8-9-17

August 8: The start of our hike to summit Mt. Shavano.

Bob & I started at 5:30am. At 7am we had perfect blue skies at the saddle ahead.

But when we reached that ridge (13,400 ft) & looked on the other side (to the West) the clouds were forming. It  made us pause & wonder. It was early: only 8am so time was on our side. Colorado storms usually roll in after 12 noon. The standard rule of thumb is to be off the summit by 11am. We've made it our rule to be off by 10am. Neither of us liked the idea of being on the summit if an early storm blew in.

This is how close we were to the summit! Only 700 ft of climbing to go. It was steeper & rockier than the photo appears & would take us about 45 minutes to reach the top. We decided to turn around & head back down. #safetyfirst

As we hiked down the trail the Eastern clouds were innocent; low, white & fluffy. They made for a spectacular show. 

This beautiful cloud angel appeared as if to say..."You chose wisely". :-)

Love this photo!

We had fun taking photos with these amazing clouds as our backdrop.

While we messed around with yoga poses 6 other hikers passed us hiking up for the summit. They weren't overly concerned (because of the time) & pressed on. PS: 2 other hikers turned around at the same saddle we did deciding to skip the summit as well.

Despite missing Mt Shavano's summit today we have no regrets. Every hike is thought out & we do all we can to keep it stress free, safe & fun. We love reaching mountain tops & Mt. Shavano will be there for us another day. Today (w/o the top) this hike was still those 3 things.

Mountains are majestic. The sky is wondrous.

Our bodies are capable & we are grateful to challenge ourselves.

No 14er is the same & each one comes with memories of those you shared it with.

Below tree line there were sections of happy flowers.

Happy Aspens.

9.5 miles. 4,300 ft elevation gain. 4.5 hours.

Happy Us.