Elevation Gain - 3,450 feet
Time - 5 hours
It had been over a year since I had last been at 14,000 feet and almost two years since I had really hiked a 14er. It was time to get back out there. I also wanted to start hiking the easy 14ers by myself, so this day was reserved on the calendar in advance.
I had a busy week at work and had sprinted at field day about 12 hours prior to leaving the house, so it was a good thing I had packed in advance. I left home about 3:30 in the morning to make sure I was on the trail shortly after sunrise. The drive wasn't too bad - only a short two and half hour trip to just outside Breckenridge.
I picked this peak because it's one of the easiest 14ers in the state. You can walk right up to the top. I also knew there would be many people and cell service on the trail, just in case. I chuckled at the sign posted at the beginning of the trail that warned people "there are no easy 14ers". In the end it wasn't easy, but it was probably the easiest one I have done so far. Although I wasn't going that fast, I constantly passed people and made it to the top in just under two and a half hours.
I wasn't expecting much in terms of scenery, so I was pleasantly surprised at the views and wildlife. There were hundreds of people on the trail, so my solo trip was far from it. Towards the top I met up with Andrew and David from Denver, and we just ended up hiking together the rest of the day.
We also ended up hiking with two mountain goats. They weren't afraid of anyone. They probably see hundreds of people every week. We took a picture of the mountain goat at the summit with Andrew's sign for the goat's photo album, but he didn't seem interested in getting a copy.
Although I'm tired and sore, I'm glad that I did it. Next month I want to finish up a trip that I wasn't able to complete a few winters ago due to weather. It will be a good place to stop before the snow returns since it will mean I've made it to the top of one-third of the 14ers in Colorado.
