Climbing Mount Elbert

Earlier this year, I was overcome with a desire to go backpacking in Colorado. I had been once before when I was 19, but at that time I was out of shape and didn't enjoy the trip as much as I should have. My dad loves hiking so I gave him a call and he was immediately interested! He and my older brother William decided on Mount Elbert in CO. Neither of them had hiked it yet, and because it is the highest point in the Rocky Mountains.

We left on Friday, July 31st at 5am. We drove through Texas, New Mexico and into Colorado in about 15 hours. Throughout that whole drive, we never listened to music once! My dad and brother are incredible history buffs and I had the best time listening to them talk about the settlement of Texas, Comanches, other Native American tribes and more. Hard to believe, but the drive really flew by!

We got through the mountain passes and drove right up to the trail head and set up camp. I was stunned by how beautiful the aspen trees and scenery were. Not to mention the refreshing cool mountain air!

Aspens

Refreshing scenery!

First campsite

William and me

The next morning we took our time eating breakfast and packing everything up for our first hike. It was about a 3.1 mile hike, fairly easy with a few ups and downs, but I was thankful for the time to get used to the thin mountain air.

Stunning mountains

Me and dad

We set up our second camp, made a fire, ate and had a great time talking and being together! That next morning we woke up at five, ate breakfast and emptied our packs of everything but snacks and water. Today was the big hike to the summit of Mount Elbert. We started off great while below timberline, but every single step was uphill. As we climbed higher, air got thinner, and we would have to pause more often to catch our breath. Finally, after getting above timber line, we had some of the most unbelievable views. 

Mount Elbert Trail head!

There she is!

At timberline

As we were heading up, William started to feel short of breath and light headed. He decided to catch his breath and focus on feeling better while dad and I continued up to the summit. As we started along, the trail became steeper, with more rocks and loose footing. At several points we were climbing up the face of the mountain on all fours, heavily relying on both our hands and feet. Once we stopped to catch our breath and stared up at how impossibly far we still had to go. I said, "Dad that looks so intimidating, how are we going to do this?" he laughed a little and replied "One step at a time."

And that's exactly how it went. Each step was thought out and difficult, but I had a driving force inside me pulling me to the top of the mountain. I had to do it. We climbed, stopped to breathe, climbed, stopped to breathe. We would assess how far we had to go, get motivated, and get up.

As we neared the summit, other hikers coming down started saying, "You're almost there!" or "It's worth the view!". Then finally they began to say, "Congratulations!" 

We were there. 

The highest peak in the Rockies and we were standing on it. Surrounded by such wonder and majesty, tears began to well up in my eyes. The view of nature that was before us lifted me so spiritually and overwhelmed me so emotionally. It was incredible.

Just a little steep!

Snow!

Gig 'em Mt Elbert!

We made it! 

We stayed up there awhile, enjoying the view and taking pictures.

I kept thinking to myself, this is something in life where you have to be rough and tough to be able to see this. Anyone can get on a plane and visit a new city, or get in a car and drive to a monument. But there is only one way up this mountain, and that is climbing. Using everything we had physically and mentally to get there, I am proud of myself and proud of my dad! What a testament to the benefits of healthy living, that at 55 he could accomplish this with me. And even kicked my ass on the way down!

The air was so thin, we were very light headed, dad even felt blurry vision a few times. The hike down was almost as challenging as going up. I slipped and skidded several times, which is frustrating when I was trying so hard to make every step careful and cautious. We reached William and hiked back to camp. The total hours of climbing and hiking were a little shy of nine hours. We were exhausted!

We all laid down and never really got back up the rest of the evening! But that night around 2:30 am I woke up shaking, my teeth chattering, my joints stiff and achy. I thought I had a fever because my skin felt so hot yet I was freezing cold. I woke my dad up because I was getting scared about how sick I felt. He told me all my symptoms matched up with altitude sickness. I never would have even considered how painful and miserable altitude sickness could make me feel! I took ibuprofen and my dad rubbed my shoulder until I fell back asleep. Funny how no matter how old you are, feeling sick immediately makes you need your parents!

The next day I still felt pretty crummy and we still had to pack up our tent and hike back to where we parked the truck. I trudged along not feeling great, but getting in the car and heading to Aspen I began to feel a lot better. The drive though the mountains to Aspen was beautiful. We got there, checked into a hotel, showered, put on clean clothes and ate. I felt like a new woman!

We had a great time exploring this beautiful historic ski town, looking at shops, the Catholic church, the courthouse and eating at local restaurants. That night sleeping in a warm bed was heaven! This backpacking trip was everything I had envisioned and more.