We climbed a mountain today. All the way to the top. The actual summit where we had a 360 degree view of the world. It was amazing. There is nothing like the feeling of being on a summit. This is our third summit ever and all those emotions came flooding back. The effort that goes into reaching a summit is unlike anything else I’ve ever done.
We woke up early and made our way to the trailhead. The trailhead for Estes Cone is actually the starting point for Long’s Peak. It was humbling knowing that the first steps we took today will be the same as the the ones we take when we tackle Long’s years from now.
The hike started fairly intense. It always takes me about one mile to really find my pace, to figure out the breathing, to get the right muscles warmed up, to feel the hike. Well, when you are climbing a mountain those first two miles can be pretty rough. It was somewhat steep and my legs were pretty tired from the hikes the last two days. But I kept up with the rest of the family.
The hike itself was pretty short, only 7.2 miles out and back, so once I found my groove things got REALLY steep. The last 2 miles were literally straight up the side of the mountain. For some reason they didn’t put in switchbacks. Hiking over the rocks and the roots took extreme foot care. The last 600 feet or so were just boulders. I actually love the bouldering. It’s fun, it’s risky, it is full of adventure.
There were two false summits just before the final summit. We had to scramble to it, in fact Ellie led Zoe and I up a pure sheet of rock. I have no idea how our feet and hands found the right notches, but we somehow did. We reached the very tippy top and took it all in. Seeing the pride and excitement in the faces of Zoe and Ellie make each step worthwhile. I’m proud of myself, but I am blown away at what they accomplished. My 8 and 10 year old daughters climbed a mountain today.
After taking in all we possibly could, we started the decent. Going down is most definitely quicker, but it isn’t easy. Especially at the top where it is so steep and rocky. But we took our time, except when we didn’t and one of us would fall, then we took our time again. We stopped and had an early picnic lunch before finally reaching the bottom. For the past half dozen hikes or so Zak and Ellie wrap each one up by running the last tenth of a mile. Zoe and I joined them today and it really felt like we were crossing the finishing line. It was an exhilarating way to finish.
When we did Mount Elbert a few days ago I did an accurate job explaining Ellie’s attitude. It would be an injustice to her to not tell you about her attitude today. She was positive, fun, hard working, and inspiring. She was often our leader and really worked her bum off. It was a complete attitude adjustment from Elbert and I’m so proud that she’s my daughter. It probably should be noted that we did bribe her with calamari. But I’m still damn proud off her.
**We stupidly forgot the camera today so only have cell phone pics.
