Day 2 – Summit Day
Morning was most unwelcome, but we let it in none the less. The sunrise was amazing. We were both dehydrated. The altitude was still getting to us, and we were both out of breath just by walking around.
It wasn’t until AFTER breakfast that we realized we accidentally woke up at 4:30 AM. 5 hours of sleep was enough though, as it turns out. Breakfast consisted of leftover Filet and eggs, with onions and Scotch. Not Bad. While cooking breakfast we heard some people walk by on their way to the summit, likely attempting a day hike. We left our tent and main packs behind, and left with our summit packs, consisting of water, a jacket, a couple snacks and camera.
Mt. Elbert includes 4 false summits, and each one is disheartening. The false summit makes the real summit seem much further away than it is. Summit day included approximately 2 miles of hiking, however the altitude makes this much more difficult than usual. False summits 3 and 4 were especially tough, and both of us had to take frequent breaks due to dizziness and headaches.
This is where my camera battery died. I brought spare batteries, but stupidly left them at base camp. I was most displeased. So the next pictures are the top!
The summit was great, and a good place to catch our breath. it was fairly full, with a handful of other hikers there with us. This at gave a few people to snap some photos for us at the top. After approximately 30 minutes at the top, we hiked back to base camp. This hike was MUCH easier than on the way up. Half way back to base camp, a girl had slipped and hurt her ankle. Her and her group were sitting on some big rocks and we decided to stop and chat. We didn’t have much first aid equipment to give her or her friends, but we passed the last of the scotch around and she said she felt much better!
The hike down went fast, actually VERY fast. We went from base camp to parking lot in about 2 hours. It turns out it was a good thing we did, because as promised, an early afternoon thunderstorm rolled in. At least 20 people were still on the mountain behind us.
The drive back to Leadville was restful. We were both tired, and probably hypothermic, and definitely affected by the altitude. I had a severe headache at this point, which I’m sure my pounding boots during the sprint off the mountain didn’t help. We head straight to a local diner in leadville and ordered huge reubens and coffee. I did feel better after coffee, but still only at 50%. Mark drove to Denver where I hooked us up with a top floor room at the downtown Sheraton. We arrived in the lobby in a mud covered jeep in our hiking clothes, which I’m sure the hotel appreciated.
That night Denver was fun. We walked out of the hotel into downtown, and began our hunt for good beer. We walked past a few placed, and decided to eat at the Rock Bottom Brewing Company, which was a very good choice. Multiple beer samples, some good food and pool.
And that concluded our trip. The trip was fun, but In hindsight I wish I had planned in one extra day. We had unfortunately chosen Frontier Airlines for our return flights, which was a HORRIBLE decision. The Frontier ticket counter line to check bags was 2 hours long, which caused us to miss our flights. Of course, Frontier thinks this is our fault, and we should have been there three hours early. HAH. This caused both of us to buy last minute tickets with different airlines out of pockets. I eventually had to file a BBB complaint to get my refund. OK, rant over. Moral of the story is, I should have flown Southwest.
The return flight with United included a dramatic thunderstorm, and some great clouds to view. I think the cabin pressure threw off the camera altimeter.
I definitely recommend Mt. Elbert as a quick weekend hike! We had a great time. There are a few trip variations we considered that you should certainly try. Consider hiking from Mt. Elbert to the summit of Mt. Massive, and then back to the trail head. The two summits were only 3 miles apart. You may need one extra night to accomplish this depending on your speed. Also, consider adding 3 hours to the return drive back to Denver so you can drive to the summit of Pike’s Peak. Its a scenic drive and host to an annual hill climb race (automotive). Good hiking!
-Tim