The Big Climb

We left the house today about 4 am to head over to Quandary's Peak...a 14,265 foot peak located just south of Breckenridge. We arrived at the trail head about 525 am and got Cayle changed and ready and our packs on our backs. Still dark at this time...about 540ish am as we started up the trail using Nick's headlamp to guide the way.

The trail was steep early on. Once the sun came up we were treated to awesome views (and seeing just how steep things actually were!).

(the sun coming up over the mountain)

At about 12,500 feet, Cayle starting crying. We stopped hiking and tried to calm him down and see what was wrong. To no avail. So, Nick decided Mark and I should continue on and he'd stay behind with Cayle. Not a best-case scenario, but better than no one getting to the top. So, Mark and I carried on.

(up we go)

The hike was difficult - really steep. We reached the false summit about 45 minutes before the actual summit. Total climb time was about 3 hours going up. Mark and I were at the summit about 4 minutes before other groups behind us reached the summit and things started to get crowded. So, down we went.

(proof I made it to the top!)

(view from the top)

On our way down, we ran in to Nick and Cayle at the false summit. We didn't figure out exactly what Cayle's problem was earlier - stomach ache (hadn't pooped overnight)? altitude sickness? hungry? cold? Obviously we had brought him food and warm clothes, but you never can tell exactly what they're thinking! Anyway, Nick and Cayle had eventually made it to just over 13,000 feet to meet us and hike down with us.

The hike down took about 2.5 hours and although you'd think it was more fun coming down than it was going up, it was actually pretty challenging stepping through all of the rocks and keeping a good pace.

Once we got home, we got Cayle a bath and a nap...which meant quiet time and a nice nap for mommy and daddy!