A CO pastime: Hiking 14ers

Very soon after I moved to CO I heard about a lot of active peoples favorite pastime; Hiking 14ers.You are probably thinking what the hell is a 14er? It is a 14,000 mountain of which there are over 50 in the beautiful state of Colorado. Whenever I visited Colorado in the past I was drawn to the mountains.

To hike to the top of these massive formations seemed like a exciting hobby. The altitude in the mountains take some time to get adjusted to and I had been in CO Springs less than 4 months when I decided to hike Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak happens to be one of the hardest 14ers because of the elevation you start at. It took me around eight hours to hike the more than 12 miles to the summit. Sometimes in my life (ok most of the time) I don't take into account the details of a situation, rather I just dive in. So a long story short hiking Pikes Peak was one of the most challenging things I have done in my life. I barely made it and don't remember the last two miles because I was delirious.

So when the time came for my second 14er I was prepared! Hydrated, acclimated to the elevation, well rested and pumped up. I went with Frank the Tank (my officemate) and three of his friends. We left around 4:30 cause the early bird gets the worm and bad weather can come in early afternoon. Climbing this 14er was amazing!


It was challenging but I was flabergasted by the beauty that surrounded us. I found myself in a zone where I had boundless energy and I was totally caught up in the moment. If you ever want to read a great book check out flow, which basically sums up my experience that day.






Since this experience I have climbed a few more 14ers and I am always game to go. So... if your interested in streching yourself mentally and physically and having what I explain as a spiritual experience holla at me!