Mt. Elbert (or The Attack of the Precipitation)

The highest of all the 14ers is Mt. Elbert, which stands at 14,440ft. It is also the 2nd tallest peak in the contiguous United States. Lucky for me, it's also one of the least death-inducing peaks out there, for both people and cars. I drove to the trailhead the night before my hike, and slept in my backseat. This was surprisingly comfortable, probably because I am short and it was raining. When I woke up around 6:30am, it was still pretty cloudy, but I was hoping the clouds would burn off as the sun came out. In the meantime, the clouds gave the area an eerie sort of look, like ghosts were floating around the mountains.



Aside from the weather, it was a really pretty hike, and although it's a popular trail, it wasn't very crowded, due to the fact that I was climbing on a weekday.


Pretty wildflowers in the tundra above treeline

The first couple of miles were pretty easy going, but then the trail turned steep and rocky. There was a lot of talus, and pretty soon I was passing people who had passed me further down on the trail. I may not have speed or long legs, but I do have determination! The weather was starting to look better, and I had high hopes for a beer on the summit. Then, about 15 minutes before I hit the top, these massive clouds rolled in, and it started to get really windy. By the time I summitted, you couldn't see anything from the top of the mountain, and I was getting hailed on. I decided to nix the usual celebration, and just took a couple of quick summit shots, relished being higher than anyone else in Colorado at that moment, and ran away from the nasty weather.


Look at that view!


My travel buddy with the summit register

I couldn't wait to hit the protection of treeline. Of course, there were several miles of rain, sleet, snow, and driving winds between me and treeline, so I got moving pretty fast. Once I hit the trees, I at least wasn't getting rained on anymore, and the weather cleared up enough that I was dry before I got back to my car. I drove back to Leadville for some warm food (mmmm... cheeseburger and a shake) and wi-fi, and then I drove to the trailhead for Mt. Sherman, the next 14er on my hitlist. Even though the weather was less than ideal, it was a good day in the mountains- I got some nice views before the weather hit, I summitted the tallest peak in the Rockies, and I got to soak in some of the outdoors (literally!). What more could you want?