Every high point is so different from the next. I could read trail reports all day long and still never know what to expect.
Mt. Elbert, 14,439
I climbed Mt. Elbert about two weeks ago. Not only was it my first 14er, it was also my first time being higher than 6,000 feet above sea level. I've always loved getting as high above sea level as possible. The mountains on the East coast never got me even half as high as Elbert did.
Reading up on 14ers, I knew that this would be a challenge. I knew that, while the trail may be well marked and a relatively "easy", it would still be hard. I read reviews and trail reports calling the hike "easy" (one even said they had taken their 4 year old kid up with no issues. I call shenanigans).
We started at about 10,000ft so we still had 4,000+ of gain over the next 4 miles. The first mile or so was fine. Flat, well marked, little elevation gain. Once I hit tree line, I knew I was in trouble. After 4 false summits, almost 3 miles of 3,000 foot elevation gain and lots of negative thoughts, I summited, accompanied by Sullivan and our roommate Nikki.
It was a new kind of emotional for me, since I had never considered giving up on any summit attempts before this one. I am fully aware that my little New England peaks are merely hills compared to some of the mountains I'll have to climb before I finish highpointing. I was relieved, happy and a even little dizzy, due to the altitude. I knew that I was only halfway done and that was really frustrating for me. I felt like I was in good shape, but Elbert told me differently. It was as if my New England mountains lied to me, telling me I'm capable of any mountain I try to climb, while these 14ers told me differently.
South Dakota, 7,244
A week after Mt. Elbert, Sullivan and I headed up to South Dakota and camped in the Black Hills National Forest. We saw Mount Rushmore (definitely a little underwhelming, but still pretty neat) and car camped in my crappy little Coleman tent (I really need to invest in some better backpacking equipment). The hike up Harney Peak was real easy. It only took about 3 hours roundtrip and was easy on our legs. The views were incredible, though. About halfway up we took a snack break and enjoyed views of the Needles. We continued on up, hitting a staircase, then eventually the summit. The summit has a cool lookout tower on top, which was a nice break from the sun. We were off the mountain by 3:30 or so and made our way home. I was feeling ambitious and wanted to hit Nebraska's high point, but as fate would have it, it was about 10PM and I was driving through middle of nowhere Nebraska dirt roads, 20+miles from any paved roads and was started to feel a little uneasy. In my head I kept saying "This is how Criminal Minds episodes start.". So I turned around, feeling defeated, tired and cranky, knowing I still had two and a half hours to get back home.
Nailed it!
Panorama Peak, 5,429
Yesterday I had the time, energy and money to head up to Nebraska's highpoint, for real this time. It was a beautiful drive out there, but it got boring. The dirt roads were bumpy and didn't agree that well with my lil Jetta, but we made it! It took 6 hours total. We spent about 20 minutes at the actual highpoint, and took our time on the country roads, stopping every so often to take photos. The actual highpoint was pretty comical... There was a register and a monument surrounded by a metal barrier, probably to keep the bison from destroying it. Did I mention the monument is on a bison farm? Pretty freakin cool, if you ask me. We did see the massive mammals, but from a very far distance. I definitely think Nebraska's highpoint is my favorite of the "small" highpoints I've done (I count anything less than 3 hours as small, so that leaves Rhode Island, Connecticut and South Dakota.) It was just so remote and goofy. Mt. Elbert didn't even have a register or monument, just the geological marker.
Mt. Elbert, 14,439
I climbed Mt. Elbert about two weeks ago. Not only was it my first 14er, it was also my first time being higher than 6,000 feet above sea level. I've always loved getting as high above sea level as possible. The mountains on the East coast never got me even half as high as Elbert did.
Reading up on 14ers, I knew that this would be a challenge. I knew that, while the trail may be well marked and a relatively "easy", it would still be hard. I read reviews and trail reports calling the hike "easy" (one even said they had taken their 4 year old kid up with no issues. I call shenanigans).
We started at about 10,000ft so we still had 4,000+ of gain over the next 4 miles. The first mile or so was fine. Flat, well marked, little elevation gain. Once I hit tree line, I knew I was in trouble. After 4 false summits, almost 3 miles of 3,000 foot elevation gain and lots of negative thoughts, I summited, accompanied by Sullivan and our roommate Nikki.
It was a new kind of emotional for me, since I had never considered giving up on any summit attempts before this one. I am fully aware that my little New England peaks are merely hills compared to some of the mountains I'll have to climb before I finish highpointing. I was relieved, happy and a even little dizzy, due to the altitude. I knew that I was only halfway done and that was really frustrating for me. I felt like I was in good shape, but Elbert told me differently. It was as if my New England mountains lied to me, telling me I'm capable of any mountain I try to climb, while these 14ers told me differently.
We did it!
Necessary.
A new kind of excited.
What a beauty!
South Dakota, 7,244
A week after Mt. Elbert, Sullivan and I headed up to South Dakota and camped in the Black Hills National Forest. We saw Mount Rushmore (definitely a little underwhelming, but still pretty neat) and car camped in my crappy little Coleman tent (I really need to invest in some better backpacking equipment). The hike up Harney Peak was real easy. It only took about 3 hours roundtrip and was easy on our legs. The views were incredible, though. About halfway up we took a snack break and enjoyed views of the Needles. We continued on up, hitting a staircase, then eventually the summit. The summit has a cool lookout tower on top, which was a nice break from the sun. We were off the mountain by 3:30 or so and made our way home. I was feeling ambitious and wanted to hit Nebraska's high point, but as fate would have it, it was about 10PM and I was driving through middle of nowhere Nebraska dirt roads, 20+miles from any paved roads and was started to feel a little uneasy. In my head I kept saying "This is how Criminal Minds episodes start.". So I turned around, feeling defeated, tired and cranky, knowing I still had two and a half hours to get back home.
Awesome views on the way up.
Nailed it!
Lookout tower stairs.
Pond? Puddle?
Panorama Peak, 5,429
Yesterday I had the time, energy and money to head up to Nebraska's highpoint, for real this time. It was a beautiful drive out there, but it got boring. The dirt roads were bumpy and didn't agree that well with my lil Jetta, but we made it! It took 6 hours total. We spent about 20 minutes at the actual highpoint, and took our time on the country roads, stopping every so often to take photos. The actual highpoint was pretty comical... There was a register and a monument surrounded by a metal barrier, probably to keep the bison from destroying it. Did I mention the monument is on a bison farm? Pretty freakin cool, if you ask me. We did see the massive mammals, but from a very far distance. I definitely think Nebraska's highpoint is my favorite of the "small" highpoints I've done (I count anything less than 3 hours as small, so that leaves Rhode Island, Connecticut and South Dakota.) It was just so remote and goofy. Mt. Elbert didn't even have a register or monument, just the geological marker.
On top of Nebraska.
Fields of flowers.
Beautiful dirt roads for miles and miles.
You can't even imagine my excitement as we pulled up to this sign.
On Friday I start making my way back home. I will be hitting Kansas's highpoint, Mt. Sunflower on the way home, as well as Indiana's highpoint, Hoosier Hill. That will make 5 highpoints in one summer, which was my goal. Wish me luck!
