For me, climbing Mt. Elbert would be the realization of one of my oldest dreams...to climb a Rocky Mountain 14,000'-er. We decided on Elbert not only because it was the highest in the state (and second highest in the lower 48) but because it has a well-travelled non-technical trail to the summit. Neither my wife or I are rock climbers so this was a necessity. We decided on the popular route up the north-east ridge of Elbert. The 9-mile round trip route climbs from an elevation of about 10,000' to the 14,433' summit. Sounds straight forward enough but for a couple of flatlanders the sheer elevation would be a powerful obstacle to overcome. It promised to be a memoravle day on the trail...
10,600' - The trail passed the reamins of an old mining shack about 3/4 of a mile from the trailhead...
10,650' - The trail continued to climb relentlessly...
10,650' - The thick forest even restricted views behind us...
10,700' - The trail tops out at this curious pile of rocks before descending slightly to the upper junction with the Colorado Trail...
10,560' - At the junction with the Colorado Trail this sign pointed us toward the ridge...
10,700' - The sun in the trees above was pleasant...
10,900' - It wasn't until nearly a mile and a half in that we started getting any views...
11,200' - The trail got increasingly steep as it tried to gain the ridge...
11,400' - The relative flatness of the lower idge was a welcome change after two previous grinding miles...
11,600' - A nice little clearing atop the ridge, about a quarter mile before treeline, treated us to some views ahead...
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