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This fall I went with two buddies from work out to Colorado to try our hand at hiking some 14ers. What is a 14er? Colorado has something 53 peaks that are over 14,000 ft. Hence the name 14ers. Check out www.14ers.com for some good info and pictures. Before you think we are Everest level alpinist (is that even a word?) keep in mind that most of the hikes start at around 11,000 ft, so there is actually only about 2,000-3,000 ft of actually vertical gain. Difficulty ranges from easy hikes to really exposed extreme stuff. Everything we did was in the “easy” range. We saw guys in their late 70s, little kids, and even a weenier dog out there.
The plan was to fly out to Colorado for a 5 day trip over Labor Day weekend and hike a total of 4 peaks. A bit ambitious yes, but we were ignorant sea level dwelling creatures who didn’t fully appreciate the effects of hiking at 14,000 ft. The itinerary was pulled together by Jonathan who had never been at altitude before. Luckily we had Justin going with us who had been out to Colorado many times hiking 14ers.
Flew into Denver late on a Wednesday night and picked up our rental Jeep. I gotta ask, why is it that Jeep makes the claim they are “Trail Rated?” What is that crap anyway? Like that holds any real meaning. Trail rated by who? Jeep? Well if those are the rules then this web site is “Integrated Software Advancement Rated ©.” It is the only website in world to receive that rating....... anyway..... back to the trip. Picked up some supplies and headed west toward the mountains. Our first crack at a 14er would be Mt. Bierstadt. One of the easiest 14ers. Drove up to about 11,000 ft that fist night to set up camp. Didn’t get to the campsite until about 11pm and it was about 25 deg out. It was surprising how much effect the altitude had on just setting up camp. I was out of breath putting up my tent. Was this foreshadowing?
Here are trip reports and pictures for each day of the rest of trip:
Day 1 - Mt. Bierstadt
Day 2 - Unplanned Rest Day - Hike to the Lake
Day 3 - Mt. Sherman
Day 4 - Huron Peak (minus 1)
Day 5 - Rock Climbing Near Boulder
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