Pulling into the pass parking lot, at first we couldn't figure out where the trailhead was...we were looking on the west side of the road. It didn't take us long to turn ourselves around and look up...ugh...Beirstadt is big. But alas, this was the goal...one step at a time...
Starting above 11,000 feet, we were above the treeline. We were very nervous that we might have to cancel the hike after seeing the snow on Pikes Peak earlier in the week. While there was some snow here around 13,000 - 14,000...it wasn't enough to cause any problems. This was a great time of the year for this hike.
The trail was about 7.5/8 miles round trip...and around 2,500 feet vertical. Termed a good beginner mountain. The trail itself was very well used, and there were only a few parts that were more difficult to navigate towards the top. We didn't have too much trouble with the elevation, but I would say we moved a little slower than usual. So proud to say that we didn't get passed on the way up! In fact, we did some passing!
Above 13,000 feet, there were definitely more rocks to navigate. And about 13,500, it became more of a rock scramble. We did not find the geological marker, but another woman on the summit did. If you look closely, it even has ROB stamped on it!
14,065 feet - we did it.
You could see Mt. Evans (another 14'er) next door (to Rob's right).
I suppose that next time we are in Colorado - another 14'er will be on the list. We did purposely put this on the last day so we could get our bodies adjusted to the altitude; it was also smart as it would have been hard given our colds at the beginning of the week.
The more we visit the beautiful state of Colorado, the more we love it. I suppose when you have mountains to climb on the weekend - life must be pretty good. We traveled through some very historic towns...we saw a number of ski-resorts (without snow), and we took TWO MORE national parks off the list! We wish we would have had our pups, but there were plenty of other four-legged friends around to keep us happy - Colorado is very dog friendly. :)
5 comments:
Congrats on a successful climb!
Congratulations on your 14er - this is one of the handful I climbed when I was younger and fitter.
Congrats on your first 14er. Glad the altitude didn't get to you. More will come now.
Hi KT,
Glad you had a great time in Colorado. You certainly chose a lot of great hikes!!
I climbed Square Top Mountain, which is right across the road from Beirstat on 10 September. How ironic to be so close in reality (and not the blogosphere) in both time and space!
Amazing pictures! Looked like a great trip!
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