Mt. Princeton Climb

This weekend I set out to climb Mt. Princeton with good friends of mine.  We stayed the night in quaint Buena Vista, Colorado and left early Saturday morning to begin the trek.  According to 14er.com we could park at the lower parking lot at approximately 8,000 ft in elevation or head up on a narrow dirt road to the radio towers (11,500 ft in elevation). My friend was driving her Subaru Outback and we had no concept of how much ground clearance we would need on the road.  So we parked a the bottom lot and began the long journey up the mountain.

Destination in the distance as we were still below tree line.

 We finally got above tree line to a beautiful alpine prairie and then the real work began.  It was steep and loose talus all the way up from this point on.  Lots and lots of talus.  The views from this point on were tremendous. The scope and range was wide.  But at this point, we really had to concentrate on our careful footwork.  Every step was an exercise in focus to make sure the step was solid.  

We met some amazing people along the way.  A group of 4 free spirited individuals kept us in great company.  They were world travelers, artists, gypsies, etc.  We also met 3 fun loving adventure seeking girls who were undergraduate students at the Colorado School of Mines.  All female students earning degrees in engineering.  

We finally made it to a false summit at 13,500 feet in elevation.  My friend and I were to concerned about the high winds and loose talus to go on from this point.  We decided, this was the end of our ascent.  We had started the journey at 7am and it was approximately 12:30 when we reached 12,500 feet in elevation.  We ate our traditional slice of pizza at our false summit, took some pictures and started the slow descent over the tremendous amount of talus. 

We stopped at the alpine prairie with a great sense of relief that we were past the point of having to focus so intensely on our footwork.  We dropped our bags, laid down on the prairie and drank the beers we brought with us.  Thankful that we were safe, it was time to rest for a minute, enjoy the warm sun, and take in the expansive view of the mountain range below us.  

We began the journey down to tree line and were deeply rewarded with the beautiful aspen leaves of fall.  We were there at the perfect time.  The trees were golden yellow and full.  A friendly couple in a jeep stopped on the way down the narrow road and asked if we wanted a ride.  They saved us another two miles of hiking down the road and we had already hiked a good 11 miles.  Our sore bodies were grateful for the ride down.  When we reached the car at about 4:30pm, we immediately took off our hiking boots and breathed easy.  It was a long day, but so so rewarding.  

At various points in our journey, each of us would mention items that we were either glad that we brought with us or that we wish we had brought.  I decided it would be a good idea to create a master list of items to bring on our mountain climbing journeys.  

Clothing

lightweight hat

lightweight gloves

hiking boots

hiking socks

jacket

leggings

Sustenance

pizza

beer

3L of water

granola/snack bars/cookies

gummy bears or gummy worms

Miscellaneous

small bluetooth speakers

small first aid kit

portable phone charger