First 14-ers, Part II: Mt. Massive

The mystery of Day 2 actually began around 7:30pm the night of Day 1. We set up camp in the San Isabel National Forest and planned to wait to pack up camp once we were done hiking on Sunday. Because we were very tired from Mt. Elbert and planned to wake up around 3:30-4am, we all retired to our tents around 7:30pm. I laid in my sleeping bag reading by the light of my headlamp for awhile. It was a little windy and I heard some rustling, but didn't think too much of it as campsites often go hand-in-hand with creepy noises. Later, when I was still up reading with my light on, I swore that I heard footsteps nearby, saw a flashlight right outside my tent, and heard the zipper of a tent or a sleeping bag open and close several times. I was scared, but convinced myself that it was one of the other girls and finally went to sleep. At breakfast the next morning, my two friends reported hearing similar noises. This freaked me out enough that the first thing I googled after getting home was "san isabel national forest halfmoon campground ghost." (Didn't find anything). I know it probably wasn't a ghost. My best guesses are the wind and/or the jerky guys in the campsite next to ours. Regardless, it was enough to make us want to pack up camp before leaving for the hike. This ended up being a good thing. More on that later.

The hike! We started hiking Mt. Massive around 5am. It was still dark out, so we hiked with our headlamps for the first couple hours.



















We emerged from the forested area around 7am when the sun was rising over the mountains.




















Mt. Massive is called a Class 2 climb, which is defined as "More difficult hiking that may be off-trail. You may also have to put your hands down occasionally to keep your balance. May include easy snow climbs or hiking on talus/scree." (Mt. Elbert was Class 1 -- "Easy hiking, usually on a good trail.") And, there were two routes to get to the summit that formed a loop. One route was 3 steep miles, the other was 5.5 miles in a more gradual climb. We decided to take the 5.5 mile climb up and then assess at the top whether to take the steep route down or go back the way we came. Everything we read suggested that the 5.5 miles route was fairly easy. Well, I thought it was freakin' hard! But then again, it was only my second 14-er ever, not to mention in as many days!


The first 2-3 miles weren't bad and the scenery was incredible - much more varied than Mt. Elbert.







Then we got to this part:





































This part, though grueling, wasn't actually as bad as what came later. Some of the rocks were loose, but for the most part it was pretty solid footing. I made up a system for getting up this. I looked down at my feet and counted ten steps, then I stopped to look up and figure out where I was going. When I felt more comfortable, I started counting 20, 30, or 40. Closer to the "top" (of this stretch only) I reverted back to 10 steps at a time.

Then it started snowing.


































The snow didn't last long and we pressed on. The rest of the climb was a ridge trail with a series of "false summits", meaning lots of ups and downs. Not too long after this, we were atop one of the summits and noticed a tube containing a log - we summitted!!!




































Or so we thought . . . We looked in the log tube more carefully and saw a sign that read, "Mt. North Massive, 14,421 ft 14,340 ft." We had hiked a 14-er, but not the one we were aiming for. It must be just the next summit over, right? Wrong!

The next summit over was particularly difficult and took us a long time. We couldn't go over the top and we had to go the long way around the side to avoid a large patch of ice. Not to mention that the scree was really loose on this part and almost every movement sent rocks and gravel down the side.







I was able to push through this part because I really, really thought that the next peak was Mt. Massive, the real thing. I felt so demoralized when I reached the top and realized it wasn't. But, when we finally were looking up at the actual Mt. Massive, the sky was looking pretty ominous. It was getting late, we had already made it up to a summit of 14,ooo+ feet, we were worried about lightening, and at this point I was so frustrated I cared much more about making it back to the trailhead than making it up to Mt. Massive. We made the decision that it wasn't worth the risk to try to summit and hung out in a rock alcove for awhile, seeking shelter and making a plan.

Since we weren't going to summit, the shorter 3 mile route to get back along the ridge was not an option. We had to get back down to the trail we came up on without turning around and going back the way we came. This involved more loose scree and took FOREVER! I wanted to keep my center of gravity low and I was afraid of slipping on loose rocks, so I pretty much just slid all the way down on my butt. I have ripped pants to prove it!






























After this, I tried to keep my spirits up, but I was in full on death march mode. I just wanted to get back to the car and tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Much more than the day before, I was feeling the elevation and had been the entire hike. It wasn't so much the aerobic challenge or lactic acid build-up in my legs, it just felt like I was wearing ankle weights. Putting one foot in front of the other was much more challenging than usual.

We finally got back to the car around 7pm - 14 hours of hiking! I have to say I was glad that ghosts or whoever scared us out of the campsite that morning so we didn't have to go back and pack up our tents. That would have sucked.

I was glad that I was able to summit a second 14-er and I really enjoyed the scenery (before I switched into death march mode). The fact that we didn't quite make it up to the Mt. Massive summit makes me feel that there is some unfinished business. The next time I attempt it, I'm definitely going for the shorter route even if it's harder. But, I need at least a year moratorium from Massive before I can even contemplate tackling it again. For now, I got my first 14-ers under my belt--pretty challenging ones, to boot--and that's all that matters.