We woke up early in Breckenridge and drove up to I-70 to make an end run around the north edge of the Ten Mile range. From there we headed south again through Leadville (the highest incorporated town in the US) and then followed a series of gravel roads to the North Mount Elbert Trailhead. Many of these gravel roads were in very good condition, in fact, on the way back to Breckenridge we saw dump trucks bringing in dirt and gravel to continue grading work.

Approaching the summit of Mt. Elbert

We had now spent several days in Breckenridge (9,600 feet) and had been hiking every day and we had even been up Mount Democrat (14,148 feet) so we were well acclimated. (Not to mention our stop at the alpine extremes of Kansas's Mount Sunflower on the drive out.)

It was about 8am when we left the car, and the parking lot was already about 1/3 full. A few other people were pulling up or heading off on the trail at the same time we embarked. The first section of the hike follows the Colorado Trail and mostly contours to the south will little elevation gain. The Colorado Trail was freshly marked with flagging tape to help ultra-marathoner's in the coming week as they attempted the Leadville 100.

All to soon you turn off the Colorado Trail, following the sign for "Mt. Elbert" and begin climbing. As you head up the trees grow more stunted and the forest thins out until you pass tree line and are rewarded with great views of Mount Massive (the second tallest peak in Colorado) to the north.

The trail is very easy to follow as it is clearly defined and well marked with cairns and rock shelters. Just be careful where you sit if you take advantage of these rock shelters, some people appeared to have used them as outhouses.

Mount Elbert is one of the most popular summits in Colorado, and even on the midweek day when we visited, there were a couple hundred people attempting to reach the second highest point in the contiguous 48 states (California's Mount Whitney is only 61 feet higher). As you climb further up the ridge you might see people coming up the ridge next ridge to the south as well.

After a few false summits we finally reached the very crowded top. There were people milling about everywhere. We located the summit register and signed in. We also ate a quick snack and struck up a conversation with a small group from Utah's Serac Club who were in Colorado to bag the 2nd, 3rd and 4th (Mount Harvard) highest summits in the contiguous 48 states. I later located their trip report online.

Adam and Christina on top of Mt. Elbert

Another person at the summit was telling people that if they were hockey fans, they should come back to the summit next week. He wouldn't say anything more, but apparently he knew about the plans to bring the Stanley Cup to the summit while the Colorado Avalanche had possession of the cup.

Heading back down we descended quicker than most other people. I noticed many people who passed us on the way up were wearing sneakers, but on the way down were forced to move very slowly to avoid slipping on loose rocks and twisting an ankle. Boots with decent ankle are highly recommended.

Back near tree line we passed some hikers napping in the sun after their summit attempt.

After we reached the car I was glad we'd gotten off the mountain as quickly as we did, as a typical Colorado afternoon rainstorm hit as we were headed out of Leadville.