鱼_鱼

In local mountaineering parlance in the western United States, a fourteener (or “14er”) is a mountain peak that exceeds 14,000 feet (4267.2 meters) elevation. There are 53 fourteeners in the U.S. State of Colorado. These 14ers can be roughly grouped into 4 classes by difficulty (class 4 is the highest rank in difficulty). Mt. Huron is my first 14er but it is just class 2, which means it is not hard to do Huron.

Then on the weekend right after I was back from Charlotte, I with some hiking companions (Xaviersx, Stijn, Audie and Barbora) successively climbed two 14ers (Mt. Lindsey (class 3) and Mt. Antero (difficult class 2)) in two days. We left Boulder at 6:30 pm in the evening and it took us around 6 hours to get to the campground. The final a few miles of dirt road through the jungle is bumpy, but luckily we have a four-wheel drive vehicle. We started to set up the tent at 00:30 am. This is my first time to sleep in a tent, especially in the mountain region, thus I was really excited so that I could not get into sleep… Another reason I stayed awake was the strong wind. At about 05:00 am, we started to hike in the dark. This is my first time to wear a headlamp, making me feel much more professinal. Mt. Lindsey is ranked class 3, which means it is difficulty to climb. However we are all experienced in hiking, so we did fast and we all reached the summit at 08:00 am. As the saying goes, it is easy to climb the hill but hard to get down. This is true, especially in the case that my hiking shoes do not fit my feet. For each step down, the big toes pressed against the shoes and it really hurt. At about 11:50 am, we all got back to the camping site.

After a hot lunch (or dinner) in a small town called Salida, we headed up to Mt. Antero. Then after selecting the camp site and pitching our tents, we found it was not yet 6pm. So we decided to make a fire for fun. We were in the middle of a national forest, so it is easy to get plenty of woods. We sat around the fire and barbecued marshmallow, a very good taste! Before sleep, I had a poop in the forest… The rule is to use a special shovel to dig a hole and make sure put back the soil when you are finished. Again, I was still so excited to live in the tent, therefore I did not fall asleep at all. Mt. Antero is just class 2 in difficulty but it is tricky to find the correct trail. We started to hike at 04:30 am and it seemed everything would go smoothly. But when approaching the summit on the long ridge, I felt sick and could not advance further. I thought it should be the bad rest induced my ‘altitude sickness’. Anyway I did not make it to the top, though I was so close to it. On the way back, we picked another route down hill but lost the way in the forest… We were all exhausted already but had to cheer up to keep walking through this unknown jungle. The slope is steep everywhere, we all fell down frequently and the thorns are around… It was like waling on the pins and needles. I remembered Audie yelled desparately “My ankle is killing me “… I was lucky to take a trekking post with me, otherwise it would be definitely worse. Finally we found our way out. When we hit on the real trail, we felt like driving on the high way again!

01. We left boulder at 6:30pm. We took a break at a gas station and reorganized our luggage :

02. Driving through the woods:

03. Xaviersx was setting up the tent. In the front are my backpack, suitcase and sleepbag:

04. Audie was setting up his small tent . It was dark and silent:

05. The forest:

06. We started to hike through the forest before 5:00am:

07. At a basin, we can take a glimpse of the Mt. Lindsey and Iron Nipple (left):

08. The summit of Mt. Lindsey was among the clouds:

09. Iron Nipple under the red cloud:

10. Look back at the basin:

11. Look back at the basin:

12. Take a break and add on clothes since it is getting colder as elevation rises:

13. Climbing:

14. The cloud sea:

15. Mt. Lindsey is now clearly visible and the saddle:

16. Viewing Mt. Lindsey on a flat area under the saddle:

17. Viewing Mt. Lindsey on the saddle:

18. Hiking on the saddle, the route ascends an obvious gully:

19. Looking back on the route from the base of the gully:

20. My hiking companions:

21. The rugged terrain under the gully:

22. On the summit ridge with the summit in view:

23. It measured 14079 feet on the top:

24. The summit:

25. On the summit we gathered together and recharged our bodies with food:

26. Group photo: from left to right are Audie, Barbora, Stijn and Xaviersx:

27. Looking back from the summit:

28. Climbing down:

29. Climbing down:

30. The trail:

31. The trail back to the campground:

32. We had a lunch in Salida:

33. We made a fire and were grilling marshmallow:

34. Climbing Mt. Antero:

35. Climbing Mt. Antero (the meadow):

36. The long, rocky and bumpy ridge:

37. Taking a break on the rocks:

38. The ridge is a little bit exposed:

39. Looking down on a steep slope:

40. Looking down on a steep slope:

41. Looking down on a steep slope:

42. The summit of Antero is visible, but I sufferred from a altitude sickness here:

43. I did not make it to the top of Antero:

44. Back to our car:

45. Driving pase Denver: