Mt. Elbert
Date: July 12, 2012
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 9 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4,390 feet
Time: 5 to 7 hours
Location: Leadville, Colorado
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: None Required
Trail Conditions: Damp to Dry to the top.
Hiking With: Myself

I usually do something distinctive for my birthday and this year I decided to hike up the highest peak in Colorado, Mt. Elbert at 14,440 feet. This peak is the second highest peak in the lower 48 states behind Mt. Whitney, but is pretty much unknown beyond the state of Colorado. Elbert is a non-technical climb, but can be dangerous if you summit late and get caught in the afternoon thunderstorms.

I picked up my wife Linna at the Denver airport the day before my hike and we drove over to Leadville, it’s the nearest city to the Mt. Elbert north trailhead. We stayed at Motel 8, not a great place but it was only 10 miles away from the trailhead. Leadville is an old mining town that has a certain cool factor to it. It had been raining and lightening all the way into town and I was a little worried about the weather for my summit bid. By the time I woke up at 4:00 a.m. there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

Linna wasn’t hiking with me so we decided that it would be better if she dropped me off at the trailhead and pick me up when I finished so she could keep the car to check out the small historical city during my death march. I got started at the trailhead at 5:30 a.m. and started off with my headlamp until it lightened up some. I must admit I was a little spooked at first being by myself in the dark on a new trail for me. When I was asking people at the hotel about the recommended time to start, I was getting all kinds of answers; it ranged from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.. If you start by daylight you will be fine. The trail started off fairly easy but got much steeper after ½ mile in. I live at 300 foot elevation in Seattle, so my body wasn’t acclimated to the altitude and I could feel it affecting my body some as I was picking up elevation. The north trailhead where I started is at 10,050 feet and summit is 14,440 feet…so you already start in the clouds.

It was a steady steep climb and I made it to the summit less than 3 hours. There were two people already on the summit so I had one of them use my iPhone to snap the official summit picture. I called Linna to let her know I had summited safely and I would be back in three hours. I also called the office group back in Seattle and they all wished me a happy birthday over the speakerphone. On the descent I called Linna about ½ hour before I was at the bottom for pick-up. She was waiting there for me with a large Americano from the local coffee house.

After changing my sweating clothes at the trailhead, we headed for Aspen where I would spend the rest of my birthday.