Bierstadt and Evans

Finally, they both got there and we loaded up my Blazer and headed up the hill to Georgetown and Guanella Pass.  We camped along the side of the road. 

Here is a photo of Kevin and Brannan setting up tents in the dark.

We got up, packed up, ate a little bit, and most importantly got some coffee in our systems.  Then we headed up to the Mt. Bierstadt Trail Head. 

Here is a picture of the first part of our goal... Mt Bierstadt on the right.  You can see the "saw-tooth" right next to it.

This picture is looking back toward the parking lot close to the beginning of the climb.

Brannan and I both tried it and just about passed out.  Apparently, it takes some practice. 

This is another photo looking back toward the parking lot... a little bit higher up.

While this is true... Mt. Bierstadt is easier than most (if not all) 14ers... that does not make it easy. 

Every 14er is difficult, and Mt. Bierstadt is no exception.  The main route is 6 miles with 2770 feet elevation gain.  6 miles (round-trip) doesn't sound like much, but 2770 feet elevation gain over 3 miles is not at all easy.

It was just a quick scramble up some rocks to the top of Bierstadt.

The view of mountain after mountain is quite a site to behold.  It is extremely beautiful and the photo does not give it justice.  We could see quite a bit of the Continental Divide.

It took us a little less than 2 and a half hours to get to the top.  It would have taken me longer without two companions setting the pace (especially one with the magic breathing method).

This was fun, but a little scary in some spots.  All the written descriptions I've read say this part is not as bad as it looks.  I disagree.  It is exactly as bad as it looks.

But is certainly do-able... I'm living proof.

You can tell, though, that they are definitely above me.  We are definitely climbing down.

It is also sort of an exercise in faith, because you can never see a good clear path as to where you are actually going.  You have to trust that a Cairn will present itself and that whoever set them up was not just playing some cruel joke on us.

More impressive are the continental divide and miles and miles of other mountains.  As I said before, these photos don't really do justice to the beauty.

However, just try to imagine that you are scrambling along and still going down, and you see this massive rock in front of you.  You know you have to eventually get way up there (and then higher).

The two people in the lower right hand corner are part of another 3-person group that we ended up being around quite a bit.  We would pass them... they would pass us... it was nice to know there were other people as foolish as us.

And coming back down, it was nice to know if we were lost, we had others with us.

You probably can tell from the picture, though that falling would not be a good idea.

It really looked like we are looking down at the 14er.  I think that is a slight optical illusion... but we were close.

Kevin kicked butt the last "little" bit and left Brannan in his dust.

Brannan left me in his dust.

But, eventually, I did make it somehow.  I got to the top right around 5 and a half hours after starting.  That, actually, is not that bad a time.

And I felt sorry for all those suckers who drove to the top... how much fun could that be?

On the trip down, we skipped the saw-tooth and veered North.  The bowl is pretty marshy with no real trail.  We ended up doing quite a bit of bush-whacking.  We ended hiking with the 3-person group I mentioned above.  As I said, it was nice to have other fools around.  If we got lost, we'd be lost together.