A Trip to Remember: Day Seven

Back in February, Jason and I flew to Colorado with a group of people with the intent of reaching the summit of Quandary's Peak, one of Colorado's 14'ers.  It was winter.  There was ice.  And wind.  And extreme temperatures.  And 14,265 feet is really high.  It didn't end well.  If you'd like to read that story, click here.

When we found out that there was a 14'er within driving distance of Castle Rock, we knew we'd need to try to check this off our bucket list.  We needed redemption.  Mount Bierstadt was calling our names. I did a lot of research on this mountain and what we'd need for our little excursion.  Weather forecasts said that although it could be 70 or 80 degrees at the base, the elevation and wind would make the summit near 40 degrees.  We had no idea what to wear.  Reports from other climbers said that a speedy climber could make it up and down the mountain in three hours, that four to six hours was about average, and slow climbers would need longer than that.  We were in pretty good shape, but did that include climbing shape?  I didn't think so.  Oh, and one more thing.  There are storms nearly every afternoon on the mountain, often severe and out of nowhere, and it was advised that you get an early start, get up and get down, and get off the mountain before they arrive.  OK, THEN.

By 7:30am, we were parked and loaded up with gear and snacks and ready to head out.  The road leading up to Guanella Pass, our starting point, was a little bit of a nail-biter, and even though the distance wasn't too far, it took nearly an hour on the winding, climbing road. 

It was a beautiful morning, and it was hard to believe that at some point, we'd be on top of that mountain in the distance.

To start, we actually went down a tiny bit, through a large grassy field. It was quiet a beautiful and you could just barely catch sight of other climbers along the path.  About a mile in, there was a small stream crossing and Jason chuckled as he watched me clumsily cross it.

After that, the climb started.  The path was wide enough for two-way traffic, and we kept a steady pace. Looking ahead, we could see others at different points of elevation.

Soon, things got a little steeper, and we took occasional breaks to catch our  breaths, and take in the view, and to have some yummy snacks Kristi had sent with us!

Along the way, there were several "mini mountains" made of rocks, and I decided it was bad luck to pass one without each adding our own rocks to the piles.  It was just a fun little thing to do along the way, but we made sure not to miss any!

The dirt path turned to all rocks and the climb became steeper still.  It wasn't difficult, but we could definitely tell that the air was thinner up there!

And then, there was snow!  Snow in July!  It was so strange to be in 60-70 degree temperatures and be standing atop snow and ice! 

And then came the hard part.  You know that fear of heights I have?  WELL.  I was suddenly facing that fear head-on.  Just like that, the trail ended, and it was up to each individual hiker to choose their own path to the summit.  Jason seemed to be scampering among the boulders like a native, and I was moving with slow, calculated moves, sure that a loose rock would cause me to slip and fall to my death.  As we navigated the rocks and boulders and the spaces in between, others had already reached the summit and were on their way back down.  I kept telling myself that if people in their upper 70's could climb this, and little nine year old kids could climb this, I could also climb this.  I had to make it.  I was trying not to think about how I'd get back down, and was just keeping my eye on the prize!  We kept going up and up, and at points I was on all fours, being ever-so-cautious, but I was still moving.  And then, we had done it!  We were at the summit of Mount Bierstadt.  14,065 feet!  There was nothing higher surrounding us in that moment, and it was glorious!

We hung out for just a few minutes and then started our way back down across the huge rocks, to leave room for others to make their summit.  After about ten minutes of silent descent, we stopped, and I totally broke down crying.  I had made it to the top of a 14'er.  I had overcome my extreme fear of heights, and I had stood at the top, triumphant.  I told Jason to forget Blue Hole, THIS was the scariest thing I had ever done.

And then came the fun part: we got to fly down the mountain. Well, not actually fly, but while others were just slowly hiking back down, the same way they had come up, we ran.  OK, maybe we didn't run the entire time.  We did stop to take in that spectacular view one more time, and yes, we did stop to smell the flowers.  And although I don't have a photo, we did also spot a marmot lounging in the sun on a little rock ledge, just out of harm's way.  I didn't even know what a marmot was, but I do now!

All the way back down the trail, and over the little water crossing we went, once again.  It hadn't seemed like it had taken 2.5 hours to get to the top, and even though we ran quite a bit on the way down, it had taken us 1.5 hours to get to this point, and we still had a mile to go!  I had forgotten that in the very beginning we had gone downhill slightly before starting our climb up, and in this last mile, the climb out of the valley wasn't really what we needed at that point.  We were ready to be done!

Soon enough, though, we made it back to our car, where Jason had a celebratory beer waiting for him. 

It had been a nearly eight mile round trip, up and down the mountain, and had taken us about four hours and twenty minutes.  We were proud, and happy and content.

After taking the winding road back down from Guanella into the town of Georgetown, we grabbed some lunch at a local brewery.  The Brussels sprouts and Reuben sandwich were both to die for!

With our bellies full and our hearts happy, we headed back to Castle Rock to join the rest of the family.  Of course, everyone wanted to hear all about our adventure and we had a great time, each of us sharing our favorite parts.

For dinner, we headed to a local pizza place and sat outside and just enjoyed our time together.  The cousins were all getting along so well together since we had arrived, making up games to play, staying up late playing board games, and having "sleepovers" in each others' rooms,  and it was clear they had all missed each other.

We heard that later in the afternoon, after we had gotten off the mountain, a storm did roll in, and we were happy that we had gotten up and down it early enough to avoid that!  Even from Castle Rock, we could see the rain in the mountains.  It was pretty strange be sitting outside under blue skies and sunshine when we could see the dark storms just an hour away! In fact, every afternoon we were in Colorado, we saw the dark spots of rain out there.  I wonder if the Coloradans watch these storms daily, or if they just caught my attention because that's not something we get to see here in Michigan.  I was thoroughly enjoying our time in Colorado, and I think the rest of the family would agree.

Stay tuned for more adventures!