Mt. Bierstadt (14,065) on Father's Day

Well....I bagged another 14'er today.  Today was Nate's last day out here in Colorado with me (Nate is the Penn State undergrad who came out to help in the ice lab for a week), so we decided another 14'er was in order.  Yesterday while I was running up Mt. Evans, Nate was hiking up Mt. Quandary with some friends. We both came away with some crazy stories.   Today, we opted for a more slow-paced, moderate, enjoyable 14'er --- hence, Mt. Bierstadt.  Probably one of the easiest 14'ers to hike, the trailhead is only about 90 minutes from Denver.  We headed out at 5:30 am with another friend of mine from town and started hiking about 7:00 am.  It was an absolutely beautiful day to do this hike.  The trail eases its way up the mountain and only gets slightly tricky at the very top (but still very easy).  We took our time and made  a morning out of it.  I took lots of pictures, enjoyed the views, and made the summit about 9:00.   The weather at the top was perfect and I enjoyed some time with my thoughts up there.  It's been almost 6 years since the loss of my dad, but I still think of him every day.   At 14,000 feet, I almost felt like I was a little closer to him today.  So Happy Father's Day dad, you are still missed dearly.

Officially now, I have hiked three of Colorado's 14ers:  Mt. Evans (ran up it yesterday), Mt. Bierstadt, and San Luis Peak (While on the Colorado Trail).  Only about 50 to go....

Here are some more pics from today:

A Rough Sketch of the Trail

Looking up at the Summit

At the Summit

View of Mt. Evans from Bierstadt Summit

Looking down at the Sawtooth