Before our good friend Dennis fled the state for good, we decided to drag him up the highest point in the
state. Lisa and I had tried (and failed spectacularly) Elbert as our first 14er, and I had climbed it
without her in 2004, so this was also Lisa's first time up. Dennis, and our new friend Jake, did
admirably climbing up the tallest point in Colorado. Our trail was not very busy (maybe 50 people tops),
but once we reached the summit it was absolutely packed!
Our route took us 8.7 miles (round trip) and up 4,250 feet over the course of 7.5 hours (we lounged quite a bit on the summit with 100 of our closest friends)....
Jake and Dennis gear up
Crossing the small stream above our parking spot
The sign marking the trailhead has seen some better days...
Finally popping up out of the forest yielded this view to the east
Dennis points to our final destination - the summit of Elbert
Jake and Dennis catch their breath
Reaching the summit, with about 100 others
A marmot stops his digging for a photo op
Brian and Dennis, looking contemplative
The view from the summit to the south and west
The USGS marker on the summit
Relaxing for a while on the summit
Brian, Lisa, Dennis, and Jake
Dennis begins his descent...
Dennis and Jake high above the Arkansas River Valley
Leadville
Looking across Box Creek at the Northeast Ridge (the standard route up Elbert) Our trail had probably 50 people on it...the NE Ridge route looked much much busier
