Hiking Mt. Elbert

This weekend I hiked Mt. Elbert with Dan. Mt. Elbert is the highest peak in the Sawatch Range and the second-highest summit in the contiguous United States. It is the tallest peak in Colorado. Dan has a goal to hike all of the tallest peaks in the Western states. We began talking about this trip in June when we were hiking in Grand Teton National Park. Originally we considered hiking the tallest peak in Colorado and New Mexico in the same weekend. Then New Mexico instated a rule that all visitors quarantine due to COVID. We pivoted and decided to just hike Mt. Elbert.

We flew to Denver on Friday night. We flew Southwest and the plane was fairly empty. There were ~50 people which was less than half the capacity of the plane. When we arrived we took a shuttle to get our rental car. We rented with Budget and we were confused when the shuttle took us to the Avis building. Apparently because of COVID they have consolidated the rental car shuttle operations. The line to get a car was huge. We spent more than an hour waiting. When we finally got our car we drove to Leadville, Colorado. We spent the night at a hotel in Leadville. We actually never talked to a person at this hotel. We got there ~11:30pm, since we arrived so late they put our key in a little mailbox and we let ourselves into our room. We got up early ~5am and left the key in the same box. They didn’t start staffing the front desk until 7am. 

Anyway, we hit the road at 5:30am and drove to the trailhead. We got to the trailhead and started hiking at 6:10am. The elevation gain starts immediately on the hike, but the first couple of miles are pretty mild with ~500 feet of elevation per mile. The first three miles wind through a heavily forested area on dirt trails. At the three mile mark we hit the tree line. At this point the trail really starts to climb and it becomes very rocky. The total elevation gain on this hike is ~4,400 feet. More than half of it is in the last couple of miles. The trail was nice, but it wasn’t particularly picturesque. 

We went with Dan’s hiking philosophy. We set a good, moderate pace and planned to stop every 45-60 minutes to rest, drink water and refuel. On the more difficult climbs we slowed our pace and chugged along. We were slow and steady. This way we avoided starting and stopping on the really long climbs. It was fairly common for someone going at a faster pace to pass us, but in most cases we would pass them when we got to the more challenging portions. We made it to the summit with only 2 stops on the way up, and we only stopped once on the way down. This allowed us to make pretty good time. Dan also taught me some hiking techniques that were very helpful. One was a force breath. This is where you breath in deeply and then breath out forcefully through purses lips. This creates better breathing efficiency and speeds up recovery. The other was using a rest step. This helps to slow the cadence and rest muscles, particularly when climbing steep portions of the trail. Both of these techniques were helpful on this hike. 

The weather was great. The sky was clear, which is important because afternoon thunderstorms are common and once you are past the tree line there is no cover. It was very windy. The wind was relentless, but I brought a windbreaker so I was fairly comfortable. The wind kept it cool. 

We reached the summit ~9:30am. It was fairly crowded, but we found a rocky spot to relax. We drank some water and recovered before taking a picture at the highest point. We borrowed a sign from a nearby group. I called Alison from the summit, as well. Once we were rested, drank plenty of water, and ate some food we were ready to head down the mountain. Before this hike I invested in trekking poles. It was a great investment. It made coming down the steep portions of the trail so much easier. We made really good time coming down the mountain and made it to the trailhead ~12:45. It felt really good to finish this this 10.3 mile hike. 

This was Dan's 6th Western State high point

There was a large group of hikers at the summit

We changed clothes at the trailhead and drove back to Denver. We considered stopping in Leadville for food, but it was really busy. I don’t know what was going on. It is a fairly small place, but it was happening. Instead we drove straight to Denver. Unlike Leadville, Denver was a ghost town. It was a little bit eery. We parked near the 16th street mall and walked around that area. There isn’t much to do in Denver and there wasn’t much going on. We found a BBQ place and got a platter of meats and sides to share. 

After our meal we headed to our hotel, near the Denver airport. We relaxed at the hotel. We did venture out once more to get takeout from the moonlight cafe, which was next door to our hotel. Otherwise we just chilled. 

We woke up the next morning and headed to the airport to fly home. 

On the way home the plane flew over my house. I always love seeing my house from the air. 

It was a great, quick weekend trip. When we finished our hike I realized that within the past week I completed the longest hike I have ever done (Mt. Timpanogos) and climbed the highest peak I have ever climbed (Mt. Elbert). It was a banner hiking week.