As the end of 14er season draws to an end, I needed to get in one more hike. I hadn't gotten the chance to do a hike with Nikki! So we got it on the calendar and decided to go for a big one. We had already done the tallest 14er in Colorado together, which was Mt. Elbert. So why not go for the 2nd tallest? As you can imagine, it's named Mt. Massive for a reason. Its name comes from its elongated shape: it has five summits, all above 14,000 ft, and a summit ridge over 3 miles long, resulting in more area above 14,000 ft than any other mountain in the 48 contiguous states.
It makes for a pretty long hike (about 13.75 miles round trip) although not as steep as many of the other shorter 14er trails. But since it is a long one, we knew we would need to get started really early in the morning to beat any threat of afternoon thunderstorms. That meant we needed to camp at the trailhead. So on Friday night after work I drove out the Leadville to meet Nikki, Gabe, and Courtney. There were some pretty good thunderstorms going on around the area that night, so as I drove up to the mountains I was greeted with this:
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It's hard to tell from the picture, but this was the most
vibrant rainbow I have ever seen!!! |
I got off work earlier than everyone else, so I got out there first and felt that it was my responsibility to get the tent up. I got to a campsite right about dusk. I knew I didn't have much time before I ran out of light. I had never set up my tent by myself, much less in the dark. With some determination and the ability of my eyes to adjust as it got darker and darker, I was able to successfully set up camp.
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This is actually the next day when I had daylight to see how
I did. |
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| Pretty nice campsite it Elbert Campgrounds |
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| Right by some good sleeping noise |
When the rest of the crew showed up we decided we wanted to attempt a campfire. It just makes it feel more like camping and provides some warmth. Problem was that we didn't bring any wood, it was dark, and it had just rained so all the wood around was wet. We still tried.
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Evidence of our failed attempt at a fire. We probably had
one going for about 20 minutes. |
With no fire, it was a better idea to just go to bed knowing that we would need as much rest as possible for the next day. Wake up came at 5am and we were quickly up, layered, fueled, and on our way to the trail.
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| We beat the sun coming up |
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| It didn't take long for it to start making a colorful sunrise |
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| A couple of creek crossings early on |
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| My favorite view below tree line |
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| and again :) |
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| Keeping us on track |
About 2 hours in, we hit tree line and the view changes quite a bit. Everything opens up and you can see across the meadow to the mountain ahead.
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| South Massive - one of the peaks over 14,000 ft |
Getting out of the trees also allows you to see the views all around.
Not a lot of time for picture taking at this point. Onward and upward! It seems that I'm always aware of the importance of reaching the summit as early as possible.
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| Nikki and Gabe trekking on up the switchbacks |
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| Looking back on where we came from |
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| The farther we went the more view we got of the summit |
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| A crazy furry little friend that Courtney spotted along the way |
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| We're heading for that saddle and then up to the right |
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| I can't help myself from trying to capture the beauty |
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| I found my cairn of the trip! |
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| And there's the peak right behind me |
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At the saddle, we got our first glimpse of what's on the
other side. Pretty amazing! |
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| The last push to the top from the saddle |
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| Can you spot the marmot? Doing a little sunbathing :) |
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| Our trail joined up with another route to reach the top |
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| And we're there!!! First view from the top of Mt. Massive! |
It was also Courtney's birthday! So as soon as we reached the summit, it was time to celebrate! Everyone on top joined us in singing Happy Birthday despite not even knowing her name.
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| Happy Birthday Courtney!!! |
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| Nikki brought her the festive headband |
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| My hiking compadres |
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| Yay! So silly! |
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| Apparently I can only do one thing in silly pictures - victory arms! |
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We sure have done a lot of fun things together.
Another 14er conquered! |
It wouldn't be complete without something mango. I actually found my special mango treat about a month prior when we were in Boulder. I had been saving it for just the right adventure.
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| Chocolate covered mango |
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| I'm always excited to try a new mango treat! |
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I think the picture says it all for how Nikki
felt about the mango treat |
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No my favorite, but I didn't think they were so
bad. I ate a few and shared a few with random
people to share the mango happiness. |
After fueling up real quick with my standard mountain hiking PB&J, the group gave me just a few minutes to snag some pictures of the views all around. The clouds were starting to build, so my time was limited.
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| Twin Lakes off the the far right. |
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View to the north - you can see how far the ridge line
keeps going. |
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| Nearby Elbert over the ridge |
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| They're waiting so patiently for me while I snap away |
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| One last picture with the birthday girl |
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| And then it's down we go! |
I'm sure I've said before that the trip down is my least favorite part. It's hard on the legs and there's not as much to look forward to. You've already reached the climax. So I often don't have any pictures on the way down. I just took a few of interesting things I saw.
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| There were A LOT of trees down. |
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| We never could figure out why. |
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A few of the Aspens were starting to turn
to their golden color. |
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Clouds were looking not so friendly. I was glad
we were back below tree line. |
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| Walking through the twinkling Aspens |
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| Sign that we reached the end! |
We made it down in good time. It really wasn't so bad as I had great people with me and great conversation. There was absolutely no one around at the base, so we resorted to the timer function to help us with our final group picture.
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| I think it made for a very artistic angle ;) |
Our short walk back to the campsite gave us a nice view of the river running through the mountains. It was so warm that day that the thought of laying it it sounded quite appealing. But we didn't.
We quickly cleaned up camp before the rains could get to us and parted ways again. It was a quick trip, but well worth it. Hiking always gives you good quality time to catch up on everything that's happening in life. Not only was I thankful for the chance to bask in the beauty of Colorado on a gorgeous day, I was also thankful for my time with friends.
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| So long Massive - and just in time to miss that down pour! |
I'd rank this one as one of my favorite 14ers.
