My plane arrives mid Saturday afternoon. Touching down the pilot announced overhead through the loud speaker to tell the passengers,” Welcome to Denver were we have clear skies and 70 degrees.” Peering through the window I seen grayish walls of rock towering over the horizon. My heart flutter with excitement and a bit of anxiety. Would be able to climb these mountains, and what if the elevation I would be chasing paralyze me from moving higher into skyline.
My trip planning has become pretty reckless within this past year. I know the particular places I want to travel, but I don’t want any sort of set schedule. For example, I will fly into Denver, rent a car, and that’s it, that was my plan. An unforeseen future with no where to be. I just know my flight leaves at 4:15 on Tuesday afternoon. Let’s not forget I’ve never traveled to Colorado so this will be a whole brand new beginning. Another chapter in my life of being an ultra adventurer.
I grabbed my basic economy rental, which they upgraded to a Jeep Wrangler for free. Yes!!! as I planned on sleeping in the car anyway. It took me a few moments to figure the always upgrading technology, but as soon as I did the speakers command me to make my first turn and head towards Rocky Mountain National Park. I contacted a buddy of mine that recently move to the area and he agreed to me up with me there. As well as he gave me a few areas to explore and a few food recommendations.
Day 1,
Rocky Mountain National Park:
Elevation: 8300-9600 feet
I meet up with my buddy John-Alex for a hike from Mill Creek trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park. Huge mountains surrounded me and my fist sighting of an elk in the wild was extraordinarily . I wasn’t sure what to expect from my body. I have done the Adirondack and Catskill mountain hikes back home, but these were the Rocky Mountains. The ground was dusty brown and the shrubbery reminded me of an aired dry climate. The pine trees were thin, their branches soaring towards the sky. Sounds of water flowing was magical as I came to embrace the land we call Colorado. We hiked a total of eight miles and my body was completely in tune with the higher atmosphere we walk in. I was ready for day two tomorrow.
Day 2,
Brainard Lake
Elevation: 9800-11000 feet
Twin Sister Peaks
Elevation: 8800-11000 feet
Holy shit, where did the nice weather just go. The air temperature was forty two degrees out with a slight wind chill to help. I did my best to gear up not to overdress and shed layers as I warmed up. My pack found its home comfortably resting on my back. The trail changing like a chameleon changes color. Hopscotching rock faces, rooted overgrowth, and I even found my first bit of mud pockets to navigate over. The landscape was breathtaking. Stoping multiple time for pictures. I felt great as my body seemed to acclimated accordingly to the changing elevation. I made my way to the base of Mt. Audubon. I was told the wind gusts were almost unbearable. A gentlemen described it to me that his face went numb and he looked as he was dressed for the part. I decided to run/hike around the base of the mountain and I wasn’t disappointed. I seen the first glimpse of seasonal change. It was time to relax, enjoy the reason why I was here in the first place, before my return run back to the car.
Total miles were 11.8 
After a quick nap I punched in a new destination into my phone. Arriving at Lilly Lake I could see this was a popular tourist destination. Multiple trailhead surrounded the water. I noticed no one venturing across the street to where I was headed. Huh weird. I enjoyed the delivery system of my last hike so I continued with this same strategy. Hike the uphills and run the down hill. Immediately I was headed up to the summit, sort of at a fast packing pace but nothing to crazy. Oh yes, this was a well maintained trail. Reminds me as if I was hiking the Appalachian. Up….up….up I climbed looking out through the clearing at times to understand how small I really was in this world. I could tell I was getting some serious gain in because my watch told me so. A little under a thousand feet in almost a mile. Not to shabby. I did feel my breathing becoming a little odd but didn’t figure anything of it. I thought that it was just the climbing. But then as I got about another mile or so my heart rate became irrational. Is this how I was reacting to higher elevation. I slowed to control my breathing and it lowered my heart rate. I did this multiple times during my hike to the peak. Eventually slowing down enough to control it all completely. Did I finally experience how I reacted to elevation. How would I know I’ve never experienced it before. However, I realized during my push to the top my body experience something. I relaxed to soak in the view before my final decent to the base to eat dinner next to the lake.
Total miles were 6.7
Day 3,
Spalding Mountain
Elevation: 12700-13800
Dryer Mountain
Elevation: 12100-13800
I awoke at four in the morning in hopes to catch a sunrise on a summit. I plugged in a mountain and away I drove. Once again spending the night in a parking lot of a local department store. Sunrise was at six-forty and the drive was about two hours. I was sightseeing on the drive to Mt. Evens and that might have coast me some time. I had another forty-six minutes to get there. I seen the sun peaking it’s faint orange glow from behind the blackened triangles. I decided to find a pull off and this is what I captured.
Heading back to Mt. Evens I eventually came to the trailhead. I made numerous stops along the way to see the changing of seasons and to witness mountain goats playing of the cliff walls. I grabbed my two soft water bottles and headed out. The trail was well marked caving it way along the mountains edge. Consisting of dirt and smaller rock I did occasionally find myself pulling my way up large rocky outcrops. There it is again, about half way to the first peak I was breathing heavy my heart was trying to win the Kentucky derby. It was the same feeling as yesterday. I slowed to catch my breath and once again my heart rate decreased. The feeling I can only describe as trying to run up a flight of stairs while engaging in a great conversation with a friend. As long as I decreased the rate in which I hiked my body was completely satisfied and able to continue moving forward. I made it to the first peak. 13,852 feet to be exact, the highest peak thus far for my trip. It was completely awe inspiring. A complete three hundred and sixty degree view. I need to go no further. I stayed to etched this moment into my brain before my returning to my car.
Total miles 3.1
I pulled out my phone from my pocket. Accessing the maps, I look for my next mountain. And right there I seen it…Leadville. If you know me at all you now know the direction my vehicle is headed. I made it into the small town with a little time to spare before my afternoon hike. The town was cute. Of course it was, it had that old mining town feel. I was in desperate need of a shower. I broke down a booked a room for the night. After unpacking I keyed in on my next adventure. I arrived at the trailhead in the last afternoon. The mountain looked enormous and so different. Like the rocks were melting away from the cliff side. All around me this is what it looked like. I started the long haul up from the base. The trail was narrow and I was already walking atop of broken rock. This was the most difficult trail to follow, my eye only keying in on sections of trail a few times. I knew where I wanted to be and I just needed to get there safely. Passing an abandoned mining camp I continued my climb. I pasted a few snow covered valleys. How could help myself to not stop and play as if I were a kid. Making my own way to the summit the rock slid beneath my feet. I was hand and foot climbing at this point. Make a slow progress now not to get fatigued from the elevation. I could feel it, but did what I needed to compensate. Around four thirty in the afternoon I arrived at what would be unknown to me, my last summit of the trip. 13,825.
Total miles were 3.3
To sum it all up, my adventure to Colorado was a true success. Yes, I felt the elevation as I climbed the mountains. I found my breathing and heart rate increase rapidly as I moved closer to the peaks. I now understand how my body reacts to the higher elevation. But this was very manageable as long as I payed attention to how I felt during my hikes/runs. I was very nervous to take on this trip solo, hearing some of the effects that elevation can do to the human body. This is almost alway were my ultra adventures start. If it scares me, it’s probably a good idea to actually do. Do epic shit!
Ultra Adventures 