather was beautiful--long sleeve shirt was plenty warm enough. On the way up, I was aiming for slow and steady, no thoughts of my speed. Even though I felt like I was moving very slow, I was actually passing far more people than were passing me.
Walking through the trees was okay, but my preference is actually more open trail, partly because I like the views and partly because I like to be able to see my progress. Once above the treeline, I was far happier, taking lots of pictures along the way. The people on the trail were quite entertaining, including one girl who was carrying her cat to the top in a mesh pet carrier. I ended up walking the last mile or so to the top with a very nice couple from Longmont. We were going the same pace, and had a pleasant conversation along the way.
Once at the top, I had a snack, took lots of pics, updated instagram, then headed back down. The hike back down was pretty easy, although it was murder on my right knee. I wore my lighter brace, which was a mistake. It was funny to see the difference in moods between the people headed back down vs those headed up. Great day for my first 14er! |
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| Stop crying and just go do the hike. |
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