Mt. Elbert – Colorado

I’ve had my heart set on climbing Mt. Elbert, Colorado’s highest peak at 14,433ft., for about two years and we finally got the opportunity! I’ll start by saying this was our first 14er and even with all the preparation we did the elevation still kicked our tails. But it was an epic and worthwhile accomplishment and I’m SO proud of Malcolm for overcoming some fears and getting to the summit! Colorado is such a magical place – maybe it was the endless evergreen trees, the wildflowers, being surrounded by the snowcapped Rocky Mountains, or just the fact that we traveled without kids and could sleep past 6am, but this trip was exactly what my soul needed. I can’t wait to go back and explore more with the kiddos.

When planning our hike we knew wanted to do it when there was the slimmest chance for snow on the mountain so we chose mid-July. The North Mt. Elbert trailhead is about 20 mins from Leadville, where we stayed in the cutest vacation rental for a couple nights before to try and acclimate to the elevation. Leadville is at 10,000ft. elevation and is the COOLEST town with a heavy mining history so most of the homes and buildings were built in the late 1800s and are so well preserved. Our house was walking distance to the Main Street in Leadville so we had the best time walking around and exploring. There were so many thrift stores, coffee shops, and great places to eat. We also got to walk into Melanzana and snag some goodies, which was lucky as the appointments were scheduled out past March 2025! Leadville is also home to the original Silver Dollar Saloon, which still very much feels like the Wild West inside! I also have to mention that coming from triple digits and high humidity in Tennessee to the mid 60s to low 70s in Leadville was a dream! We loved it here and will definitely be back.

We noticed some effects of the elevation while in Leadville, mostly just a little dizziness and fatigue, but we tried to stay hydrated and eat enough carbs which seemed to help. We also knew that Mt. Elbert is notorious for late morning/afternoon storms in July, so we planned to start early to avoid being caught in a storm above the tree line. We also kept a really close eye on the forecast to adjust our days if we needed to. However, the stars aligned and our hike day was the most beautiful and perfectly clear day! We got to the trail head at 5am and the parking area was fairly full, but we did find a spot (another reason to start early). It was about 36 degrees at the trailhead and still dark, of course, and we realized the batteries in one of our head lamps were dead and the other was barely working (shame!) but otherwise, we were prepared with plenty of layers, snacks, water, etc. I will add that we did this hike on a Thursday, and we were lucky the parking area wasn’t full. I would encourage any weekend hikers to get there earlier.

There are several ways to the summit – we took the North Mt. Elbert Trail, which is the most common route. The 9.8 mile out and back trail starts in a beautiful pine forest and ascends 4,458 (grueling) ft. in elevation through the San Isabel National Forest to the summit. There isn’t anything too technical about this hike, but the uphill ascent is absolutely brutal at that elevation and there are two very disheartening false summits that would make even the holiest drop an f-bomb or two.

Things were going really well and we were moving at a steady pace until we reached the tree line, maybe around mile 2.5. Once there we could see just how much further we had to go and how much elevation we still had to gain. It felt like we had already climbed so much and to know we still had over 2,000ft. to gain was painful. I thought about giving up over and over. We kept going, slowly and stopping often to catch our breath. I’ll share our splits below to show where things got really tough. The closer we got to the summit the rockier and steeper it got, and Malcolm wasn’t sure if he could continue (I’ve shared about his fear of heights in previous posts). He pressed on and I’m so glad he did because reaching that summit together was a beautiful feeling! The views were incredible, and it was so unbelievably clear we could see Pike’s Peak 100 miles in the distance. All the snow dusted Rocky Mountains shined in the sun in every direction around us. We high fived several folks we’d seen along the way, who cheered us on and vice versa, all exhausted and proud of ourselves and each other. It actually started lightly snowing at the summit – it was a truly magical moment!

The sky started to darken so we tried to book it back down to the tree line just in case some storms were rolling in. There is really no other way to describe it; the descent sucked. My feet and toes were hurting so bad from the steep downhill walk over the rocks (SO MANY ROCKS). I debated on taking off my boots and finishing the hike barefoot, but ultimately just powered through although my toes might never be the same. We reached the tree line just as it started to rain, but we were covered well enough from the trees that it was actually more refreshing than anything. After hours of retracing our steps, we finally saw the beautiful sight of the parking area and the pretty blue jeep we rented. We stopped a little down the road at a place called Half Moon Creek to walk around in some cold water and bring some feeling back to our feet. Later we celebrated our first 14er with burgers and beer at Tennessee Pass Colorado.

This is very doable hike for those looking to accomplish a 14er or for fellow high pointers. I’ll share a few notes below from my experience. Thanks for reading, y’all!

• Download the AllTrails map (or whatever your chosen map is). The trail is well marked but I always recommend this.
• I had 3L of water and ran out on the descent. Please make sure you have enough water. Some electrolytes (LMNT is my favorite) too.
• SNACKS – I bring trail mix, turkey sticks, protein bars, Uncrustables, etc.
• Bug spray, sunscreen, first aid kit – always.
• Hiking poles. I didn’t have them, but they would have helped.
• Bring layers, it’s cold at the top. Bring a rain jacket or poncho.
• As always, remember to leave no trace 🙂 Pack it in, pack it out.