Mt Evans - Another Gardner family 14er!

Wow, what a blessing this trip was. Not only was it our 5th family 14er, it was also the first mountain for Wade to climb since breaking his leg back in July. Now to be honest, it wasn’t a full hike, but it sure was a great day. (We started at 12,800 feet of elevation)

We left home at 6am. The road up Mt Evans (only Evans and Pikes Peak have roads up them) was closed for the season 5 miles below the summit. This meant a discounted toll (only $5) and less people! So, we parked at Summit Lake and began the hike around 8:30am. A Park Ranger was at the lake, and he measured the air temp to be 31 and the temp with wind chill to be 12 degrees!

The first .5 miles was on pavement, then we turned straight uphill for the last 1.3 miles. As short as the hike looked, it ended up taking us 3 hours to summit, eat, and be ready to head down. The vast majority of the trip was a fun celebration – stories, snacks, and cookies in store for whoever beat Dad to the top. (Anna and Dad tied, so she earned a cookie. Then Caleb beat Dad down, earning a cookie as well!) The wind died down so things warmed up enough to be pleasant, especially with our warm clothes on. The view at the top was priceless. Denver was covered with clouds, but the view all around us was wide open.

We had the summit to ourselves, a rarity on Mt Evans. As we prepared to descend we found about 8 mountain goats! They were beautiful, and so tame! There were two young ones as well. Anna tried to touch them, but they were not quite that tame.

The trip down went much more quickly (2 hours), with stories being told (and made up) to make the time go by. On the drive down we saw some bighorn sheep as well. The aspens had been changing colors, and God’s beauty was evident all around.

We praise God for this amazing place to live. And we are so thankful for these amazing bodies that are able to heal so quickly. (It was just 10 weeks ago that Wade broke his femur!)


Check out the pictures at http://wadedara.spaces.live.com/