Mt. Elbert is the highest mountain in Colorado at 14,438′. We hiked this with friends on a gorgeous Saturday with an ideal weather forecast. They stayed at Mt. Elbert campground; we had an hour-an-a-half drive, so we left at 4:30 AM to meet them at 6:00 AM. It was an easy drive down the dirt road to the trailhead parking lot. It was full, but we got a spot on the road close to the entrance.
Mt. Elbert from the parking lot.The trail starts off in the woods, pretty gradual with lots of switchbacks.The first view from the trail.The trail gets steeper.You would think that the high point in this picture is the summit, but you’d be wrong. This is a false summit, and the hardest part of the trail. But, we’re not there, yet…The view to the north.Looking back toward the East.Above the treeline the trail gets steeper and is gravelly. There are plenty of switchbacks.Again, the false summit. Look at that vibrant blue sky!Looking back from where we came. It’s leveled out a bit, but the real climb is coming.Looking southeast, with part of the Twin Lakes in view.Getting closer. I powered through all of this; slow and steady, though.Looking northwestThere are the Twin Lakes, with some snow.There’s the summit!The summit was busy, but not as busy as I would have thought for a beautiful Saturday. One group of college-aged people were wearing some pretty interesting hiking attire. There were a few guys wearing dresses, a guy with a bridal veil, a woman wearing a cape, a guy in bright yellow overalls, among others. I wish I had taken a picture of them, but alas. I asked what it was about, and they told me that it was a secret-Santa thing, but instead of getting any gift, it had to be an outfit from a vintage or second-hand clothing store. Then they decided that they would wear their outfit gift on the hike up the highest mountain. What a fun idea!John and I on the summit. Looking around, you can see La Plata Peak, Mt. Massive, and Mt. of the Holy Cross way in the distance. I also saw a snow-covered Snowmass Mountain (makes sense) and the notorious Capitol Peak in the Elk Mountain range.Our friends and us on the summit.A ridge, mountains, and perfect cumulus clouds.Heading back down. I used my poles because of the gravel.Looking back. There’s John!You can see people on the switchbacks going down.
The hiking conditions were perfect, totally different from the previous day. After the hike, we had beverages in our friends’ home-on-wheels, then went to Leadville for dinner at The Leadville Grill and Cantina (I had a chicken quesadilla and don’t recommend), then got ice cream (which I highly encourage, especially after a hike like today’s!).
Adventuring with Mel and John 