Mt. Elbert - Hazel's first 14er

June 29, 2024

Mt. Elbert 14,438'

Hazel's first 14er

Our friends Mareshah and Joe were set to hike Mt. Elbert for an event called Cops On Top. It's simply a day that the organization tries to get people to state highpoints to remember the officers lost in the field of duty. Since Mareshah is a cop and I have many other friends and family who are as well, I thought it would be excellent to support the cause and climb for those who we have lost. 

I asked Laura if she thought Hazel could climb and in agreement, we asked Hazel if she wanted to go to the Colorado highpoint. She responded yes and what followed was a conversation about how it was going to be hard but that we knew she could do it because she is so strong and amazing. She'd also have others there to celebrate her individual accomplishment as she loved so much when crossing the finish line at her first 5k run.

Sunday morning we all woke at 3 am and made the two hour drive to the Mt. Elbert trailhead. We were hiking the NE Slopes route. The route is 11.5 miles round trip and just over 4,000 feet of elevation gain from the start to the summit. 

I carried Hazel's carrier backpack, understanding that this would be an incredibly long and difficult day for any kid, let alone Hazel, who had just turned 4 less than a month ago. We started hiking the trail a few hours ahead of Joe and Mareshah and progressed nicely. Hazel was excited, and once she got into a rhythm, she ticked off the many steps per mile without any complaints. 

We'd stop often to eat and drink, talk to some other hikers and generally look out at Twin Lakes in the distance below. Hazel stayed positive as her energy levels went up and down throughout the morning and the wind, rain and cold came and went. She wore my down jacket and Laura's rain jacket at one time since she was cold, but she always continued on. She even passed one group of girls who were very impressed at her speed, stamina and determination. 

About one mile from the summit, Mareshah and Joe caught up to us. It was perfect timing since we did not want to slow the rest of the group down. Hazel began to complain about her feet hurting, but with a kit kat candy bar in hand, Joe and I learned that they had "special foot healing medicine" in them! I couldn't believe it, but after eating the candy with the special medicine, Hazel blasted to the summit without any complaint. It took us just 5 hours to reach the summit and Hazel was standing on her first 14er and the tallest mountain in Colorado. 

We are so proud of this little girl for her determination, funny jokes along the trail, laughs, smiles and positive attitude. She did amazing and I hope it was a great experience for her. 

After celebrating on the summit for a while, Hazel asked to be carried down in her backpack. Understandably, she was exhausted and so Laura and I agreed that since she walked every step up, that we would carry her down. 6 miles is a long way for any 4 year old, let alone being at altitude and gaining 4,000'. She slept for half of the descent and was recovered and ready to go again by the time we reached the cars at the trailhead. 

We're proud of you and we love you Hazel!

This happened to be Maresha's 100th 14er summit and Hazel's 1st.

Hazel's First Multi Pitch Climb

June 16, 2024

It's Father's Day! I asked Hazel what she wanted to do today and she said she wanted to go rock climbing! Looking at a few guidebooks, Laura and I picked out a climb in Elevenmile Canyon where the weather would be a bit cooler and we could swim and fish after climbing. 

Turret Dome rises about 500' above the river and holds a lot of moderate rock climbs. We chose the right side cracks, just to the left of the gulley. Getting to the base of the climb, Hazel was super excited and ready to go. Hazel and I put on our harnesses and geared up while Laura flaked the twin 70 meter ropes that had been gifted to Hazel by her friend Roland.

Hazel would be on red, Mom on blue. I tied into both and headed up the 5.0 -5.2 slabs and cracks to a belay about 60 meters up the dome. I set a belay with cams and and yelled down to Laura that they were okay to climb. Hazel started off first while Laura followed behind. She climbed amazing and worked her way up the slabs and cracks without any help at all. I belayed them independently on separate ropes, so Laura followed behind or off to the side, taking pictures and cheering her on. Making it to the belay in about 20 minutes, we high fived and tied her and Laura into the anchor. 

Hazel was having a great time, smiling, singing and telling stories. The height, now about 200' off the ground, didn't bother her at all. She asked questions about why I had to climb while they waited and belayed me and Laura explained while they watched me climb up higher. 

We climbed up a total of 4 pitches, 3 of which were 50 meters or so long, ending nearly 500' above the river below.  The last pitch lead us to the descent gulley where we un roped, ate some candy and celebrated Hazel's awesome accomplishment. 

We're super proud and are happy Hazel enjoyed the climbing and being on a rock climb with her Mom and Dad. Now we will start looking for more!

After climbing, we descended the gulley back to the river and had a short lunch before blowing up tubes. Hazel and I did laps floating down the river while Laura watched and took pictures. 

We finished off the day fishing and grilling dinner at the picnic tables by the river. 

Once we headed for home, Hazel lasted about 5 minutes before falling asleep, content and happy with a huge day! 

We're so proud of this girl and how awesome she is at everything she does. Her laugh is contagious and smile can't be beat.

Love you, Sweet Pea!

Spanish Peaks Traverse

June 8, 2024
West Spanish Peak 13,631'
East Spanish Peak 12,688'

I was hoping to ski this weekend but when a special avalanche advisory was issued for wet slides due to extremely warm conditions, my attention turned to something dry. Wyatt suggested the Spanish Peaks and without hesitation, I was in. I have never climbed the peaks and have wanted to for quite a while. They are visible from my home on a clear day and I have viewed them for years. While most hikers climb them separately, we wanted to get both summits in a single day. 

We left Colorado Springs at 3 am and arrived in La Veta in just 2 hours. While driving along road 360, if you're not watching very closely, you'll miss the turnoff to the 4wd Wahatoya Trailhead - we did. Driving to a dead end, we turned back and quickly found the correct turn that is marked by an impossible to see in the dark sign on the right side of the road. We arrived at the trailhead just before 6 am and were hiking by 6:10.

Impossible to see this in the dark!

Trailhead sign at the 4wd parking

It's an easy 2 miles to the saddle that splits the west and east peaks. We would turn right and head up the northeast facing ridges leading to the summit of West Spanish Peak. 

Sign at the saddle

After crossing a small snowfield and bushwhacking for an hour or so, we reached the terrible talus that would remain the rest of the way to the summit. Up, over and along several ridges and we soon found ourselves on the summit at 9:30 am. 

Wyatt with East Spanish Peak in the background

Trail starting up East

After a short break, we made our way back to the saddle, hoping to recover while descending and be fresh for East Spanish Peak. We stopped to view the bristlecone pines and to pick up some trash along the way and returned to the saddle at 11:40. 

Taking only 10 minutes to eat and drink, we started up East Spanish Peak at 11:50 am, making our way through the trees while following a sometimes faint trail, well marked by cairns. The trail steepens after a mile and is relentlessly steep, but far easier hiking than the talus we'd experienced earlier in the day. Exiting treeline, we had more talus to contend with, although these rocks were bigger and more stable than those on the west peak. It was easy hiking to the the summit as we arrived just before 1:30 pm. 

We only spent a few minutes on the summit as there were exactly 1,658,545,698 gnats swarming. Descending to treeline and back out to the saddle took us another 90 minutes. We hiked casually back to the trailhead and our car, finishing our day at 3:30 pm. 

16 miles, 6,600' of elevation gain, 9h 22m

Looking back on where we came from - West Spanish Peak

East summit with West in the background