My First 14er

By: Mala

Last weekend, Tessie and I were feeling kind of bored. Our parents went to yoga on Saturday morning, then out to breakfast. By the time they got home, they mostly focused on chores, so we only got a short walk, which is not much for a Saturday!

Sunday came around, and they both left again in the morning! Mom went to teach SUP Yoga, and Dad went to do a brick (a bike ride followed by a run) to train for an upcoming race. Tessie and I watched impatiently from the bed, out the window, for them to return.

After getting home and having lunch, they started packing their backpacks, and we got excited. Then we saw Mom put dog treats in her bag, and that’s when we knew it was true – we were going along for this outing!

We drove through Evergreen, then turned and started up the road toward a couple of our typical hikes. As we passed those trailheads, we wondered where we were headed. We got almost to Echo Lake, where we used to go regularly during the summer when Ella needed her wheels for walks because it was cooler at that elevation and the path by the lake is fairly wide and flat. Apparently, we weren’t going there this time!

We had to stop to talk to a guy and show him a ticket. He gave some advice and let us pass. As we started driving up the mountain, Tessie stood in the middle, watching out the windshield the whole way. The windows were down, so I sniffed the fresh mountain air. We came to a small lake, where we all got out. Mom and Dad strapped on their packs and grabbed their hiking poles. They leashed us up, and we were off!

We were ecstatic getting out of the car – it was nearly 15 degrees cooler there than at home! There were many new smells to check out, so we spent a lot of time by the lake before starting the trail up the mountain. There were big rocks to climb over, and I misjudged a couple of times and slipped. At 11 years old, Mom and Dad tend to worry about me a bit more these days, but they don’t need to - I’m still a great rock climber! I just took some bad steps.

Along the way, Mom reminisced about why she never took Ella on another 14er after Ella practically dragged her up Quandry when she was young. Ella always had summit fever. On that hike, she could see the summit for much of the trail and was determined to get there fast. When Dad hikes 14ers, he usually picks really challenging ones, so he goes with his friend, and we stay home. That means I’ve never hiked a 14er. On our big adventure last summer, we reached about 12,500 feet above sea level while crossing West Maroon Pass between Aspen and Crested Butte.

We took a break at a spot overlooking Chicago Lakes, the destination of one of the long hikes we did last summer while training for our grand adventure.

We pushed on and made it to the summit of Mount Spalding at 13,842 feet. Our hiking pace was much slower than our typical 20-minute miles, so Mom and Dad kept their eyes on the distant clouds.

We continued on the trail toward Mt. Blue Sky, but after going up a bit, they decided it was time to turn us around because the trail was getting rockier and harder to follow. Tessie was nervous with all the marmots around, who make a noise that sounds like a smoke detector beeping. We were completely happy to turn around and head back to the lake, enjoying the expansive views in all directions and the abundant wildflowers. I cooled off at the lake before we piled back into the truck.

After returning to the car, we continued driving to the top of Mt. Blue Sky. We saw some mountain goats along the way, and Mom picked up a tuft of fur from the ground for us to sniff – Tessie tried to eat it, of course.

We reached the parking area and walked the last 1/4 mile to the summit. It was a good thing we didn’t try to hike the full way, because it was past our dinner time, even with how we ended up summiting.

I was tired and slept through most of the car ride back, but Tessie kept watch because there were more mountain goats and even some bighorn sheep along the road. Overall, it was a terrific outing, well worth the wait!