Elevation - 14,420 feet
Round Trip - 13.5 miles
Wikipedia:
Mount Harvard is a 14er in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is the third highest mountain in Colorado, and also the fourth highest mountain in the Contiguous United States. It is located in the Collegiate Peaks, part of the central Sawatch Range of Chaffee County, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the town of Buena Vista. The Harvard Crimson, flagship newspaper of the mountain's namesake university, wrote that: "despite its height, climbing up Mt. Harvard is hardly a death-defying experience. 'It's an undistinguished lump on a fairly undistinguished range; it just happens to be very high,' says John C. Reed of the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver. Reed, who has climbed the mountain once, describes it only as 'a long walk'. Nor is the view from the mountain especially scenic, compared with Colorado's other 54 mountains above 14,000 feet. 'In terms of being spectacular, Mt. Harvard would not be really high on the list,' Reed says." I added the above section from Wikipedia because I thought it pretty much summed up my thoughts exactly!
Earlier this week Josh and I made plans to hike Mt Shavano on Saturday. As the day grew closer, the weather forecast for Mt Shavano called for "a blustery day, gusts upwards of 40 mph, and wind chill as low as -15 degrees". Understandably, I didn't "warm up" to that idea. So, Friday afternoon Josh suggested we check out Lake Kroenke, a lake outside of Buena Vista that he frequently had sent people to but never had visited himself.
Since we were just hiking up to the lake for the day, we hit the trailhead at around 8 a.m. - late as far as serious hiking is concerned. After all, we had brought our tripods with us since this casual trip was all about getting out and taking some pictures. After hiking for a little bit, we quickly realized that the weather forecast had been wrong. Dead wrong. Like, 180 degrees wrong. The sky was completely blue and without a cloud. The wind was calm, and if it hadn't been for a small amount of snow on the trail you could have told me it was June and I would have believed it.
Two miles in, we came to a fork in the trail. Left took us to Kroenke Lake, right to Mt. Harvard. Since the weather was so nice, we decided to go right, and reevaluate the potential ascent at Bear Lake further up the trail. The weather was holding at the fork in the trail at Bear Lake so we decided to stay right again. The hike was on.
As mentioned above, there wasn't anything in particular that stood out to me on this hike. I remember thinking at the end of if that I hadn't taken many pictures along the way. I guess that's why. However, I learned some good things from this trip. I would characterize this trip as "valuable experience", not necessarily entertainment. That is, this was one of those trips that I gained more then just a few photographs. First, peanut M&Ms make a great energy snack. I was pounding them by the handful, literally. They easily fit in my pocket and I could grab as many or as little as I wanted without stopping. Except for a Red Bull and diluted Gatorade, they were all I ate and sustained me the entire tip. Second, I like my new camera a lot. It's the perfect size and rode in my right pant pocket the entire trip. Third, my L.L. Bean boots dominate. Previously I had worn 3/4 top trail cross-trainers. These boots are waterproof, surprisingsly lightweight, and supportive and durable. I quickly realized that my previous choice of footwear had made my previous hikes less then enjoyable. These boots forced me to use the large muscles in my legs instead of the smaller stabilizing muscles in my ankles and calves. Additionally, I could step anywhere without fear of twisting an ankle or stepping on a rock. I hardly felt any of the mountain on this trip. Previously, in cross-trainers, my feet took a pounding but after this hike they hardly feel walked on. I can't thank my Dad for the M&Ms, but I can thank him for the camera and the boots. The boots in particular made this a much more enjoyable trip! Thanks Dad!
Due to the time of year, we had limited daylight. The last hour or so out were done in darkness. Of course, we had both been smart enough to bring headlamps, so it didn't make much of a difference. In the end, the entire half-marathon trek took us 10 hours. Around town, I could probably walk the 13.5 miles on level ground and at a reasonable altitude in 4 hours. What made this route so long was the 4,600 feet in elevation gain. Brutal. There are other 14ers that you could do twice in one day and probably still not match the mileage and elevation gain that this trip gave us.
I had a great time with Josh and I thank him for his willingness to make a day out of it. Considering the holidays are coming up, I won't be out again until 2009. This trip was a bit spontaneous, but it allowed me to reach the goal I had set for myself back in January to hike 5 14ers this year. Enjoy the pictures. The pictures loop through twice because I wanted to share this entire song with you.
Music by Phil Wickham (Divine Romance)