My first 14er!
To plan my first climb I went here: http://www.14ers.com/.
I decided to do a Class 1 hike. Just a walk up. I had heard that it is best to start early and get off mountian before afternoon storms. I hiked up to trailhead (3 miles?) from the highway parking lot. There is a road up to trailhead but it is rough and I didn't want to risk ruining my friend's car. On the way up, a ranger told me a storm was coming and to try to get to trailhead and get my tent up. Trailhead was at the treeline. I set up tent and I don't remember if it stormed because I feel asleep.
I ate a power bar in the morning and packed my pack for my solo hike up Grays. I admit, I was scared being alone. I hiked at a slow rate to pace myself. I gained confidence as I started passing people. There were a lot of people going up the mountain and I wasn't scared anymore. (I found out that there was a pancake breakfast on the top of Torrey's that day. Yes, you read that right!) I finally saw the mountain come into view and I was on my way up. It got rocky and I slowly switchbacked my way up. I was hiking at same pace as two young guys. "Do you guys feel the elevation? I'm thinking slow," I said. The three of us reached the summit. There were others up there. The young guys hooted with joy and I suppose I would have made a loud celebratory commotion if I was with buddies. Instead I caught my wind, took a good look around, had my picture taken and was so enthused I forgot about any mind fog and decided to hike the saddle over to Torreys.
It was a great hike. I made it back down to my tent and packed up. I did have a little bit of a headache (maybe I didn't drink enough water). I can't wait to hike my next 14er!
