Trip Report: Mt Belford and Mt Oxford

Date: September 1st, 2013

How many summits can we fit in this year?

Our excitement for climbing 14ers still hasn't wavered, and with the discovery of how fun it can be to sleep in the Element, it's made it even easier to get to a trailhead at night, wake up early, and have the best weather to run.

The next logical group of peaks with Mt. Belford, Mt. Oxford, and potentially Missouri. I tried to find an obvious route that connected all 3, but most reports on the internet said it was sketchy at best, or else really long. I thought we'd get in the first 2 easier peaks, and see if we could find a route over to Missouri.

We drove up to the trailhead the night before, and got the Element set up for sleeping. We met a really nice guy who was camping in his truck next to us, shared some beers, and went to bed as early as we could. The next morning, the sound of people getting ready to hike woke us up. Despite sleeping at the trailhead, we were still probably one of the last people to start out. I guess that's why we run- so we can sleep in :)

The trail wasn't too technical at the start, and we were able to run through the forested sections. As we approached treeline, the sun started peaking out, and we got a gorgeous view of the mountains in the morning light.

After reaching treeline, we continued on the well marked and easy to follow path, using the switch backs to climb higher and higher. Our plan was to summit Belford first, then take the saddle out and back to Oxford.

The rocks were really red

The Summit was gorgeous, and slightly different than other summits, since the rocks were more red. This trail was a lot more crowded than others we'd been on, but Cody continued to be an amazing trail dog, only occasionally begging for beef jerky :)

At the Belford summit, we met a guy that was training for the Bear 100 (which is what Ryan was training for as well). Small world! We then took the saddle over to Oxford.

The summit of Oxford wasn't very summit-like, but it still counts as another 14er for the AdventureDog!

We couldn't find a solid route to Mt. Missouri, and none of the other hikers on the summit knew the way. Since we had already hiked for a while, and our total mileage would be around 11 miles, we decided to head back to the car.  We had to summit Belford one more time before we could head down.  To me, nothing is more draining than knowing your headed back to the car, but still having to climb up another 500 feet before you can begin the descent. Ryan loves it.

Ryan's happy we get to climb again

On the way back down the trail, Ryan took off ahead of me, so he could practice his descending skills for his upcoming race. I had to put Cody on leash to prevent her from taking off after him. Here she is, looking for her Dad:

Back at he car, we headed into the town of  Buena Vista to have drinks and burgers at our favorite restaurant, Eddyline.

Overview:

Distance: 10.97 miles

Total Time: 5:08

Moving Time: 3:54 (21:20min/mile)

Starting Elevation: 9,677 feet

Max Elevation: 14,167 feet

Total Climb: 5,767 feet

Elevation profile:

Trip Report: Democrat-Lincoln-Cameron-Bross

Date: August 2nd, 2013

Apparently we needed a slight break from 14ers after our experience on Longs. We took the rest of July off, but still went on plenty of adventures around Golden and Boulder.

Summit fever struck again in early August, and one day after Ryan finished working at 8pm on a Thursday, we drove out past the town of Alma, parked the car at Kite Lake, and slept in the Element.

Here is the photo report of our run/hike up Mt. Democrat, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Cameron and Mt. Bross:

The Start, from Kite Lake. A cloudy day:

Lots of rocks on the route to Mt. Democrat. The wind was howling- 40mph gusts, at least

Cloudy summit view, down to the valley where we started, on Mt. Democrat

Summit Dog, enjoying the view (Mt. Democrat)

Family Portrait at 14,000 feet (Mt. Democrat) 

The clouds are starting to clear on our way to Lincoln

This trail looked like we were on mars! (Mt Cameron) 

Atop Mt. Cameron, looking over to Mt. Lincoln

The trail up to Mt. Lincoln

The clouds cleared, to give another amazing view of the valley

Mt. Lincoln, another 14er for Cody!

Mt. Bross

Running down from the summit- just a little steep!

Pause for a picture!

Back down on the valley floor

Summary:

Distance: 8.09 miles
Total Time: 3:36:39
Moving time: 2:55:41 (21:43min/mile)
Starting elevation: 12,013 feet
Max elevation: 14,252
Total climbing: 3,635 feet
Elevation Profile:

Trip Report: Longs Peak

Bit off more than we could chew. Date: July 4th, 2013.

Scariest 14er so far. Friends of ours in Boulder invited us to climb Longs for the 4^th of July. Since this one is in Rocky Mountain National park, Cody wasn’t allowed. We had heard Longs was more technical than the other routes we’d done, but we had no idea just how technical it was. Or how deadly. On average, 2 people die on Longs every year!

The first part of the route was gorgeous, winding up tame switch backs that were perfectly runnable. The day was perfect, and we hoped the weather would continute to hold as we got to the top.

            

What a perfect day to hike!

A picture of Me!

     The first main part of the trail takes you up to the boulder field, just above tree line where you hop and scamble over giant boulders to continue on the route.

The Boulder Field

Longs Peak

The view looking out from the Key Hole

            After the boulder field, you make a quick ascent to the Key Hole. I thought this was supposed to be the scariest part of the route- but no, this just marks the beginning of all the scary parts. At the key hole, we stopped to eat a snack, including some yummy potatoes.

Potatoes = Yum

            From the key hole, you begin another stretch called ‘The Narrows’. You follow these bulls-eye signs that mark the ‘trail’. And yes, I put trail in quotes, because this is not a trail, this is precariously walking on rock ledges on the edge of a 1000 foot fall. There are only a few spots where 1 mis-step will lead to death, but for the rest of the route, if you trip a little bit, you don’t have much room for error.

Ryan navigates the Narrows

            Finally, after what felt like hours of slow, slippery progress on the edge of a cliff, we got to an area called ‘the Home Stretch’. From here, it’s just 100 feet up an 80% grade ‘wall’ to the top. At this point, about half of the people around us were turning around because there was still a lot of snow, ice and water on the rocks, making it a very slippery ascent. Without the proper shoes, you could easily slip and fall of the ledge, toppling down another 500-1000 feet. Ryan was up ahead of me, on the wall, and I could see he was not having a fun time- his feet were slipping and we was stuck on a ledge. I decided I wasn’t going up- my shoes were slipping all over the place, and I didn’t have any confidence I could trust my feet to not slip away from me. Oh, and another thing- I’m TERRIFIED of heights. I hadn’t really noticed this before, since I’ve never been up on a ledge on any of our previous climbs. But up here, at 14,200 feet, on a ledge with a 1000 foot drop- I was starting to have a panic attack.

The Home Stretch- there's Ryan, stuck on a ledge 

See that little bulls-eye marking? That's the route. Those little rocks- that's the trail

            We finally got turned around, and could start slowly making our way down these crazy rocks and ledges. Coming back down was harder than going up, because the force of gravity was working to push you over the edge and down the side of the cliff. My hands were getting sore and torn up from using them so much. This was not a very fun time.

            Finally, we got back to the Keyhole and the Boulder field, and everyone from our group was still in one piece. Three of us made it to the summit, while 3 of us decided to turn around. I do not regret my decision. The following week, a kid from Missouri fell to his death, right where I was the most scared.

            The trail back down was great- perfectly runnable, and I was in much better spirits. We all had a really good time running together. I'm not sure if I'll go back to summit Longs. I haven't been terrified of heights since the trip. If I go back, I will definitely bring gloves to protect my fingers on the rocks, and shoes with rubber soles (not plastic- I was wearing Asics get fuiji trail racers- the wrong shoe for wet rocks). 

Overview:

The first 5 miles up to the Keyhole are all wonderfully runnable single track, with a steady switch back grade, and not too many technical areas. Past there, it’s all climbing.
Elevation Profile:

Trip Report: Mt. Evans

Date: June 21st, 2013. Trailhead: Echo Lake

     Another weekend, another 14er! We were able to leave early-ish, and got on the trail by 8am on June 21^st. The weather was looking perfect, once again, and the three of us were in great spirits. Rather than make the trek easy, we started at one of the furthest trailheads, at Echo lake, knowing the route would be about 16 miles. We also didn’t learn our lesson from the last hike, and didn’t bring any trail guides with us in case we lost our route. Such Newbies!

Echo Lake

            Ryan, Jon, Cody and I did some run-hiking for the first 5 miles. Anytime we start above 10,000 feet, I’m happy to maintain a 10-11 min mile, since I still hadn’t adapted to altitude. The trail was gorgeous, taking us through some pine forests, and meadows with stunning lakes.

            At around the 5 mile point, we began the really big ascents. We followed the trail that switch-backed up the side of the mountain. As we stopped to catch our breath, we realized that a herd of big horn sheep were hanging out on the hillside, watching the silly humans try to ‘run’ up a mountain. Cody was amazing- she didn’t show any interest in the sheep (she must not have seen them!).

There really are sheep in this picture- they just blend in so well!

This is the trail. It was steep. Cody didn't even notice.

Chicago Lake

Looking down on Chicago lake from above

            We took a food break at the Summit Lake parking lot. We hadn’t seen a single other hiker from Echo lake to Summit lake, so it was interesting to pop out of the trail, into a parking lot filled with people and cars!

Summit Lake

Looking down on Summit Lake

            Finding the next part of the route was a little tricky, and we spent the rest of our time navigating over lots of rocks, trying to find the route. Here’s where having a route description or guide would’ve been helpful, because we started to summit something that was not Mount Evans. We finally got used to looking for cairns, and managed to keep making progress on the correct trail. Cody was a champ at the rocks- this time, we really had to climb up, and in a few spots, she needed a boost.

Cody- part dog, part mountain goat

Route finding

            After what seemed like hours, we eventually made it to the actual summit. Again, after seeing only a few other hikers for the last hour, we emerged at 14,000 feet into a huge parking lot, with REAL bathrooms, cars and motorcycles. The final 300 foot climb to the summit was like a Disneyland route, but I was happy it exists, because it allows people who aren’t as able-bodied to see the incredible summit of a 14,000 foot peak.

View from the top

Summit Dog!

The saddle trail over to Mt. Bierstadt

            After enjoying the views and the steady wind on the summit, we went over to see why everyone was hanging around this older building. Turns out, mountain goats live there! There were some baby twin mountain goats and their parents hanging out, posing for pictures. We went to check them out, and Cody was amazing again- completely ignoring the wildlife. The little baby mountain goat got a whiff of Cody, and got nervous, scrambling up the rocks and away, until his Mom let him know it was OK.

Crying for his mom!

            The scramble down the summit was a lot harder than our previous descents. We didn’t have any snow to slide down, and the rocks were slippery. We also had been up past 14,000 feet for almost 2 hours at this point, and all 3 of us humans were starting to feel loopy and uncoordinated. Ryan and Jon had run out of water, so we had to stop at a mountain stream for them to fill up.

Running down from the summit

Mr. Mountain Goat, posing on a rock

            By the time we got to an area that was more runnable, my legs were exhausted and I was low on fuel, so we couldn’t quite run back as hard as we would’ve liked to. Finally, we made it back to the car, after a vicious 300 foot final ascent. This was the first hike that tested our limits a bit- from the difficult route finding, to the additional time spent at higher altitude, we were pretty happy to be done. Our expectations were that this was supposed to be ‘easy’, but maybe now we’ll finally learn that there is NO easy 14er!!!

Overview:

If you start at Echo Lake, you can get a lot of good trail running in for the first 5-6 miles. If you’re a beast (like Ryan and Jon), you may even be able to run up to 7 miles- but it’s really steep. The remaining climb gets a bit technical, and requires more scrambling. I'd suggest wearing cheap gloves that you don't mind running, to help protect your hands when scrambling over rocks.

Details

Total time: 7:09

Moving time: 5:09 (18:19 min/mile). Again- a TON of time taking pictures!!

Starting elevation: 10,409 feet

Max elevation: 14,304 feet

Total ascent: 5,571 feet

Elevation Profile:

Gear

My essential Brooks LSD lightweight running jacket, Salomon Speedcross and my Nathan hydration vest. Ryan wore his Ultimate Direction Wasp vest and his Salomon sense Ultras.
Cody wore her UltraPaws boots to protect her feet on the hike, and rocked her Julius K9 harness.