If you follow the blog’s Instagram, you probably know that this past weekend I did my first 14er. We hiked Mount Sherman, just west of Fairplay, and it was a ton of fun. In this week’s post I’ll be detailing how we went about this experience, as well as some things I’ll do differently on my next 14er.

The Mountain

Sherman was a relatively easy climb, with just over 2,000 feet of elevation gain. It wasn’t super strenuous, but there were like three or four false peaks so that was disheartening.
The trail was pretty busy, but I’m sure the fact that it was relatively late in the season thinned out the crowds a bit. I think for my next 14er I’m going to pick one a little bit harder, since Mount Sherman was almost too easy.

A vehicle with four-wheel drive is definitely needed to get to the trailhead, since it’s about eight miles of bumpy unpaved road to get there.

You also pass the remains of a couple abandoned mines along the way, so that was pretty cool. The trailhead starts at 12,000 feet of elevation, right at tree line, so as soon as you start you’ll be able to enjoy the great views around you. The views are even better if you start at sunrise like we did.

Timeline

We left Denver around 4am and began our hike at about 6:30ish. We summited around 9:00am, making it a pretty quick 14er. We were actually back to the car by 11:00, and by the time we got back to Denver we’d had a full day of activity by only 3pm. Again, I think next time I want to do a longer one that gives us more of a challenge… give me Capitol Peak.

Gear

In terms of gear, I thought we did pretty well. I wore the REI Trailmade rain jacket and REI Sahara convertible pants (REI please sponsor me I love you) as well as wore a base layer underneath. Thankfully all of these layers kept me warm as we faced the elements, and I never really got cold except for my nose in the wind.

For food, we brought some Spring Energy packs that turned out to be delicious at the summit along with some trail mix, and for water we used Platypus SoftBottle water bottles to keep the weight of our packs down.

One thing I’ll probably change for next time is that I’ll invest in some better hiking boots. I hiked in my HOKA running shoes, and while they were super comfortable and worked great, I think next time I’ll get a pair of hiking boots with more ankle support, better grip on the bottom, and hopefully water resistant as well.

Season

Since it was two-thirds of the way through September when we hiked Mount Sherman, the seasons are starting to change – and those changes are drastically exaggerated 14,000 feet above sea level. While it’s still a consistent 80ºF in Denver in September (at least this year), that doesn’t quite make it unrealistic for you to get stuck in the middle of a mild blizzard at the top of a mountain. We learned our lesson the hard way.

After summiting around 9:00am, by 9:15am we were trudging through the thick of a cloud with strong winds pummeling us with ice flakes. It was pretty surreal only being able to see about 50ft in front of us while traversing down the mountain, but I’d say we learned our lesson.

I think the beginning of September is a good time to start wrapping up 14er season, as the weather at the tops of the mountains becomes too unpredictable to safely navigate. It’s still up to you and what you’re comfortable with, and my experience this past weekend wasn’t terribly dangerous, but if you’re a beginner I wouldn’t recommend doing a 14er as late in the year as we did.

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