Who Meeee?

This past Labor Day, Chris and I decided to go camping very last minute - which very last minute to us means that week. Ha! Though many campsites had to be reserve months in advance to secure a spot, fortunately for us, we live in a state where a majority of it is "campable" - meaning, you can put your stuff in your car, find a nice spot in the forests and camp. Being the "experienced" campers, we found a few sites that didn't have any running water, toilets, electricity - nothing. Those were the ones were had our eye on. I found one that I really liked and it happened to be right at the base of the tallest mountain in Colorado - no, it's not Pikes Peak (Pike's is only popular because there is a way for people to go to the top without having to climb - it's accessible - which makes it popular). Actually, we were in the between the first, Mt. Elbert, and second tallest, Mt. Massive (which Chris hiked last year).
I just thought it would be a nice view from our campsite, but Chris thought the campsite would be a nice view from the top of Mt. Elbert. When he mentioned we'd hike the tallest mountain in Colorado, I said, "Who? Meeee? I'm not a billy goat who just goes up mountains!" But, we decided to go for it - I would take on the challenge with one condition - a nice big dinner the night before.

We packed up our car and headed west. We stopped by a Chinese restaurant (classic camping food - ha!) in the small town of Leadville and we were offff. We slept pretty well that night, we had a quick breakfast, layered up (and our dogs) and we were off to the hike. It was generally not too bad of a climb until we got to about 12,000 feet and I was feeling quite weak. As in, I could close my eyes and take a nice long nap if I had the chance. The wind was so strong and cold... It was mentally challenging to put one foot ahead of the other. I got to the point where I didn't feel I could climb anymore and Chris came to the rescue. He pretty much led me through breathing exercises and that truly helped me get to the top - I apparently needed much more oxygen than I was getting by breathing regularly. Oxygen was the key. Once I got more oxygen, the last bit of the climb wasn't so bad. And....

We made it!!!

The views were pretty awesome. Chancho wanted to sleep and Lola wanted to say hi to everyone. So typical of them. They did get quite a bit of compliments - especially about their "fashion forward" coats. Oh goodness! They were cold and they have very little fur to keep them cozy. I do have to mention that my monkey Lola was so cute in that when she saw me climbing down (because Chris and the dogs had to stop to wait for me many times) she would climb up to greet me and climb down with me. So cute and concerned for her mommy!

On our slooooooow way back (yes, I was quite slow since I don't like the thought of falling on rocks) we had a little photo shoot. The first few ones we had to repeat since all Chancho wanted to do was sleep. Once he picked his head up, we were set.

This was quite the little family event. Though there were definitely moments when all I wanted to do was cry, I could say that it was worth it. It was nice to say that I've climbed a 14er and we got to do it as a family! On to the next adventure...