Karen went out of town for work, so I took the boys up to do a 14er. They were awesome. I don’t know how long it will last, but they’re currently very excited to get up in the dark in the middle of the night. Let’s ride that wave of motivation as long as possible, right?
Halfway up the mountain, Jasper took Emerson up ahead, and then I couldn’t catch them the entire rest of the way. Bit worrisome, as it isn’t exactly a walk in the park. The wind became fierce, Bodie and I were struggling with being cold and getting blown around a bit, meanwhile I’m concerned that the two youngest ones, out of sight, might be in some sort of trouble in those sort of conditions. Fortunately a guy that was descending told me “they were killing it” and that “there isn’t much exposure, I would let my kids do it,” so with those words of encouragement my concern lessened somewhat. Evidently they were solid, reveling in it even. Bodie was holding back only to wait for me, I could not keep up the pace to catch them, but admittedly I was carrying way too much water and food and gear because that’s going to solve problems that happen with your young kids in the mountains, right? Uh huh. Jasper and Emerson were on the top for nearly a half hour before Bodie and I made it up there, they were totally fine. Jasper did start to feel crappy from the altitude, but so did I for that matter.
On the way down we encountered #trailsidemargaritas which is a crew of happy people that make other people happy by serving up ice cold margaritas out in the middle of nowhere partway up a 14er. Sweet group of folks, I recommend timing a 14er for their next session next year (they post their dates ahead of time).
shavano 360 video (drag to pan around while watching)
