After climbing Flat Top Mountain (12,354 ft.) the previous day, August 22nd was a rest and repositioning day for Lupe. SPHP drove down to Leadville, CO. The very dusty G6 got taken to a car wash. SPHP got cleaned up, too. Lupe dined on roasted chicken from Safeway and an ice cream bar. She seemed quite content to spend a significant portion of the day snoozing in the G6.
Later in the day, there was a scouting trip down to a couple of trailheads in the Halfmoon Creek area SW of Leadville. (The gravel roads were fine, but very washboardy. It was Saturday, and the place was simply overrun with people and vehicles.) Lupe also visited Turquoise Lake.
August 23rd, Day 15 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation, began as a complete disappointment. SPHP had planned for Lupe to get an early start on climbing Mount Elbert (14,433 ft.), the highest mountain in Colorado. (Only Mt. Whitney (14,498 ft.) in California is higher in the 48 contiguous United States.) When morning came, however, Mount Elbert was nowhere to be seen. The sky was completely overcast. Mount Elbert was lost in the clouds.
There was no point in Lupe climbing Mount Elbert just to see fog. A leisurely breakfast ensued. After a little while, though, it looked like there wasn’t as much fog as there had been. The trend continued. Suddenly SPHP realized the clouds were going to simply dissipate. It wasn’t going to be foggy for long. It was going to be a gorgeous day!
Lupe got a late start. It was Sunday. The weekend crowds were still here. The Mount Elbert trailhead was absolutely totally and completely full. Apparently SPHP had been the only one deterred by the early morning fog. It was 10:12 AM (54°F) by the time SPHP parked the G6 at a little pullout along USFS Road No. 110 in the Halfmoon Creek area. Lupe had to trot 0.25 mile along No. 110 just to get to the trailhead.
The first part of the climb up Mount Elbert was all in the forest, so there really weren’t any views. From the Mount Elbert TH, a short spur trail (0.50 mile?) leads up to the Colorado Trail. Lupe followed a somewhat longer segment of the Colorado Trail S to an intersection with the Mount Elbert Trail No. 1184.
Although the topo map on Peakbagger.com doesn’t show the Mount Elbert Trail No. 1184 going all the way up to the summit, it actually does. The trail works its way up the NE ridge and gets heavy use. Its route is unmistakable, except when covered with snow.
Other than a portion of the Colorado Trail which was close to level, Lupe’s entire route to Mount Elbert was a steady climb. Some parts were steeper than others, especially approaching the summit, but it was nearly all just going up.
Even though the Mount Elbert TH parking lot was full, at first there weren’t too many other people and dogs around. Only Lupe, SPHP and a few other stragglers were starting up the mountain this late in the day.
After a couple of hours, Lupe and SPHP started meeting the early birds coming back down the mountain. Some had started up in darkness as early as 4:00 AM. By the time Lupe reached tree line, a flood of people and dogs were coming down the trail. Not all had made it to the summit of Mount Elbert, but most of them had. There were social opportunities galore for Lupe, who sniffed the many dogs, and allowed herself to be petted by some of the friendlier people.
The passing parade included lots of dogs wearing backpacks. (American Dingoes don’t go in for that kind of drudgery, they bring human porters.) Some wore booties on their paws. (Carolina Dogs climb rocky mountains regularly, and aren’t a bunch of greenhorn tenderpaws.) There were large dogs and small ones representing a great variety of breeds.
The people were almost as varied as the dogs. Children under 10 years old had made it to the summit. There were tall, short, thin, and fat people. There were a few clearly in their 70’s. There were quite a number of nationalities and languages represented. The most unusual people, though, were three who came down the mountain riding unicycles. SPHP greatly regrets not having the presence of mind to take a couple of pictures of the unicyclists. The whole concept seemed suicidal, but there they were, having a great time.
In fact, everyone was having a good time. The weather was great. Only the ever-present smoke haze from distant wildfires dimmed the marvelous views above tree line.
Only near the summit were there any difficulties at all climbing Mount Elbert. Near the very end, the trail climbed pretty steeply to reach the ridgeline that was the final leg to the summit. Many people reported being a bit scared of the loose rock and slippery hard-packed ground on the steep trail.
When Lupe and SPHP got there, it was as they said, but not anything Lupe hadn’t encountered many times before on other mountains. It was really more of a problem going down than going up. Taking it slowly and cautiously was all that was required. Of course, that applied only to SPHP. The Dingo romped around as usual, confident of her footing every inch of the way.
After gaining nearly 4,500 feet of elevation, Lupe was there – the summit of the highest mountain in Colorado, the state most famous for its high peaks. Lupe stood surveying the world from the top of Mount Elbert.
Since the weather turned out to be perfect, there was a huge advantage to Lupe’s late start up Mount Elbert. By the time she reached the summit, there were fewer than a dozen people there. Most of those soon left. In the end, there was only one other group on Mount Elbert. There were two brothers and an uncle. They were waiting for a brother-in-law, who was still struggling up the mountain on the South Mount Elbert Trail No. 1481 (which actually approaches Mount Elbert from the E).
The brother-in-law was thinking about giving up, but the rest of the family was in contact via smart phones. They urged him onward. He came into view below, and was eventually greeted by the family as he approached the summit.
When all four men reached the summit, Lupe joined them for a photo op. This was the brother-in-law’s first trip up Mount Elbert, but the rest of the family had made multiple trips up the mountain. The brother in the blue jacket and jaunty blue hat had been here six times.
Lupe and SPHP remained up on Mount Elbert for a while longer after Edgar’s arrival. No one else came up the mountain. It looked like Edgar was going to be the last man up this day. SPHP was curious about a high mountain off to the SE far beyond the Twin Lakes. No one knew its name.
By climbing Mount Elbert, both Lupe and SPHP set personal records for the highest mountain ever climbed. Unless Lupe and SPHP make it out to Mount Whitney in California some day, it’s likely Mount Elbert is the highest mountain Lupe and SPHP will ever climb.
Prior to Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation, Lupe’s personal best was Lonesome Mountain (11,399 ft.) on 8-3-14 in Montana, which she climbed during her 2014 Dingo Vacation. She had already set new records three more times during her 2015 Dingo Vacation: Medicine Bow Peak (12,013 ft.) on 8-10-15) in Wyoming, Mount Zirkel (12,180 ft.) on 8-17-15 in Colorado, and Flat Top Mountain (12,354 ft.) on 8-21-15 in Colorado.
SPHP hadn’t set a new record for highest mountain climbed in years. Until this day with Lupe on Mount Elbert, Cloud Peak (13,167 ft.) in Wyoming, a peak SPHP has climbed twice, was the highest mountain SPHP ever stood on.
So seeing the world from up on Mount Elbert was kind of a big deal. Before Lupe headed down, SPHP took a few extra photos of the view from the top of Colorado.
And then it was time to start down. It turned out that Edgar Flores was not going to be the last one to reach the summit of Mount Elbert this beautiful day. Lupe met several small groups of people still heading up on her way down. Maybe they were going to enjoy sunset on Mount Elbert. They certainly could have. The weather was ideal. It hadn’t even been breezy on top.
The big crowds that had been present on the trail earlier in the day were gone. Nearly the entire trek down Mount Elbert, Lupe and SPHP were alone.
It was getting pretty dark by the time Lupe reached the G6 again at 8:19 PM (50°F). She wasn’t going to climb any mountains higher than Mount Elbert on the rest of her Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation, or maybe ever. That doesn’t mean Lupe’s adventures are over though! She encourages you to subscribe to The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe for news of more Dingo Adventures coming soon!
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