Mount Elbert

Spend the night before at Elbert Creek Campground. My family (7 people) hit the Half Moon Trail at 6:30 am and made it to the tree line by about 8:30 am. We had a great day for hiking, sunny and in the 50's and 60's all the way. The last 1/2 mile or so is a killer and with the three false summits it can really discourage you. Only my brother and I made it to the top at 10:30. The rest of the family made it to the 14,000 foot mark and turned around. We made it up with 10 rest breaks of about 5 minutes each to catch our breath and drink a little water. The view from the top is worth the hike up! Since there were hardly any clouds I wouldn't be surprised if we could see for almost 100 miles. The trip down was fun on the knees and in several places the trail was very slipery with rocks and sand. I made it down by 1 pm for a round trip time of 6 1/2 hours (1 hour of rest time). Not bad for a Nor'easter who has never climbed more than a 3,000 foot peak before!