{"id":2313,"date":"2015-11-24T08:10:17","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T15:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2313"},"modified":"2019-03-16T13:58:39","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T19:58:39","slug":"mount-elbert-colorado-8-23-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2313","title":{"rendered":"Mount Elbert, Colorado (8-23-15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

After climbing Flat Top Mountain<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (12,354 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> the previous day, August 22nd was a rest and repositioning day for Lupe.\u00a0 SPHP drove down to Leadville, CO.\u00a0 The very dusty G6 got taken to a car wash.\u00a0 SPHP got cleaned up, too.\u00a0 Lupe dined on roasted chicken from Safeway and an ice cream bar.\u00a0 She seemed quite content to spend a significant portion of the day snoozing in the G6.<\/p>\n

Later in the day, there\u00a0was a scouting trip down to a couple of\u00a0trailheads in the Halfmoon Creek area\u00a0SW of Leadville.\u00a0 (The gravel roads were fine, but very washboardy.\u00a0\u00a0It was Saturday, and the\u00a0place was simply overrun with people and vehicles.)\u00a0 Lupe also visited Turquoise Lake.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mount Massive from Turquoise Lake near Leadville, CO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

August 23rd, Day 15 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation,\u00a0began as a\u00a0complete disappointment.\u00a0 SPHP had planned for Lupe to get an early start on climbing Mount Elbert<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(14,433 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, the highest mountain in Colorado.\u00a0 (Only Mt. Whitney<\/span><\/a> (14,498 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0in California is higher in the 48 contiguous United States.)\u00a0 When morning came, however, Mount Elbert was nowhere to be seen.\u00a0 The sky was completely overcast.\u00a0 Mount Elbert was lost in the clouds.<\/p>\n

There was no point in Lupe climbing Mount Elbert just to see fog.\u00a0 A leisurely breakfast ensued.\u00a0 After a little while, though, it looked like there wasn’t as much fog as there had been.\u00a0 The trend continued.\u00a0 Suddenly SPHP realized the clouds were going to simply dissipate.\u00a0 It wasn’t going to be foggy for long.\u00a0 It was going to be a gorgeous day!<\/p>\n

Lupe got a late start.\u00a0 It was Sunday.\u00a0 The weekend crowds were still here.\u00a0 The Mount Elbert trailhead was absolutely totally and completely full.\u00a0 Apparently SPHP had been the only one deterred by the early morning fog.\u00a0 It was 10:12 AM (54\u00b0F) by the time SPHP parked the G6 at a little pullout along USFS Road No. 110 in the Halfmoon Creek area.\u00a0 Lupe had to trot 0.25 mile along No. 110 just to get to the trailhead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mount Elbert from Road No. 110, which leads to the Halfmoon Creek area trailhead NE of Mount Elbert. Although the clouds had dissipated, there was still a smoky haze from distant wildfires. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mount<\/a>
Mount Massive<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(14,421 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> is the 3rd highest mountain in the 48 contiguous United States, and only 12 feet lower than Mount Elbert. Mount Massive is just 5 miles NNW of Mount Elbert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mount<\/a>
Mount Elbert from the NE. SPHP managed to park the G6 closer to the TH than shown here. This was just a rare viewpoint at an opening in the forest along No. 110.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first part of the climb up Mount Elbert was all in the forest, so there really weren’t any views.\u00a0 From the Mount Elbert TH, a\u00a0short spur trail (0.50 mile?) leads up to the Colorado Trail.\u00a0 Lupe followed\u00a0a somewhat longer segment of the Colorado Trail S to an intersection with the Mount Elbert Trail No. 1184.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 The trail works its way up the NE ridge and gets heavy use.\u00a0 Its route is unmistakable, except when covered with snow.<\/p>\n

Other than a portion of the Colorado Trail which was close to level, Lupe’s entire route to Mount Elbert was a steady climb.\u00a0 Some parts were steeper than others, especially approaching the summit,\u00a0but it was nearly all just going up.<\/p>\n

Even though the Mount Elbert TH parking lot was full, at first there weren’t too many other people and dogs\u00a0around.\u00a0 Only Lupe, SPHP and a few other stragglers\u00a0were starting up the mountain this late in the day.<\/p>\n

After a couple of hours, Lupe and SPHP started meeting the early birds coming back down the mountain.\u00a0 Some had started up in darkness as early as 4:00 AM.\u00a0 By the time Lupe reached tree line, a flood of people and dogs were coming down the trail.\u00a0 Not all had made it to the summit of Mount Elbert, but most of them had.\u00a0 There were social opportunities galore for Lupe, who sniffed the many dogs, and allowed herself to be petted by some of the friendlier people.<\/p>\n

The passing parade included lots of dogs wearing backpacks.\u00a0 (American Dingoes don’t go in for that kind of drudgery, they bring human porters.)\u00a0 Some wore booties on their paws.\u00a0 (Carolina Dogs climb rocky mountains regularly, and aren’t a bunch of greenhorn tenderpaws.)\u00a0 There were large dogs and small ones representing a great variety of breeds.<\/p>\n

The people were almost as varied as the dogs.\u00a0 Children under 10 years old had made it to the summit.\u00a0 There were tall, short, thin, and fat people.\u00a0 There were a few clearly in their 70’s.\u00a0 There were quite a number of nationalities and languages represented.\u00a0 The most unusual people, though, were three who came down the mountain riding unicycles.\u00a0 SPHP greatly regrets not having the presence of mind to take a couple of pictures of the unicyclists.\u00a0 The whole concept seemed suicidal, but there they were, having a great time.<\/p>\n

In fact, everyone was having a good time.\u00a0 The weather was great.\u00a0 Only the ever-present smoke haze from distant wildfires dimmed the marvelous views above tree line.<\/p>\n

\"Trail<\/a>
Trail No. 1184 above tree line.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lupe climbing Mount Elbert. She is already well above tree line here. This photo shows the steepest part of the climb up Mt. Elbert on Trail No. 1184. Once up on the ridge ahead, the rest of the way to the summit is just an easy stroll gaining the final bit of elevation gradually. Photo looks WSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe gains the ridgeline. The summit is now in view. The rest of the way is easy, with spectacular views all along the way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Only near the summit were there any difficulties at all climbing Mount Elbert.\u00a0 Near the very end, the trail climbed pretty steeply to reach the ridgeline that was the final leg to the summit.\u00a0 Many people reported being a bit scared of the loose rock and slippery hard-packed ground on the steep trail.<\/p>\n

When Lupe and SPHP got there, it was as they said, but not anything Lupe hadn’t encountered many times before on other mountains.\u00a0 It was really more of a problem going down than going up.\u00a0 Taking it slowly and cautiously was all that was required.\u00a0\u00a0Of course, that applied only to SPHP.\u00a0 The Dingo romped\u00a0around as usual, confident of her footing every inch of the way.<\/p>\n

After gaining nearly 4,500 feet of elevation, Lupe was there – the summit of the highest mountain in Colorado,\u00a0the state most famous for its high peaks.\u00a0 Lupe stood surveying\u00a0the\u00a0world from the\u00a0top of Mount Elbert.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Lupe on the summit of Mount Elbert.\u00a0 SPHP believes the high mountain near the center of this photo is La Plata Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(14,336 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
A hiker holds up a rather nice Mount Elbert sign designed like a Colorado state license plate to commemorate the occasion. The sign had the elevation and numbers 8 and 15 on it for August, 2015. SPHP has no idea who produced and brought that sign up. Whoever did was kind enough to leave\u00a0the sign\u00a0there for everyone’s use.\u00a0 No doubt it eventually made a nice souvenir for someone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mount<\/a>
Mount Elbert – South Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (14,134 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> is shown here on the left. It is an unranked peak connected to Mount Elbert by a ridge. The Black Cloud Trail No. 1480, an alternate route up Mount Elbert from the S, crosses Mount Elbert – South Peak on its way to Mount Elbert. La Plata Peak (R), 6 miles away to the SSW,\u00a0is also in this photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mt.<\/a>
Mt. Cosgriff<\/a><\/span> (13,588 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(L) is another unranked peak. It is connected to Mount Elbert – South Peak (R) by a continuation of the same ridge from Mount Elbert. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mount<\/a>
Mount Massive<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (14,421 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0dominates the view to the NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking W at the upper South Fork of Halfmoon Creek basin. SPHP believes the peaks in the foreground are Casco Peak<\/span><\/a> (13,908 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (L of Center), Frasco Peak<\/span><\/a> (13,876 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (R of Center), and French Mountain<\/span><\/a> (13,940 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (Far R.).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since the weather turned out to be perfect, there was a huge advantage to Lupe’s late start up Mount Elbert.\u00a0 By the time she reached the summit, there were fewer than a dozen people there.\u00a0 Most of those soon left.\u00a0 In the end, there was only one other group on Mount Elbert.\u00a0 There were two brothers and an uncle.\u00a0 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).<\/p>\n

The brother-in-law was thinking about giving up, but the rest of the family was in contact via smart phones.\u00a0 They urged him onward.\u00a0 He came into view below, and was eventually greeted by the family as he approached the summit.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a>
Two brothers and an uncle greet a brother-in-law as he reaches the NE end of the summit area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When\u00a0all four men\u00a0reached the summit, Lupe\u00a0joined them for a\u00a0photo op.\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0The brother in the blue jacket and\u00a0jaunty blue hat\u00a0had been here six times.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe with new friends on Mount Elbert. Photo looks NNW towards Mount Massive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"From<\/a>
From Left to Right: Carlos Holguin, Jose Holguin, Edgar Flores, Luis Holguin. Edgar, of course, is the brother-in-law savoring his first ascent of Mount Elbert. Luis is Carlos and Jose’s uncle. Lupe is the Carolina Dog, but you knew that already.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP remained up on Mount Elbert for a while longer after Edgar’s arrival.\u00a0 No one else came up the mountain.\u00a0 It looked like Edgar was going to be the last man up this day.\u00a0 SPHP was curious about a high mountain off to the SE far beyond the Twin Lakes.\u00a0 No one knew its name.<\/p>\n

\"No<\/a>
No one knew the name of the high mountain to the SE far beyond Twin Lakes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By climbing Mount Elbert, both Lupe and SPHP set personal records for the highest mountain ever climbed.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Prior to Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation, Lupe’s personal best\u00a0was Lonesome Mountain<\/span><\/a><\/span> (<\/span>11<\/span>,399 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0on 8-3-14\u00a0in\u00a0Montana, which she climbed during\u00a0her 2014 Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 She had already set new records three more times during her 2015 Dingo Vacation: Medicine Bow Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(12,013 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> on 8-10-15) in Wyoming, Mount Zirkel<\/a> (12,180 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> on 8-17-15 in Colorado, and Flat Top Mountain<\/a><\/span> (<\/strong>12,354 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> on 8-21-15 in Colorado.<\/p>\n

SPHP hadn’t set a new record for highest mountain climbed in years.\u00a0 Until this day with Lupe on\u00a0Mount Elbert, Cloud Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (13,167 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> in Wyoming, a peak SPHP has climbed twice, was the highest mountain SPHP ever stood on.<\/p>\n

So seeing the world from\u00a0up on\u00a0Mount Elbert was kind of a big deal.\u00a0 Before Lupe headed down, SPHP took a few extra photos of the view from the top of Colorado.<\/p>\n

\"Mount<\/a>
Mount Elbert – South Peak and the ridge leading to it from Mount Elbert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Twin Lakes from Mount Elbert. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mount<\/a>
Mount Massive from Mount Elbert. Photo looks NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The view NW of Mt. Elbert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Looking NE along the summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And then it was time to start down.\u00a0 It turned out that Edgar Flores was not going to be the last one to reach the summit of Mount Elbert this beautiful day.\u00a0 Lupe met several small groups of people still heading up on her way down.\u00a0 Maybe they were going to enjoy sunset on Mount Elbert.\u00a0 They certainly could have.\u00a0 The weather was ideal.\u00a0 It hadn’t even been breezy on top.<\/p>\n

The big crowds that had been present on the trail earlier in the day were gone.\u00a0 Nearly the entire trek down Mount Elbert, Lupe and SPHP were alone.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe sniffs around still near the summit. The junction of Trails No. 1184 (straight ahead) and No. 1481 (heads to the right) is shown here. Lupe will go back down No. 1184, the same way she came up. No. 1184 is the N or NE route up Mount Elbert.\u00a0No. 1481 is\u00a0known as the\u00a0South\u00a0Mount Elbert Trail, even though it actually approaches the mountain from the E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Even<\/a>
Even though the climb up Mount Elbert doesn’t feature any dangerous parts, if you wanted to, you could still manage to fall off the mountain. This look down a steep slope to the N was taken\u00a0while Lupe was still close to the summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Mount Massive from Mount Elbert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Mt.<\/a>It was getting pretty dark by the time Lupe reached the G6 again at 8:19 PM (50\u00b0F).\u00a0 She wasn’t going to climb any mountains higher than Mount Elbert on the rest of her Summer of\u00a02015 Dingo Vacation, or maybe ever.\u00a0 That doesn’t mean Lupe’s adventures are over though!\u00a0 She encourages you to subscribe to The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe for news of more Dingo\u00a0Adventures coming soon!<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on her way down Mount Elbert, 8-23-15. Turquoise Lake is seen far below at left center. Leadville, CO is near the right edge.\u00a0 Lupe, the American Dingo will be seen on more lofty peaks in the American West\u00a0very soon!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2015 Wyoming, Colorado & Utah Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After climbing Flat Top Mountain (12,354 ft.) the previous day, August 22nd was a rest and repositioning day for Lupe.\u00a0 SPHP drove down to Leadville, CO.\u00a0 The very dusty G6 got taken to a car wash.\u00a0 SPHP got cleaned up, too.\u00a0 Lupe dined on roasted chicken from Safeway and an ice cream bar.\u00a0 She seemed … Continue reading Mount Elbert, Colorado (8-23-15)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[274],"tags":[105,106,296,26,348,104,344,345],"class_list":["post-2313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2015-wyoming-colorado-utah","tag-american-dingo","tag-carolina-dog","tag-colorado","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-la-plata-peak","tag-lupe","tag-mount-elbert","tag-mt-elbert-trail-no-1184"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/P1060855.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2313"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20837,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313\/revisions\/20837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}