My first 14er, and other wild adventures

It is summer in Colorado! And what a glorious summer is has been so far. With this being my first summer in Colorado and with a full-time job, I've been more intent than ever on trying to take good advantage of my weekends and be an outdoor weekend warrior. Here are the updates from some recent wilderness adventures: 

Mt. Elbert - 14,439 feet / 4,401 meters

On Saturday, 11 July, myself and four friends from school hiked and summited our first "14er", Mt. Elbert. Mt. Elbert is the highest peak in Colorado, and the second highest peak in the contiguous United States, behind Mt. Whitney in California. Four of the five of us hadn't yet climbed a 14er, and three of the five are leaving the state at the end of July, so we figured we might as well go for the biggest of them all! I must say, we chose wisely.

On Thursday night, I packed up all my gear, and once I got home from work on Friday and the whole crew gathered at our house, we took off like a shot (okay, not entirely- we had to stop for some groceries and dinner on the way out of town) and headed for the woods. 

One of my recent REI purchases was an ENO hammock setup, and after having it for a month and not using it, I was determined to take advantage of this great piece of outdoor equipment. Not only did I finally use it on this trip, I freaking slept in the dang thing! My friend Camden also brought his hammock, and he kindly showed me the ropes of hammock camping. What a great way to sleep in the woods! It was great to fall asleep with the stars in full view and wake up gently swaying between the trees under sun rays in the early morning. I highly recommend hammocks to anyone who likes to be outdoors. I cannot wait to sleep in that thing again soon!

'Twas a beautiful morning in the forest at 10,000 feet in elevation.

Once we got ourselves up, filled with coffee and oatmeal, packed, and onto the trail in the morning, it was just before 9am. Kind of a late start for a 14er, but we hustled our way as fast as we could to the tree line. Our pace slowed considerably once we made it to the high-alpine meadow at about 12,000 feet. The scenery was breathtaking, though, with the colorful wildflowers and lightly snow-covered surrounding peaks highlighting each degree of visibility along the trail.

The last third of the mountain was a big challenge. There was scree and boulders large and small to be climbed over and scrambled up, and the altitude was making my brain feel a bit like a pressure cooker. Time seemed to slow down and the only focus was on the next plodding step and rhythmic, deep breathing. I didn't get a headache, tingly limbs, or any other signs of altitude sickness, nor did any of the others in the groups, so we slowly made our way to the summit, drinking liters of water along the way (I had four liters in our seven total hours on the hike!), and arriving at the top just after 12:30pm. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and a perfect, comfortable temperature. We took a quick food and water break and then made our way back down to avoid the ever-possible afternoon snow or thunder storms. 

The Korbel Mt. Elbert summit crew!

At the top of my second mountain!

Views from the summit

The cute marmot we saw on the way down!

While the trek down the mountain was significantly easier, given the descent in altitude, all of our knees were killing us with the steep grade! We made it down at around 4:00pm, though, and although completely exhausted, we made our way into Leadville, CO, to refuel with dinner before the 2-ish hour drive back to Denver. 

The high altitude made much of this hike seem like a dream, but the feeling of being at the summit  at over 14,400 feet and taking in the lower peaks, tree lines, and passing clouds all around was a stunningly clear moment in time. I'm incredibly happy that the five of us were able to get together for such a fantastic camping/hiking/summiting weekend! I'm also so grateful to be in good enough shape to attempt such an adventure, to have legs that work well to carry me to the top, to have good friends to help motivate me up the mountain, and for the beauty that abounds in this state. I can't wait to hike and enjoy another 14er soon!!

Bierstadt Lake - Rocky Mountain National Park

At the end of June, two friends and I made a day trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and went for a hike to and around Bierstadt Lake. Although we didn't see any elk in the Park, we did see some deer and two bald eagles. The hike to and around the lake was relatively easy and fairly short, only about 4 miles total, but we had fun wandering, being goofy together, lunching along the trail, admiring the lake and nearby mountains, and spending a gorgeous day in the wilderness. It's such a treat to have as amazing of a national park as RMNP just a couple of hours away from Denver! I look forward to many more adventures here, especially since I purchased a year-long National Parks Pass. I have many more national parks that I need to explore!

Summer concerts - The Cave Singers at the Larimer Lounge, Charles Bradley/Belle & Sebastian at Red Rocks, and Rusted Root at the State Bridge Amphitheater

One of the best parts about the summer is live music. In June, I was able to see several awesome shows, including The Cave Singers! The Cave Singers is one of my favorite groups, and they're originally from the Seattle area. I had been wanting to see this band since my third year of college in 2010, and I had tried to go to their shows in Seattle on at least four occasions, but they were either sold out or something came up and I couldn't make it to the show. As soon as I saw that they were going to be playing in Denver, I knew I had to drop everything and buy tickets. The show was a blast, and I'm so happy I finally went to see them! They played hard, I danced hard, and the whole crowd was loving the show. I even got an awesome band shirt with an outline of Washington State on it, so I was an absolutely happy show-goer. I hope they come to Denver again soon; I would definitely see them again.

I was also spontaneously treated to my first concert at Red Rocks by a friend in late June. After two years, I finally made it to this iconic concert venue! We saw an awesome funk/soul/R&B singer named Charles Bradley, and then the main act was Glasgow-based group Belle & Sebastian, who played with the Colorado Symphony. It was a gorgeous, clear night, and the scenery from the amphitheater must be seen to be believed. What a great part of my introduction to summer in Colorado, and an excellent memory of a fun night with a good guy. 

Belle & Sebastian take on Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony

A couple of weekends ago, my friend and I met up with two of my good friends from Seattle, who now live in Denver, and we spent the weekend in Summit County, camping on Saturday night right next to the beautiful Colorado River at Rancho Del Rio and enjoying seeing Rusted Root play at the State Bridge Amphitheater that evening. Rusted Root put on a great, rockin' show, and the four of us had a great time lounging at the camp site, making random camp friends, and enjoying our surroundings.

Our camp spot at Rancho Del Rio!

Opening band amidst the gorgeous sunset

Rusted Root rockin' away

Since I'm a water baby, early on Sunday morning, I took advantage to the proximity to a natural water source and took a "camp shower" in the Colorado River. The water was frigid, but gorgeous, and wonderfully refreshing. I stood in the water for a little while and watched the current flow and the birds flit around while singing. It was a wonderful few minutes of meditation in yet another incredible part of this amazing state. 

I'm so grateful to live in Colorado and to have the chance to explore and take advantage of the beauty and adventure that abounds here. I can't wait for more wild adventures in this great state, all summer long!