Flora Hiker: What does it look like from the top of a fourteener?

Monday, July 8, 2013

What does it look like from the top of a fourteener?

I finally did a fourteener. This past week I climbed to the top of Mount Massive from the North Halfmoon trail head. This is the shorter but steeper route to the top. The people in my group who have gone the other way said this side was much more interesting. I'll have to agree since we had amazing views, tons of wild flowers, and many, many marmot sightings.

We left the house at around 4:30 am and began hiking at 6:40 am to beat any bad afternoon weather. The sun was just starting to shine on the far mountains.

There were a couple of water crossings on the way up and down.

We reached the top at 9:59 am.

Besides the views from the top

(views of Leadville)

the marmot convention that was happening on the way down was by far the most interesting part of the hike. These guys reminded me of the ground hog in Caddyshack. They just didn't seem real.