Mt. of the Holy Cross

My first 14er adventure in two years.  We decided to tackle Mt. of the Holy Cross.  After a few hours of sleep we left Denver at 1:30 a.m. and started hiking at 4.  11 1/2 hours later, 5,500 feet climbed, bruised shins, blistered feet, and sore ankles, we made it back to the trailhead.  There was off routing, bushwhacking, endless talus enduring, and overall exhaustion.  We made it, however, and the difficulty made it all that much more adventurous.

 Setting off at 4 a.m.

The hike up

 First view of the summit as the sun rose - a little bit daunting but beautiful

 The summit within reach

Mt. of the Holy Cross - summit at 14,005 feet

Scott Lindsay, Dave Koenig, me, Justin Arbuckle, JR Brockman

 Amazing view from the summit

Resting at the top - ready for the trek down