|
|
|
|
 |
|
Kim,
Hayden, and I decided to
hike Colorado's tallest
Fourteener, Mt. Elbert.
Hayden and Kim had
camped out the night
before and I met them
early just as they were
meticulously organizing
and preparing for the
trek. |
|
|
 |
|
Hayden
decided on the Echo
Canyon route. Now
there is a route that I
think ends up being
about a four-hour round
trip, however Echo
Canyon ended up being
almost ten hours.
So Kim and I both made
sure to thank Hayden for
his excellent
"route-choosing" skills. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Our path
was fairly
straightforward and we
happened upon some
pretty cool abandoned
mining equipment. |
|
|
 |
|
I got to
see my first mountain
goat and Hayden claims
he saw a bear at the
edge of a forest that
must have been at least
three miles away.
Unfortunately, as Kim
and I caught up to
Hayden's vantage point
the bear had apparently,
"just ducked into the
trees." |
|
|
 |
|
It got a
bit chilly near the top
so we threw on our hats
and raincoats and took a
pause to eat some
sandwiches. |
|
|
 |
|
At the
top we were welcomed by
a summit party of New
Yorkers all talking on
their cell phones and
telling their friends
back home how hard their
three hour hike was to
the top. This was
also, incidentally, when
Kim and I learned about
the four-hour round trip
version of the hike we
were on. And now I
know why Hayden refused
to let me look at the
guide book during our
ascent. |
|
|
 |
|
After
weathering a mini snow
cloud and finally
getting Bugsy, Hayden's
dog, to drop his rock,
we started our return
trip back to the car. |
|
|
 |
|
We did
some controlled scree
surfing and made it down
with no injuries to
report. And with
that, I had completed my
first Fourteener. |
|
|
|
Shopping Cart: |
|
0 Items In Cart |
| Total:
$0.00
|
 |
| |
|
|