My buddy Jon called me last week and asked if I wanted to climb Mount of the Holy Cross? 12 miles, 4700 feet of elevation change, sleeping under the stars, getting up at 6:00 in the morning? Those all sounded like great things so I of course I said yes. We drove to within a mile of the trailhead the night before and slept out under the stars…the weather was great and we could see a ton of stars.

We woke up early the next morning, had some granola bars and water and started hiking. We hiked on a Thursday so there weren’t very many people on the trail, which is kind of nice. The hike was amazing, the weather was perfect and the view was incredible. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and we had a 360 degree view of everything around us. We could see the entire Gore Range and into the Eagle’s Nest Wilderness, we could see Mt. Evans and all the way to the Maroon Bells.

For as much time as I’ve spent in the mountains I have only climbed three 14er’s but it’s a great challenge and you always feel so great when you make it to the summit. Here’s a few of my favorite pictures from the day…

These were our accomodations for the night. Now Jon is getting married in 5 months so I’m not sure if we will be able to sleep this close together in the future.

This was our first view of the challenge ahead of us.

This was the view on the way up the mountain.

Jon was describing something to me…

He was quite the sight with his gloves on…but he didn’t want his fingers getting cold.

I’m not sure if manly or studly is the right word…dorky maybe goofy certainly come to mind.

A Snicker’s bar and some pictures at the top…and then the hike back.

If you’ve never hiked a 14er there are plenty in the state that are accessible and easily hiked by a beginner. You can check the 14ers website to get more information…but it’s something that I would highly recommend you try.