Hiking

The Most Delightful Dinner.

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Think about the most delightful dinner you have ever had. What made it so great? The scenery? The people? The journey to get there?

After our crazy backpacking experience, which you can read about in my other posts HERE, we decided to ditch the last 14er and head into town early. We were all way more tired than we expected and we still had to backpack down the mountain and drive an hour into town.

With the crazy hiking portion of our trip finalized, we decided to go to the store and get a good, savory meal to cook for dinner. We grabbed all the essentials: steak, asparagus, potatoes, and wine. Then we headed to our perfect little Airbnb in the middle of an aspen forest! We took hot showers, short naps, and began cooking dinner. We found a small picnic table outside and decided that it would be the perfect place for dinner.

And it was.

This was the most delightful, content, and filling meal I have had in a long time…. dare I say, it was the best dinner ever. It is pretty hard to beat good friends, fine food, and cool mountain air. Plus we were completely surround by Colorado 14er… sitting in a forest of aspen trees… as the sun was setting… listening to deer prancing about in the trees nearby.

Yep, that’s hard to beat.

This was the most delightful dinner. And I think what made it so delightful was not just the incredible scenery, but also the journey to get to that dinner. We had just spent several days eating granola bars, oatmeal, and instant meals. (Though the astronaut ice cream was pretty tasty!) To be in a place where we had a hot meal (that was not made by heating up water) was pure joy.

The only thing we thought of that could make this dinner better was if Jesus Himself was there in the flesh with us. This truly felt like a dinner He would have enjoyed with us if He had been here in person. And yet, He was with us. He was with us on the mountains and during the cold nights and throughout the tough hiking. And He was with us during this most delightful dinner ever.

And friends, I can’t wait to have more dinners like this for eternity with Jesus. Can you imagine?! Eternity with Jesus is going to be delightful!

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV)

Belford and Oxford.

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This post is a continuation of our backpacking experience, but it also stands alone as a play-by-play of our double 14er day hike up Mt Belford and Mt Oxford.

We woke up pretty early after a shorter night of sleep due to our lack of planning and a strenuous night hike into our camping location the night before. Because of this, our group split up and two of us went on the adventure for the day while the others spent the day resting and enjoying the fresh mountain air.

We began at 7:28am from our campsite, which was right below the treeline at about 11,000 feet elevation. This is the latest I’ve ever started a 14er, but we also were technically almost halfway up it already! It was an additional bonus to be able to hike during the daylight for the entire trek!

We made it to the first summit (Mt. Belford) by 9:45am, which is a 2 hour 17 minute time. It was faster than I was expecting us to go, but it felt nice to have one mountain down before 10am…and before the wind picked up.

Mt. Belford – 14,197ft. My 11th Colorado 14er.

We enjoyed some PB&J uncrustables at the top (which always taste the best on top of a mountain for whatever reason), and then started down the saddle towards our second mountain for the day, Mt. Oxford. The saddle took us just over an hour to complete (summiting at 11:30am), and it was extremely windy. The wind was the hardest and worst part of the day since it never really let up and we were completely exposed on the tops of the mountains and on the saddle.

Mt. Oxford – 14,153ft. My 12th Colorado 14er.

At the top of Mt. Oxford there is a small hole that you can sit in to be protected from the wind. This gave us a chance to catch our breath and consider how incredible the views are from the top of the world… as well as consider the goodness of the Lord knowing that every peak we could see belongs to Him!

For the Lord is the great God,
    the great King above all gods.
 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.

Psalm 95:3-4 (NIV)
One of my favorite pictures from our hike!

The only bummer about the Belford/Oxford combo is that you have to hike back up Belford in order to get down. There is no other way. So technically, we hiked three 14ers in one day. 😉

(The saddle. The trail is on the ridge on the left side of the picture. This is a picture taken from Oxford looking across to Belford. The Belford summit is the tallest point in the picture, which is the circular rock area at the center of the photo.)

We began the hike down the saddle and back over to Belford at 12pm and made it just under an hour, faster than our way over which we were impressed with! The backside of Belford is a beast! It is one of the steepest hikes I’ve done, making it difficult for both the way up and the way down.

Once we arrived at the summit of Belford for the second time, we took a nice, long break, enjoyed some food, talked with others who had just made it to the summit, took in the incredible views, and let the sun warm up our faces. The sun felt so nice after being in the wind for so long. We took our sweet time up there knowing that we only had a few hours left and it would likely be in the wind…again.

We began our descent at 1:46pm and made it to the campsite by 3:38pm, just under 2 hours. Our total time on the mountain was 8 hours and 10 minutes, though our actual hiking time was 6 hours and 23 minutes.

Overall, this was a great day of hiking and we kept an awesome pace all day. We also saw a TON of marmots and the tiniest chipmunks you have ever seen! This was a really fun addition to our day! The marmots seemed to be continually following us up the mountain and we were totally okay with that!

At the end of the day, here are some words we used to describe our hike: Difficult. Majestic. Hard. Content. Achieving. Perspective. Thankful.

Everytime I make it to the top of another 14er, I am filled with feelings of gratitude and awe. Gratitude for those who make the journey with me. Gratitude for God to give us mountains to climb, legs to walk, and lungs to breath (even if it’s very minimal amounts of oxygen). Gratitude for surviving at least half of the hike. Gratitude for being able to experience a view that very few people ever get the opportunity to see with their own eyes. And awe that God allows us to experience His creation at this level.

Mountains make me feel small and remind me that God is big! They show me that God is majestic. I was reading in J.I. Packer’s book Knowing God this week and he says, “The word majesty, when applied to God, is always a declaration of his greatness and an invitation to worship.” This is what the mountains do. They declare the greatness of God and invite us to worship Him because of this greatness!

Today, I’m thankful for friends who hike mountains with me for over 8 hours, and a God who is gracious and kind towards us in allowing us to experience His creation at new levels!

Backpacking in the Dark.

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I recently went on my first backpacking trip with some friends. I didn’t want my first time backpacking to be with only first-timers like me, but that’s how it ended up. So we did some research, asked some friends, bought some gear, and borrowed the rest. We planned out easy meals, shoved things into our bags, and then managed to cram it all into the back of a car and head to the mountains.

Oh, and we brought spike ball because are you really camping without it?! 😉

(The start of our journey up the mountain as the sun sets.)

We planned poorly because we started our trek into the campsite right as the sun was going down. This was a new trail I had never done and it became dark outside quickly. I had read up about the trail online multiple times and everyone said it was about a 1-1.5 hour hike in and then you arrive at a small, run down, old cabin…which you cannot camp inside of. (That was a key point that everyone made very evident on the trip reports.)

So the four of us were in the dark, looking for a small cabin, with way too much stuff. I’ve heard that everyone packs too much on their first trip though, so I think we were doing it right.

Well, we got tired really quickly. And it got darker and darker. Then we started to doubt our directions, believing we made a wrong turn, but unable to see where we were or where we were going. We came to a bridge that was made of trees just laying across the river. I crossed this bridge first to see if I could tell if it was the right way. There was no way to tell either way, so the rest of the group slowly crossed this bridge and we continued in the dark.

(The bridge was really scary actually. It was wobbly and unstable and looked way longer in the dark…especially with a heavy pack on your back.)

(The bridge! Not that crazy til you have a heavy pack on and it’s dark.)

Anyways, we made it to a good stopping place and two of us continued up the mountain to see if we could find the cabin or at least a good place to camp for the night. We managed to find several other tents and a good place to camp that was decently flat for our tent. We went back to get the other two and then headed back to our prime location… except we missed the spot and ended up further up the mountain.

But…… we found the cabin!! 🙂 This was a joyous moment as we realized we had made it and taken the right trail!

So we set down our packs, set up the tent, and then headed to bed. It was a cold night and we were on a slope so we slid down to the bottom of the tent all night.

But it was all worth it.

Our backpacking trek may have been less than ideal, but it was worth it because we were together, trying something new, as a group of friends. We were on an adventure!! And when you are on an adventure, everything that is less than ideal or things that seem to go wrong, simply make the adventure that much more exciting!

This was the end of our backpacking portion. Yes, it was a short backpacking experience, but it was one that gave us a good taste of what it would be like to backpack for a few days next time…with less stuff, less elevation change, and more daylight.

From our campsite, the plan was to hike some 14ers each day for the next few days and just enjoy being in the mountains. The camping area was right below the treeline, so we had some wonderful evenings of stargazing and incredible views of some of the tallest mountains in Colorado!

Check out future posts about our hiking adventures!

P.S. As I researched some of the info below, I came across a website that said: “Missouri Mountain Trail… is only recommended for very experienced adventurers.” So if you need any “very experienced adventurers” we are now your people! 😉

Trail: Missouri Gulch Trail near Buena Vista, Colorado

Elevation Gain: Approx. 1,350 feet

Time: Approx. 2 Hours

Distance: About 1.5 miles

(Trail on the way back, obviously, during the day and not in the middle of the night!)

How to Hike a 14er

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I love hiking and going on outdoor adventures! One of my favorite adventures has been learning to hike 14ers. 14ers are mountains that are over 14,000 ft in elevation and Colorado has 54 of them (give or take depending on how you classify them, but that’s not a necessary conversation here). Anyways, I have hiked, as of 2019, 10 of these 14ers in Colorado and my goal is to hike them all!

I love bringing people with me when I hike. Yes, that is mostly because it is dangerous to hike alone, but it also allows others to experience something great too! Many times these friends are ones who have never hiked a 14er before, and they have all made it to the top! So in this post, I wanted to give some tips for hiking and preparing to hike a 14er for all the friends that will go with me on an adventure one day!

  1. Find someone to hike with. Obviously you want to find a buddy to go hiking with you, but it is even more helpful if you can find someone who has hiked, climbed, or backpacked before …especially if you have never done those things! This friend will be a major help along the way, both with tips and encouragement.
  2. Get in shape! You don’t have to be in the best shape of your life to hike a 14er. Mountains have a variety of types (or “classes”) of routes. These routes all vary in difficulty meaning that there are easily mountains that are much shorter than a 14,000 ft but are classified at a much higher rank in difficulty. Just because you are hiking a 14er doesn’t mean you are hiking the biggest, baddest mountain out there….just the one with the best view (in my opinion). So prepare for this adventure by getting in shape. Go on a walk every day for a few miles at a steady, quick pace. Going for a run a few times a week is even better! Do some lunges, run some stairs, swim a few laps, hit the bleechers. Anything that is going to get you working at a level with less oxygen than normal is the key. Be consistent with your training and remember the joy you will have at the top of the mountain! That is your motivation!
  3. Drink water! At least one week before you hike, you need to start drinking more water than normal. This is essential for anyone just going to visit a high altitude location, and so it is life saving for those going to an even higher altitude (aka: 14,000 ft above sea level)! Drink lots of water, and then drink more. My coach in college used to tell us, “Drink water like it’s your job.” So do that.
  4. Know the mountain. Before you head out to the trailhead, you need to do some research! Every mountain has multiple routes. Study the route you want to take and know where the trailhead begins. Check out 14ers.com or alltrails.com to see recent reports from people who have hiked. Learn from their mistakes and take their advice!
  5. Gather your gear. Each 14er is different and the length of the trails and difficulties are also different. So for longer hikes you will need to bring more food and a wider variety of clothing. But here’s a general list that should get you through most one-day 14er hikes: camelback backpack (if you have this, it’s a life saver!), 1-2 extra water bottles in your pack, easy access snacks (granola bars, fruit snacks, apple, trail mix, PB sandwich, etc. …things you can eat while you walk), sunscreen, first aid kit, toilet paper, ziplock bags (for trash…pack it and keep it with you please!), LAYERS (tshirt, long sleeve shirt, jacket, rain jacket, etc.), hat/sunglasses, hiking boots (or good running shoes will work if it’s an easier 14er), hiking poles (optional), headlamp, good socks, gloves (if you are like me and have Elsa hands that are always cold) and of course, a sign that has the name of the 14er along with the height so you can take a picture at the top!
  6. HIKE! Now you are ready to hike! Before you head out for the day, make sure to check the weather! Storms tend to roll in around 2pm in Colorado most afternoons. Therefore, you need to summit before the storm arrives. My personal rule is to summit every mountain before noon. So if you are doing a double or triple, you must leave early. The most common call for a rescue from the top of 14ers is due to lightening, so please, please, stay safe and forget about the summit if a storm rolls in unexpectedly early. Now, when I say start early, I mean early. I typically want to be at the trailhead by at least 5am, but that changes depending on the difficulty of the mountain, the number of peaks, and the weather. So just be smart and start as early as you can. (Which is why you need a headlamp because it will be cold and dark.)

So friends, those are my tips for having a great 14er hike! It really is worth it! Our God created these tall mountains, and I pray that as you stand on the top, you would realize how vast and unsearchable our God is! He is bigger than the mountains and yet He knows every detail of our lives! We will never understand all that He is and yet we can know Him personally. And I praise God, that He has given us mountains to enjoy and incredible views to see His creation! May the Lord bless you and keep you on your journey!

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
    and extol him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God,
    the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 95:1-5

Emerald Lake

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Estes Park is a great place for adventure, but it also holds one of my favorite winter hikes, Bear Lake to Emerald Lake.

Estes is a cozy little mountain town full of quaint shops, people seeking adventure, and some of the best taffy you will ever try! It is also the entrance into Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). RMNP is wonderful and full of life! There are tons of trails and animals! Trail ridge road is also park of the park and is the highest paved highway in the USA, as it takes you over the continental divide. You should try it sometime, but only in the summer since it’s closed all winter due to snow.

Now, let me tell you about my favorite winter hike. Bear Lake is a gorgeous lake in RMNP. Many people travel to see this lake nestled into the mountains. There are trails around the lake but the best one is the Emerald Lake hike.

Emerald Lake is the fourth lake from Bear Lake. Beginning at Bear it’s a little under 4 miles round trip out to Emerald. You also get to see two other beautiful lakes on the way out!

The trail begins with a fairly steep uphill that will have you asking if you are out of shape or need to start working out more (or maybe start working out in general). It’s really not that bad, but you are now at over 9,000 feet elevation so everyone will feel that at least a little. The first lake you come to is Nymph Lake. It’s a great feeling to get to the first lake. Since everything is frozen, you can hike right over the lake! This is the lake you will see the most people at since it’s the closest and shortest distance. It’s a beautiful view, but if the weather is bearable I’d encourage you to continue on.

Once you cross the lake it’s another uphill trail, but by now you are likely getting used to the air and know a good pace for yourself and your group. This part of the trail is my favorite section in the winter! Soon you will be at one of the best lookouts on the trail, and it’s a must see! Stop and soak it in. Take a few pictures but honestly, just look and see. It’s a view that you will want to remember!

Continue on the trail, which has some thin and tricky areas, until you get to the third lake, Dream Lake. This is the longest lake and it’s a stunning view in the winter! You will likely not believe that the view could get better than this… but it does! So don’t give up!

Dream Lake is a fun lake to cross in the winter due to the size, but this is also the place I’ve turned around the most often. If the weather is really cold or the wind is strong, you will start to really feel it out on this lake since there’s no tree coverage and you’ve been hiking for a while now. But if you are able, and the weather is good… snap a pic, get across the lake, and head into the trees on the opposite side for the final lake!

The final trail is the hardest to follow in the winter since you are simply following the snow packed areas made by those before you and this is the least traveled trail. But you can do it! There are a few very steep ascents in this section but it’s not terribly long. You will go through some trees right before the trail opens up to the lake. Take a deep breath, step through the trees, and look up.

Emerald Lake. You’ve made it! And you are now at the base of Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain, two 12,000+ foot mountains where you could see some adventurous people backcountry skiing down the valley of the Tyndall Glacier. It’s the most beautiful on a clear day with a fresh coat of snow, but sometimes you may not be that lucky. This lake will be very cold so you likely won’t stay long. But please, sit for a moment and just take it in.

Once you’ve taken in one of the most beautiful places on earth (and taken a few sips of water!!), you can begin your descent. Follow the same trail you took to come out and keep in mind that sometimes it’s easier (and more fun!) to slide on your snow pants down some of the hills.

That’s it. You made it to one of my favorite places and I hope you enjoyed the journey! It’s a place I go almost every year and it’s worth it every single time. It should take anywhere from 1.5-3 hours depending on the weather, your fitness, and your group size.

A note on snow shoes and then some final tips. In the winter you need either snow shoes or ice cleats. Both of these can be rented in town before you head into the park. If there’s fresh snow then snow shoes are the most fun, though they are more difficult to manage. I used ice cleats for the first time this year since the trails were packed and there wasn’t fresh snow… and I loved them! They were easy to use and super helpful! But again, fresh snow would need the snow shoe. (The people at rental stores are always helpful with this kind of thing too.) And I always rent poles as well to help make the hiking easier.

Final Tips:

  • Bring a portable charger for your phone.
  • Bring water and a snack.
  • Check the weather.
  • Get out early.
  • Hike with a group.
  • Wear layers and water proof clothing.
  • Plan ahead and communicate with your group.
  • Have fun and meet some new friends on the way!
Emerald Lake 12.27.19
Dream Lake 12.27.19