Rocky Mountain High, Colorado
My family has always had a strong connection to Colorado, even though we never lived there. My mom’s family spent weeks there every summer as a kid, and I’ve been there many times myself. It was where my grandmother lived for many years before her passing, and where my grandfather’s ashes were spread over 25 years ago. Soon, my grandmother’s ashes will join his.
I’m just past the halfway point of my Colorado trip with my wife, Jordan, and our cat, Sasquatch. We have done so much and I am very excited to share all these photos and videos with you. Our journey started with a day of driving from Alabama to Kansas City where I spent the evening with my mom and (living) grandparents. Another day of driving later and we arrived in Colorado Springs. We met up with Jordan’s mother, brother, and uncle who happened to be in town and did some exploring. We spent an evening at Garden of the Gods, and the next morning we sampled 4 of the springs in Manitou Springs before a ghost tour of the Cave of the Winds. After, we headed South to one of the weirdest natural landscapes I’ve ever seen: The Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Sasquatch was ecstatic to be in the dunes. She loved climbing them, digging through the sand, and rolling around. After camping in the National Park, we hiked to the top of High Dune, then to Zapata Falls before saying goodbye to Jordan’s family as they headed back home. We on the other hand, were headed to America’s highest town: Leadville, Colorado.
You see, I’m on a mission. My grandfather, Harry, passed away when I was just a few months old. His ashes were spread on top of Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, and I’d like to visit him. The family is gathering together in Estes Park for a family reunion to celebrate the life of my grandmother, Roberta, spread her ashes, and to visit Harry at the summit of Longs Peak. So I’m training. I’ve run a marathon, backpacked for multiple days on the Appalachian Trail, but I’ve never climbed a 14er (until now, keep reading). The lack of air density as you approach 14,000 ft has not been friendly on my previous attempt at climbing Longs Peak over 12 years ago at another family reunion.
So that brings us back to Leadville which sits at 10,152 ft above sea level, and today is our last full day here. We have spent the time acclimating to the altitude, getting our bodies in shape with lots of hikes, and climbing 14ers. Yes, I have now climbed two 14ers!
My uncle, John, and my cousin, Chris, both equally aspire to climb Longs Peak next week, so they chose to join us acclimating in Leadville ahead of the reunion. While we were here, we wanted to get in at least one training 14er, which we accomplished by summiting Mt. Sherman at 14,043 ft above sea level. This was Jordan’s and my first 14er ever, it was short, but tough! The views were incredible and we all felt good at the altitude. This was followed by a solo hike a couple days later where I summited Mt. Massive at 14,429 ft for my second 14er with even more epic views and great training.
Our hope was that Jordan and I would hike Mt. Elbert today: the highest point in Colorado (and second highest in the contiguous US) at 14,439 ft. But alas, the weather forecast was quite poor. As I’m writing this it would be about the time we would approach the summit and all I can see out the window is dark clouds surrounding the summit of Mt. Elbert. Getting struck by lightning is a huge risk above treeline where all 14ers reside, so the risk was not worth it. The mountain will always be there for next time.
So away we go tomorrow to Estes Park in hopes that our training and acclimation is sufficient to take on Longs Peak. But if not: the mountain will always be there for next time.
Keep an eye out over the next week (starting August 1, 2022) as I begin to post my Colorado collection of photos on Instagram (@JourneyWithRyan) and right here at journeywithryan.com.
