My Third 14er

That's Grays Peak right there. I'm pretty sure it is, anyways. I didn't really know where the trail was leading on the way up.

I wish I had a ton more pictures to share of this trek, but unfortunately despite my best efforts to be totally prepared, one of the things I forgot was to charge my camera battery. So it died shortly after I took this picture.

I did this hike August 31 with a bunch of Boy Scouts and dads. And I'm just now getting around to memorializing it midway through October.

I didn't want to go. Mainly because I spent last Labor Day weekend also doing a 14er - Mount Elbert - and it was mostly a hateful experience. I was sucking wind all the way to the top and my feet got so trashed that every single step on the way down was painful. I was surprised at how difficult it had been - a far cry from the 14er I'd done when I was about 17. I was pretty sure that I was going to retire from doing any more 14ers, especially after learning that Elbert is rated among the easiest of 14ers.

Until this one came up. The Scoutmaster had laid down the law that every scout under the age of 14 had to be accompanied by a parent, so that the scout would have someone to descend with him in case he became ill from the altitude. As luck would have it, my boy does not turn 14 until November.

I determined that I was going to approach this one differently. I didn't know if it would help, but I knew I had to take precautions to hopefully minimize the pain. I knew that I wanted some hiking poles this time around, so I went and acquired an inexpensive pair for about $25. I also splurged on some bamboo socks. And I wore hiking boots instead of my other shoes which are supposedly for hiking but didn't do me any favors last time. The hiking boots were nothing fancy, I've had them for about 10 years and rarely use them for anything other than shoveling snow.

My experience was so much better this time. It was a workout, to be sure, but with breathers and snacks I maintained a good pace, and before I knew it, I was only a couple of switchbacks from the peak! It snuck up on me a little bit - I think psychology plays a big role in 14ers. Mount Elbert was also treacherous because of the endless false peaks.

Here's a picture at the summit. I had to lean on a friend to take a picture of us on top with the Which Wich bag so that we can bring it in for a free sandwich. I'm not including that one here so that you don't try to impersonate me and claim my free sandwich. The weather was nice on top and it was good to just hang out and eat for awhile, unlike on top of Elbert where it was borderline snowing.

Some others of our group also did Torreys Peak. I let my son choose if we did it or not - he chose no. So I'll blame him for our failure to bag both 14ers on the same day! It did look pretty daunting from where we sat, and I believe those who did climb it had to come down right away because the weather was turning.

Coming back down was far less painful than last year. The poles helped immensely, but also my feet and legs didn't hurt nearly as much. I think the whole hike lasted a total of about 8 hours. And when I finished, I was thinking about doing a 14er again rather than cursing the whole experience.

I'll give equal credit to my new poles, my bamboo socks, and my boots. The mental preparedness helped too. Another factor could have been that I spent about 3 of the 10 days beforehand painting the outside of our house, so I was up and down a ladder constantly. Unintentional conditioning? Maybe.

So I've spent a little time thinking about doing it again next year - maybe a family trip next time? We'll see.