We finished our first 14er. And it was awesome.
A 14er is a mountain that exceedds 14,000 feet above sea level. There are 53 14ers in Colorado.
We decided to camp the night before our hike so we could get an early start in the morning. Guanella Pass Campground was only a few miles from the trail head so that seemed like a great option. There are 18 campsites and apparently half of the spots can be reserved in advance and the other half are first come first served. We were really hoping we would make it there early enough to find a spot, but no such luck at 5:30pm on a Friday. It actually was a blessing in disguise because those spots were a bit too close to other campers (although they did have bathrooms...that must be nice). We pulled off the side of the road a few minutes away from the campground and marked our territory.
Our campsite seemed so glamourous - we camped one other time this summer with a group of friends but that was hiking camping, not car camping. Having unlimited blankets, pillows food, etc. was quite the luxury this time!
We thought if we woke up at 5:15 on Saturday morning we would have plenty of time to eat breakfast, pack the car and get to the trail head early. We go to the Guanella Pass Trail Head at 6:45 am and there were already 100+ cars! Apparently people leave Denver around 4 or 5 in the morning to get there bright and early.
Our hike started at 11,669 feet, only 2,850 vertical feet to go! The sun was rising behind the mountains and since the whole hike is facing west, it was beautiful.
About ten minutes into the hike, we passed a small lake where two moose were bathing! Great start to a morning. The first 1/3 of the hike (about 1.5 miles) was relatively flat (although I didn't think so at the time). Once you reach about 12,500 feet you see the Sawtooth and the valley below it. Stunning views, but at this point the remainder of the trail becomes quite rocky and steep.
We were finally a few hundred feet from the summit, but it was so cold we had to get our wind breakers out. We already had on fleeces, gloves, and hats. Probably around 45 degrees with strong winds (it was August).
The last part to the summit is basically straight up, climbing large boulders. It was a bit of a challenge, especially at that elevation but the adrenaline definitely kicks in! You're so close to the top; it's an exciting feeling. The hike up took about 2.5-3 hours, with several stops along the way.
We finally made it to the top of Mt. Bierstadt. 14,060 feet! We enjoyed our PBJ lunch (it as 9:30 in the morning but felt like it was 3pm) and started our journey back down the mountain. I was surprised how difficult the climb down was; it took us about 2 hours to get down!
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