Distance - 7.25 miles
Elevation Gain - 3,700 feet
Time - 6 hours
Four peaks in one day. Not bad even though the trip was short and really only two of them counted towards my total. I had already completed Mt Democrat and Mt Cameron really doesn't count as a 14er since it's just an unofficial bump along the route to Mt Lincoln. This trip brought the total up to 20 of the 53 14ers in the state.
I woke up at 3 a.m. and met Eric, a former coworker of mine who was in town visiting from California in the blue hat, at his friend Rich's house. We drove just south of Breckenridge and were on the trail by 6:15 in the morning. I took a few photos, but most of the time the weather didn't make for good pictures. The wind was blowing and we encountered some snow on this trip. Although it didn't stick, the ice crystals hitting your face in the wind made for a colder than expected journey.
Eric and Rich braved the elements in cargo shorts. I guess I should have suggested that they bring more clothes, but the selection was limited for Eric anyway while he was here on vacation. I felt great on this hike, mainly because the pace was a little slower than usual. However, I've also concluded that these trips are just becoming easier because of experience - physically and mentally I know what to expect, and I've also really fine tuned my optimal food and drink.
My knees hurt, but otherwise I feel good. I almost considered mowing the lawn when I got back home on Saturday, to give you an idea how good I felt. I was glad to get these checked off the list. I didn't find it to be that scenic, I had already tried in the winter to hike them and the weather didn't hold, and they were the last few around this area of the state.
I still had a lot of fun even though the hike wasn't much to write home about. It sure beats the alternative.
