Hiking Weekend: Mt. Elbert, Colorado

As most of you know,
this past weekend I was flying in to Colorado
to hike Mt. Elbert, and yes,
this time I actually made it!
It all started about a year ago,
when I tried hiking Mt. Elbert for the first time.
Ultimately, after a good 5-6 hours hike
I ended up failing due to the high altitude,
weight over my backpack, lack of sleep, etc.

 I remember that moment like it was yesterday,
I felt kind of disappointed and pissed at myself
for letting go and incredible opportunity to achieve

 something greater than me.
However, I knew I would get another chance at hiking Mt. Elbert,
and this time I was confident enough to make it to the top.
We left Friday around 9pm Eastern Time,
group of 6 hikers with the ambition of completing such a feat.
Once we arrived at Denver, Co,
we made sure our plan went smoothly:
picking up the rental car at midnight,
shopping for food/water supply for our trip,
sleep a good amount of 2-3 hours before starting our hike.
On a Saturday morning,
6am sharp we started hiking our way up to Mt. Elbert.
Here are some fun facts about Mt. Elbert:
The highest summit of the Rocky Mountains,  

the highest point in the US state of Colorado
and the entire Mississippi River drainage basin.
A 14,433-feet mountain with a 9.0-mile roundtrip,
considered the highest peak in the Sawatch Range
and the second-highest summit in the United States.
Sounds like fun, right?
After hiking at a good pace,
I came along with the same resting zone (12,000ft)
I had given up last year,
brought me back a lot of memories,
knowing that I still had a long way to go,
and this time I was not giving up!
Although, it might seem like the next 2,000ft is nothing,
the high elevation and cold breeze starts getting the best of you,
I started feeling a bit nausea,
and the mountain itself starts slowing you down.
I came to the point that I would take my own time,
and hike the rest of trail at a slower pace,
knowing that I was the last one of the group to hike to the peak.
As you climb higher and higher,
there are couple of false summits that will lead you to believe that
you’re closer than you really are.
This was a big letdown to me,
because my mind and body were about to give up one more time,
I knew personally I would be pissed at myself
and that I wouldn’t come back for a 3rd or 4th time.
At roughly 14,000ft I was exhausted, dead, debilitated, weak,
ready to give up for once and all;
two of my friends came up and started pushing me all the way up,
to the point I reached the top of Mt. Elbert!
Believe it or not,
I cried out of relieve and frustration,
because I know how hard and tough this hike was,
for all the time and effort,
it took to reach the top of the mountain.
The views in every direction are simply spectacular,
I took some pictures and to this day
I still can’t believe I made it!
Even though, the hike is 9.0-mile roundtrip,
it literally feels more that than,
took me a good 7-8 hours to reach Mt. Elbert.
On our way down,
we were all tired,
but it was pretty easy to hike down,
still we made it back to
Halfmoon Creek campground in 3-4 hours.
The satisfaction was tremendous,
we had done the impossible  

and completed such a great mountain.
Contemplating on this past weekend,
I really feel proud of myself and these group of friends/hikers,
I don’t think I would have made it without them,
even at our hardest moments,
we all supported and took care of each other,
it was all a group effort and that is the most important
recollection I have from this trip.
Today we can call ourselves Fourteeners
because we hiked the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains,
the highest point in the US state of Colorado,
and the second-highest summit in the United States,

 We hiked Mt. Elbert!