Never Judge a Book by its Cover

In my quest to summit all of the 14ers here in Colorado, Mt. Evans and Pikes Peak have been the only ones I have not been looking forward to completing. This is for the obvious reason that there are roads to the summit. I have never liked the idea of ruining such a spectacular experience by allowing any old tourist to just sit in their car and have them claim they have been to the summit of a 14er in Colorado. Sitting on the summit; that you may have done, but you have lost the true value of what that really has to offer, you have not truly experienced the greatness, the solitude, the reward…

I have lived in Colorado my whole life, and although I have come close, I have never driven to the top of either Mt. Evans or Pikes Peak, and I never in my life plan on it. To be honest, these are probably the only two peaks that I will never want to climb more than once, which is a sad thought.

Yesterday I woke up early and headed west, planning to summit Mt. Evans; on foot, not by car. I really wasn’t excited, which was the first time before a climb. I was planning on a crowded trail, with pretty scenery destroyed by roads, and then the hike to the summit, overlooking a parking lot only a few feet below full of cars and tourists.

I was wrong on almost all accounts… There were only a few cars in the lot, two of which were maintenance vehicles. I passed a couple of people at the trail head, but from there on out Seranno and I were alone with the mountain. The trail was hard to find in spots, so I had to stay focused while I hiked from cairn to cairn. I had to stop a few times and do a 360 to make sure I was still on the right trail, wondering where all the people were. Not a soul in sight. I was in shock, and impressed. The views were amazing from the start, even though there were many roads to be seen. Seranno and I enjoyed our hike, I could sing to myself, and she pranced all over. We made it to the summit around noon, with the peak to ourselves. I wonder how many people have stood on that peak completely alone, especially on a nice day in September… There was the parking lot, but it was empty. Other than that, the views were, of course, spectacular, different from other 14ers mainly for the fact that you could see the city and the plains from there, not just other mountain tops. I think that was the longest time I have sat on a summit completely alone, even in winter. And even still, I left the summit completely empty. I was juiced and still excited to be up there, so I decided to head over and climb Spalding, a 13er. It didn’t take long, and the views were just as spectacular. I was alone on that peak, too. The clouds were moving in fast by this point, so Seranno and I headed down, again without passing another soul.

The road to the summit was closed for the season, which definitely was a factor in the lack of people, but it made me wonder if this peak was actually climbed that often. This thought made me sad, especially after the incredible climb I had up to the top. Who knows, maybe I will climb this peak again…