Last Thursday, I climbed Mount Bierstadt (14,060ft). It was my second peak above 12,000ft for the year. I was accompanied by two new hiking buddies, Rob and Jody, who I met on MyFitnessPal. Rob and I met Jody in Georgetown early in the morning and then drove up to the top of Guanella Pass. I was relieved to find the winds had calmed down quite a bit from when I was up there on Memorial Day. It was still a little windy but much more tolerably so. The temperature was a bit cool, but it felt very nice once I started to heat-up from hiking up the steep mountainside.
Mount Bierstadt is one of the easier 14ers in Colorado. Mind you, easy is a relative term here, as it is 3.5 miles one-way and about 2850ft gain. There were a few patches of snow closer to the top, but they were fairly easy to traverse. We made it to the summit in about 2 hours and 40 minutes. We relaxed for a bit at the top to take in the beautiful scenery, and we signed the registry. It took us about 2 hours to get back down, and the weather cooperated fully. It was just another day I feel truly blessed to live in such a beautiful place.
On our way back, we stopped in Genessee for a couple of slices of NY Style Pizza, a beer, and some chit chat. Rob and Jody were great hiking buddies. They offered interesting conversation, fun company, and most importantly had positive attitudes. We all agreed to make our Thursday 14er climbs a ritual.
On a personal level, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself feeling a lot better than I felt on the two 14ers I climbed last summer. I did not feel any altitude sickness at all. My legs were definitely burning during the hike, and I had some cramping later that night. However, I had no soreness whatsoever the day after, and I even went for a short run.
I'm anxiously looking forward to my next adventure above 14,000ft.
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| Mt Evans, the Sawtooth, Mt Bierstadt |
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| Guanella Pass |
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| Sawatch and Tenmile Ranges |
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| Mt Evans |
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| Rob, Jody, and I at the summit |
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| The Sawtooth - daring people traverse this ridge to Mt Evans |
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| Mt Evans and Abyss Lake |
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| Frozen Lake and South Park |
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| The summit and with a view of Grays and Torreys Peaks |
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| The Sawtooth |
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| Square Top Mountain |
wow joni, would love to do something like that. I can see why you love it so much, its beautiful!
ReplyDeleteKellyB :)
Wow! You do live in an amazingly beautiful place, Joni! I would love to visit Colorado. I have a friend in Boulder who I met in Guatemala 3 years ago and I wish all the time I could go see her. You never know, I could show up in your neck of the woods some day!
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