State Highpoint Number Eleven:
COLORADO (11)
Date: Monday, June 19, 2000
Peak: Mt. Elbert
Height: 14,466 feet
Vertical Climb: 5,000 feet
Round-trip Mileage: 9 miles
Peak Class: #6
Height Rank: #3 of 50
Difficulty Rank: #9 of 50
As difficult as the Arizona highpoint had been, I was hooked that summer and flew back to Colorado the following month to try my first 14,000-ft peak--Mt. Elbert, which is the third highest mountain in the United States. I drove north and turned left towards Twin Lakes and checked at a cabin for a room but nobody was in the office so I continued on. I stopped at the Nordic Inn where Devin and I had stayed years earlier and Twin Lakes now has a couple of souvenir shops, a new restaurant, and the post office is now a general store. Called the Mt. Elbert Inn and was surprised to find a room for $48. Drove four miles on and c
hecked in for two nights. It’s an 1800s stage stop---just like the Nordic Inn---and I got the neatest tiny room. It has antique furniture, no TV and a balcony on the back where I can sit outside and watch the river or look at a beautiful view of the mountains.
The room is decorated really neat and the lady was super nice. She is familiar with all the trails around here---one of the trailheads for Elbert is just across the road. They also will leave out a “hiker’s breakfast’ at 5:00 am on the day I hike and she gave me really good information.
I checked into the room and then drove back down to the Twin Lakes Campground. I found the trailhead (there are three for the peak) for Elbert but then drove up the wrong gravel road for quite a ways.
Drove back down, found the right road and drove maybe a mile up. It will save me a couple of miles when I hike. I got out and hiked for one hour and it was tough but I didn’t get sick or suffer too much trying to breathe so I’m going to attempt it tomorrow.
Drove back down and stopped at Twin Lakes. I checked at the restaurant at Nordic Inn and the German woman was still there who gave Devin and I a rubarb pie once. Ate at the Windspirit Café and had a great chicken wrap in some kind of reddish tortilla with lots of vegetables and salsa. Really hit the spot and I was thirsty after the hike. I had seen this guy behind the café at a garage where I had had a guy remove a rock from my brake disk back in the early 80s. His name was Tom Sawyer and he was from Pearland and this guy looked a lot like him. While I was eating in the café, he came in and the waitress called him “Tom” and I started talking to him. He didn’t remember me but I’m sure it was the same guy. Talk about a small world! Drove up and visited the cemetery above the town.
Drove back to the room and hiked up the trail there for 25 minutes then walked down by the river and sat awhile. Packed for tomorrow and took a shower---this is a European bath arrangement---they even include a robe.
Sat on the balcony for a long time and watched the sun going down. Around 8:10 it started thundering and we had a shower but it soon went away. It’s cool but not really cold. I think I’ll sleep with the window cracked open.
Monday---June 19
Set alarm for 5:30 and got up and ate a bagel and drank some orange juice but left most of the “hiker’s breakfast” there since I didn’t want to start with a full stomach. Drove over to the Twin Lakes Campground the weather looked beautiful. Drove up the trailhead path and parked the car and started hiking at almost exactly 6:30.
Followed the rest of the road on foot and then started into the trail. After a short distance I came to the trail junction with the Colorado Trail and signed into the trail register. I noticed there was one person ahead of me this morning. The trail immediately became more strenuous and wound through aspen groves for a considerable distance until it turned into evergreens. Continued uphill---very strenuous---for a distance and then it started to rain. I got into a grove of evergreens and managed to stay completely dry. Put on my sweat pants and windbreaker. After about fifteen minutes the rain stopped, the sun came out, and it was beautiful again so I continued on.
Once I got above the tree line, the path split and looked almost like t
wo wagon tracks but was very steep. After about an hour and a half I noticed a hiker behind me and when he finally caught up it turned out he was from Burnet, Texas and had lived in Colorado thirty years. He looked to be in his seventies but was outdistancing me.
All of a sudden it started snowing and trying to drizzle. The snowflakes were big and melted immediately but the wind had also picked up. I watched the hiker ahead of me stop and put on a poncho. Despite the lousy weather I continued on and it began to sleet---small, stinging pellets of ice that were being blown sideways. Visibility on the mountain top was very poor---most of the time I couldn’t see the peak.
After about two and a half hours the first hiker of the morning was coming down and I saw the Burnet hiker ahead of me talking with him for a long time. Then he continued on and as the first hiker reached me I talked briefly with him and he told me that conditions were miserable on the peak but that he had reached it. He also pointed out a huge snow mass and said the peak summit was about 100 feet beyond the snow.
I continued up and after about three hours the Burnet hiker came down and said it was just too lousy of conditions and that he had all summer to climb Elbert again. Since I didn’t, I talked with him about safety---thunder and lightening---and then decided to push on. After about three and one-half hours the sun came out and the windbreaker was almost too warm. I was very close to the peak and saw two hikers up there who must have come up one of the other trails.
My breathing was excellent and my legs were tired but still going strong so I knew I was going to make it. I just knew the good weather break would get me up there.
By this time I was in tundra and all of a sudden it turned ugly again. Snow and sleet began blo
wing sideways and one side of my pack and pants were covered with ice. Visibility was down to about fifteen feet but the trail was well marked. The wind made it difficult standing upright without leaning. I continued up, walking a few steps and then turning my back to the wind to block the sleet. The going was very slow and I was only going a few steps at a time.
I made it up to the snow mass and knew I was almost there. By the time I got to the upper edge of the snow mass, I knew it was only another 100 feet but the wind had become so bad I could hardly stand and my chest was covered with ice particles and I couldn’t see but maybe ten feet in front of me. All of a sudden I realized I was up there alone and that I was losing feeling in my hands (I didn’t have gloves).
I took a second and thought it out. I know that one or two hikers die on these summits every year and I didn’t want to be one of them. Even stopped, I had to kneel to avoid being blown over. I decided to go back down and at least have a great story to tell. I made it up in 4 hours and 48 minutes.
From the summit to the tree line was miserable. It was obvious now that the conditions weren’t going to improve on this day. Once, because I was pushing so hard and fighting the wind, my legs began to quiver so I got behind a huge boulder and tried to rest. When I took my backpack off, it was literally covered with a sheet of ice.
I continued down and if anything the weather worsened. At one point it was sleeting so hard the trail path began to fill up with white pellets. Finally I made it back down to the tree line and it began to warm up and I was sheltered from the wind. At one point, I removed my sweat pants and windbreaker just as it began to rain. Continued on down in a light drizzle but didn’t care at that point.. Signed out of the trail register and made it back to the car just as it started pouring down heavily. Total trip time was 7 hours, 38 minutes and 11 seconds. On the scramble down the mountain, I slipped four times but didn’t fall once---which was much better than Humphries Peak.
Because of the dirt road and the rain, I didn’t rest but drove down to the campground without any problems and then drove into Twin Lakes and ate another of the lunches I liked so much at the Windspirit Café.
By this time, it was literally pouring rain and lightening and thunder---at least I missed that on the trail. Ate lunch---very good again---and drove back to the lodge. Showered---long hot shower---and took an hour and a half nap. I had made it to within 100 feet of Elbert’s summit.
Got up, drove into Leadville and it was pouring rain again. As nasty as I’ve ever seen it in this area. Got to Leadville about 5:45 and everything was closing up. Bought a Denver Post and walked around a little, but it was just miserable outside. A bank sign said 48 degrees.
Drove back to Twin Lakes and stopped at the Nordic Inn and had a German supper—kassler ripken. It was really storming outside and the restaurant was warm and cozy but the food wasn’t really that great.
Drove back to the lodge, read awhile and fell asleep around 9:30. Woke up once around 1:00 and stayed awake for a while and then went back to sleep.
Date: Monday, June 19, 2000
Peak: Mt. Elbert
Height: 14,466 feet
Vertical Climb: 5,000 feet
Round-trip Mileage: 9 miles
Peak Class: #6
Height Rank: #3 of 50
Difficulty Rank: #9 of 50
As difficult as the Arizona highpoint had been, I was hooked that summer and flew back to Colorado the following month to try my first 14,000-ft peak--Mt. Elbert, which is the third highest mountain in the United States. I drove north and turned left towards Twin Lakes and checked at a cabin for a room but nobody was in the office so I continued on. I stopped at the Nordic Inn where Devin and I had stayed years earlier and Twin Lakes now has a couple of souvenir shops, a new restaurant, and the post office is now a general store. Called the Mt. Elbert Inn and was surprised to find a room for $48. Drove four miles on and c
hecked in for two nights. It’s an 1800s stage stop---just like the Nordic Inn---and I got the neatest tiny room. It has antique furniture, no TV and a balcony on the back where I can sit outside and watch the river or look at a beautiful view of the mountains.The room is decorated really neat and the lady was super nice. She is familiar with all the trails around here---one of the trailheads for Elbert is just across the road. They also will leave out a “hiker’s breakfast’ at 5:00 am on the day I hike and she gave me really good information.
I checked into the room and then drove back down to the Twin Lakes Campground. I found the trailhead (there are three for the peak) for Elbert but then drove up the wrong gravel road for quite a ways.
Drove back down, found the right road and drove maybe a mile up. It will save me a couple of miles when I hike. I got out and hiked for one hour and it was tough but I didn’t get sick or suffer too much trying to breathe so I’m going to attempt it tomorrow.
Drove back down and stopped at Twin Lakes. I checked at the restaurant at Nordic Inn and the German woman was still there who gave Devin and I a rubarb pie once. Ate at the Windspirit Café and had a great chicken wrap in some kind of reddish tortilla with lots of vegetables and salsa. Really hit the spot and I was thirsty after the hike. I had seen this guy behind the café at a garage where I had had a guy remove a rock from my brake disk back in the early 80s. His name was Tom Sawyer and he was from Pearland and this guy looked a lot like him. While I was eating in the café, he came in and the waitress called him “Tom” and I started talking to him. He didn’t remember me but I’m sure it was the same guy. Talk about a small world! Drove up and visited the cemetery above the town.
Drove back to the room and hiked up the trail there for 25 minutes then walked down by the river and sat awhile. Packed for tomorrow and took a shower---this is a European bath arrangement---they even include a robe.
Sat on the balcony for a long time and watched the sun going down. Around 8:10 it started thundering and we had a shower but it soon went away. It’s cool but not really cold. I think I’ll sleep with the window cracked open.
Monday---June 19
Set alarm for 5:30 and got up and ate a bagel and drank some orange juice but left most of the “hiker’s breakfast” there since I didn’t want to start with a full stomach. Drove over to the Twin Lakes Campground the weather looked beautiful. Drove up the trailhead path and parked the car and started hiking at almost exactly 6:30.
Followed the rest of the road on foot and then started into the trail. After a short distance I came to the trail junction with the Colorado Trail and signed into the trail register. I noticed there was one person ahead of me this morning. The trail immediately became more strenuous and wound through aspen groves for a considerable distance until it turned into evergreens. Continued uphill---very strenuous---for a distance and then it started to rain. I got into a grove of evergreens and managed to stay completely dry. Put on my sweat pants and windbreaker. After about fifteen minutes the rain stopped, the sun came out, and it was beautiful again so I continued on.
Once I got above the tree line, the path split and looked almost like t
wo wagon tracks but was very steep. After about an hour and a half I noticed a hiker behind me and when he finally caught up it turned out he was from Burnet, Texas and had lived in Colorado thirty years. He looked to be in his seventies but was outdistancing me.All of a sudden it started snowing and trying to drizzle. The snowflakes were big and melted immediately but the wind had also picked up. I watched the hiker ahead of me stop and put on a poncho. Despite the lousy weather I continued on and it began to sleet---small, stinging pellets of ice that were being blown sideways. Visibility on the mountain top was very poor---most of the time I couldn’t see the peak.
After about two and a half hours the first hiker of the morning was coming down and I saw the Burnet hiker ahead of me talking with him for a long time. Then he continued on and as the first hiker reached me I talked briefly with him and he told me that conditions were miserable on the peak but that he had reached it. He also pointed out a huge snow mass and said the peak summit was about 100 feet beyond the snow.
I continued up and after about three hours the Burnet hiker came down and said it was just too lousy of conditions and that he had all summer to climb Elbert again. Since I didn’t, I talked with him about safety---thunder and lightening---and then decided to push on. After about three and one-half hours the sun came out and the windbreaker was almost too warm. I was very close to the peak and saw two hikers up there who must have come up one of the other trails.
My breathing was excellent and my legs were tired but still going strong so I knew I was going to make it. I just knew the good weather break would get me up there.
By this time I was in tundra and all of a sudden it turned ugly again. Snow and sleet began blo
wing sideways and one side of my pack and pants were covered with ice. Visibility was down to about fifteen feet but the trail was well marked. The wind made it difficult standing upright without leaning. I continued up, walking a few steps and then turning my back to the wind to block the sleet. The going was very slow and I was only going a few steps at a time.I made it up to the snow mass and knew I was almost there. By the time I got to the upper edge of the snow mass, I knew it was only another 100 feet but the wind had become so bad I could hardly stand and my chest was covered with ice particles and I couldn’t see but maybe ten feet in front of me. All of a sudden I realized I was up there alone and that I was losing feeling in my hands (I didn’t have gloves).
I took a second and thought it out. I know that one or two hikers die on these summits every year and I didn’t want to be one of them. Even stopped, I had to kneel to avoid being blown over. I decided to go back down and at least have a great story to tell. I made it up in 4 hours and 48 minutes.
From the summit to the tree line was miserable. It was obvious now that the conditions weren’t going to improve on this day. Once, because I was pushing so hard and fighting the wind, my legs began to quiver so I got behind a huge boulder and tried to rest. When I took my backpack off, it was literally covered with a sheet of ice.
I continued down and if anything the weather worsened. At one point it was sleeting so hard the trail path began to fill up with white pellets. Finally I made it back down to the tree line and it began to warm up and I was sheltered from the wind. At one point, I removed my sweat pants and windbreaker just as it began to rain. Continued on down in a light drizzle but didn’t care at that point.. Signed out of the trail register and made it back to the car just as it started pouring down heavily. Total trip time was 7 hours, 38 minutes and 11 seconds. On the scramble down the mountain, I slipped four times but didn’t fall once---which was much better than Humphries Peak.
Because of the dirt road and the rain, I didn’t rest but drove down to the campground without any problems and then drove into Twin Lakes and ate another of the lunches I liked so much at the Windspirit Café.
By this time, it was literally pouring rain and lightening and thunder---at least I missed that on the trail. Ate lunch---very good again---and drove back to the lodge. Showered---long hot shower---and took an hour and a half nap. I had made it to within 100 feet of Elbert’s summit.
Got up, drove into Leadville and it was pouring rain again. As nasty as I’ve ever seen it in this area. Got to Leadville about 5:45 and everything was closing up. Bought a Denver Post and walked around a little, but it was just miserable outside. A bank sign said 48 degrees.
Drove back to Twin Lakes and stopped at the Nordic Inn and had a German supper—kassler ripken. It was really storming outside and the restaurant was warm and cozy but the food wasn’t really that great.
Drove back to the lodge, read awhile and fell asleep around 9:30. Woke up once around 1:00 and stayed awake for a while and then went back to sleep.
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