Mt. Elbert- AKA- Ignorance & Denial
I would venture to say I am ambitious- not overly ambitious, but ambitous none the less. I like to take a challenge and push myself! I have climbed a mountain or 2 in my day, its what I do... Elbert, was not a mountain- Elbert, my friends, was a mental challenge, full of false summits, creepy darkness and an incline that hurt both ways! But... I DID IT!
This little journey began dark & early at a happy little place known as "Whitestar Camp Ground" (or maybe white flower, or was there actually white in the name?) I was only there to sleep from 10pm-3am, so really I think the name is of no real substance here, but look... now its 2 sentences later! Anyways, I reluctantly wiggled out of my sleeping bag, and started "gearing" up, after hitting snooze at least once. I emerged from the tent of quasi-warmth into the darkness that is 3am. It was cold, it was damp and I was beginning to second guess my sanity! That little moment passed and the 6 of us piled in the the Grand cherokee to start up the 4 wheel drive road, to the trailhead. Bumping over the rocks that loomed on this "road" we finally got to a point where I think we all second guessed our sanity- decided to go ahead, pull off and park (the skid plate had taken enough of a beating) and hike the rest of the way up the "road" to the trailhead. Headlamps in place we began our ascent into the darkness... and it was DARK. Amber and I went along at our steady pace, while the others raced ahead. Traversing through a dense Aspen Grove forest in the black of early morning, is well... a bit scary. I was armed with my massive knife of terror and ready for whatever "creature" might have been lurking in the vast darkness surrounding us! We began to break treeline at dawn, it was a bit eerie, with a fog hovering across the tall grass, and creepy "figures" scattered across the way- we later found out on the descent that they were tree stumps looming in the distance, but at dawn in the shadows, they were anything but harmless trees! We made it past treeline and were in a great spot to view the sunrise over the peaks outlined in the distance, it was awe-inspiring. The only way to describe it was a "sudden burst" of light, cascading over the range to our East! The sun was welcomed as the wind picked up and we had no shelter of trees, a bare mountain side can be brutal, so we gladly accepted the warmth! About this time, Amber and I both realized we had left our sunglasses in the car at the campground- we grumbled and kicked ourselves for a few, before accepting that this was going to be a "squinty" descent- luckily heading up, we were facing west.
We began climbing, climbing, climbing... This lovely mountain had a fabulous "false summit"- we rounded a bend, and BAM there was the "real" top, a good hour+ away. I have to say, when I saw it, I had that fleeting moment of desparity where I thought "UGGGHHH". But we pushed on. I think we sang every church song you could think of that included mountains, climbing, journeys, not giving up, etc. I even think "Victory in Jesus" made its way into the mix! Amber and I definitely took turns boosting eachothers' morale- and we talked alot about how hard it would be to climb alone. Making an ascent is definitely a great way to connect with God and quality time with a good friend! We named ourselves the "honorary trail greeters"- passing on encouragement and making quite a few friends along the way.
We rounded the last switchback and I got a renewed burst of adrenaline- I hauled up the last little stretch, and I am sure I had the biggest, goofiest grin across my face. As I reached the summit and looked back at where I had come from- no words could describe the sense of pride that overtook me, and in the same respect humbled me! I had made it, I had accomplished and it was worth it! We hung out up top a bit, took pictures, ate some sandwiches and decided to head home!
You would think downhill, sure, easy. Well just as much of an incline going up, that same incline kicks your butt going down. Loose gravel, dirt and rocks- made for a slippery slide down. I fell twice, Amber quasi fell once. I never thought we would reach treeline, it looked a MILLION miles away, and just never seemed to be getting closer. Amber kept saying "its not far, once we reach treeline". Well, as I named this mountain earlier- ignorance & denial- was settling in. We reached the trees, with no break on the incline, we kept hiking and hiking and hiking- every bend I expected to see the CT where we linked up and headed back to the 4x4 road. The moment it came into view- I think elation spread thru me- and I practically sprinted out to the road. In case you had forgotten, we had done this whole part in the pitch black of early morning- in daylight the woods seemed endless and when we reached that road, I seriously thought we would never reach the car. We did, but not without a backup plan, in case the rest of the group had headed back to the campsite. When we crossed the creek and saw the Jeep I think I may have been smiling more than when we reached the summit.
This hike proved to be a major mental game- which I won, but not without a lot of prayer, a lot of encouragement and some good tunes swirling in my head! It was epic- and now I can say I have climbed the highest mountain in Colorado, and the 2nd highest in the continental U.S.
All in all 15 miles, 5700 ft + of elevation gain, incline after incline, 1 liter+ of water, 3 Clif shots, 2 Luna Bars, 4 Clif blocks and 1 PBJ and a morning of unforgettable memories brings us too....
My reward- bragging rights, fabulous pictures, a BBQ pork sandwich, shower and an evening at the Broncos game with the perfect weather! All in all- a good Saturday! Can't wait to see what the next adventure holds!
A
