Mountains of Democrats?

Maybe. But we would rather just see the singular.  Mt. Democrat.  And not from the bottom up, but from the top down. Joshua's comments are in italics.

A hiking we will go…

 Briana, John, and I left early in the morning on Saturday to go to Colorado. We listened to a fun book, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, to pass the time. (see the links at the bottom) John took some time to sleep in the back seat; probably to avoid the lovey dovey front seat.... Just kiddn! He stayed up late making preparations while I retired earlier to make sure I had enough sleep to drive. We had these delicious chicken teriyaki sandwiches (courtesy of Briana's Pinterest search for recipes) with pineapple, onions, red bell peppers and cheese. Briana marinated the chicken and I grilled it up. We were well-provisioned for the trip. As we were making the sandwiches, John asked me, "When are we going to have lunch?" The sandwiches really were that good. :) After a stop in Grand Junction for gas and a bag of kettle-cooked bbq chips, we ascended Independence Pass via the town of Aspen. The pass takes you up over 12,000 feet with plenty of switchbacking. It was a beautiful drive and worth the extra time it took. 

Joshua, Briana, and John came to Colorado to visit. When these boys are back in town, we seek adventure.  And 14ers are just that.  Calling our names to reach the top.  And since 14ers aren’t really a challenge for these boys, or Briana either :), we took some kids along, so they could actually get a workout.

Mt. Democrat starts in the small town of Alma which is already located at 10, 361 ft elevation.  By the time you drive up to the start hike location, you are probably close to 11, 000.  Feeling dizzy yet? Nauseous?  Good thing, we’re just about to get started. 

Joshua and Briana scoped out this 14er for us. (Thank you very much) In Joshua’s words, “It’s only about 2 and ½ to 3 and ½ miles round trip.  We’ll probably do the 3 and ½ because it’s not as steep.”  In my head, “Three and one half.  That’s nothing. My kids and I did 5 the other day.”  Five at 5,500 ft elevation.  Boy, were we in for a surprise. 

Mountains are tricky things.  Tricky, you say?  Yeah, I know it’s not the term you usually think of when you think of a mountain. They like to keep the reputation they have going.  Majestic.  Unconquerable.  Tall.  Massive.  Mysterious.  It’s the mystery that will get you.  And from a distance mountains are all they say there are.  It’s when climbing them, you find out there’s more to them than meets the eye. 

See, you look at a mountain and you think, “I got this.” Which is exactly what the mountain wants you to think.  But often what you think is the peak of the mountain isn’t really the peak at all and that’s where they get tricky.   

In the beginning, we were excited and running even.  We enjoyed grassy areas with beautiful wild flowers.  Water trickled through the small rock crevasses that crossed our path.  We even saw small pikas (yes, I had to look that up).  They are like a mice and a rabbit cross.  Smallish like a mouse, but big round ears, though not as tall as a rabbit.  And they have a distinct squeak.  Toy makers must climb mountains too.  And then they store this squeak up just like the mean Ursala tried to take the little mermaid's voice.  Toys makers don’t hurt the pika, of course.  They take these stored up squeaks and use them in all their squeaky toys.  They sound just like them. 

After these grassy areas, the mountain started to get more intimidating.  This is the time when the mountain wants to see if you really have it in you.  The rocks became harder to transverse, even slipping underneath you at several points.  Kira was especially having a hard time.  Not sure if the elevation, hunger, or dehydration was affecting her, but the mountain was giving her a run for her money.  Joshua was a great cheerleader.  He would distract her with ideas, give piggy-back ride incentives (and skittles), and encourage all along. 

We came to an open area part way up.  The winds became stronger here as it was open to other mountain ranges.  But the view was amazing.  We stopped for some pictures.

The kids all clung attached to Briana without any trouble.  They would pick her flowers, hold her hand, and take sips of her sparkling juice that she shared with them.  We asked Briana a few questions going up.  Mountains like these make it difficult to engage in conversation.  You have to focus on breathing instead of talking. John and I carried Liam up and down the mountain. Briana was super impressed by our strong muscles.... haha. Little did she know that Liam's diaper was filled with lighter-than-air gases. It was basically impossible to do anything else but float up the mountain like a hot air balloon! Just kidding, Liam. You were a fun rider. Liam often wanted to get down and walk like the rest of the group, so he did walk some of the time. He also carried a small rock in his hand at all times; picking up more if he dropped the one in his hand. He just wanted to make sure there was enough ballast to keep us on the ground. :)

The rocks became less slippery and more like boulders, small ones.  The kids started climbing on all fours for some of it.  No wonder goats do so well. 

Our one motivation to reach the peak was to eat! We planned to have lunch at the summit.  So although we teased ourselves with water and a few nuts and grapes, the real treat was sandwiches at the top. 

Remember the part about the tricks.  Well, he did. (I guess this is a masculine mountain.  We prefer those democrats to the female kind) We were at a really tough point and we could see what we thought was the top ahead.  We had to basically go straight up.  We gradually each made it up, John dragging Liam, (Thanks, John.) and panting for breath.  We thought, “This is it, we made it!" Only to look a little off to the left and see a stake in the summit 200 yds ahead. 

We stopped here for a bit to play in the snow.  Yes, Snow!  Joshua built mini snow boys and girls and put rocks on their faces.  Well, we’ve come this far, let’s finish it!  So, up a bit more we went.

Mt. Democrat! We conquered you.  14,148.  We ate delicious beef roast.  (I know, we carried that meat all the way to the top) I must say it tasted better than the beef jerky.  Scrumptious sandwiches on homemade rolls.  Peanut butter and jam or ham with various cheeses lettuce and red peppers. (Provided by Joshua and Briana) And trail mix and carrots. 

John is trying to tickle me here, hence why my hand is behind my back. 

What a great adventure!  Briana was amazed at Sienna (A 5 year old!) making to the top doing most of the hiking by herself.  Not many people can say they hiked a 14er that young. 

We loved getting to hang out with John and Joshua. (Even Liam got his name down) They are so positive and we definitely couldn’t have made it to the top without them.  We also loved meeting Briana.  She is very loving and willing to share whatever she has.  (I’m wearing her blue jacket in the last picture.  I love her go-getter attitude and her excitement to hike.  She did Mt. Democrat on Monday and hiked the Manitou incline the very next day. I'll add another post about that fun adventure!

On the way down we saw a mountain goat.  Briana was down in a lower point in the rocks with the kids.  We called out to her, “Look, a mountain goat.”  She didn’t get up to look.  We said it again.  When she finally did get up it was six feet in front of her.  She was shocked.  “I thought the mountain goat was a ways off," she said.  The mountain goat walked on by us.  He didn’t seem startled at all.

Sienna also held my hand on the way down.   She told me, “Mom, I like holding you hand.  I didn’t get to hold it on the way up.” I asked her, “Whose hand did you hold?” She said, “I held Joshua’s and Joshua’s true love, I can’t remember her name.”  “Out of the mouth of babes.” said John. 

Thanks for coming and giving us such a fun adventure to remember.   

Briana sharing her words of wisdom.  

Come on, Liam.  Give me a little smile.  

Panorama! 

Mwah!

Kira and Rhett found a little hide out "fort" that protected them from the wind. They later got started building small cairns like the ones we had seen coming up the trail.

Taking a break, right before the mountain goat came walking up.  

All the beautiful wild flowers.  

Exhausted.

Here the kids are all taking turns giving John a kiss for a skittle as a reward.  :) 

"If you sit on his lap today, a kiss a skittle is the price you'll pay!"

Kira was being playful. She didn't want to give John a kiss and kept darting in and out.

I had a wonderful time. I sure am grateful for such delightful and motivated family. Briana also enjoyed it. John?.... Well, John got all the kisses, so he must have had a good time. 

The Alchemist
Conversion of  Bill Carpenter - a fun conversion story that we listened to. I recommend it!!