On September 1st, Dan and I decided that we were going to go hiking. We have done quite a few short hikes and I was ready to pick a bigger one. One of my new fitness goals is to hike what’s called a 14er. There are several mountains in the Rockies with elevations of 14,000 feet, hence a 14er. Some are easier than others and I just want to experience one to see what it’s like. Also, you’re not a true Coloradoan until you’ve taken a selfie at 14,000 feet.
So to get to a 14er, we had to up our hiking. So I chose Herman Gulch off a list of ‘quickie mountain hikes’. Here’s a comparison of what hike we would usually do and then Herman Gulch.
Typical Weekend Hike: Trading Post Trail, Red Rocks
Distance: 1.4 mile loop Difficulty: Medium Elevation Gain: 500 ft.
This Weekend Hike: Herman Gulch
Distance: 7 miles Difficulty: Moderate Elevation Gain: 1,600 ft.
On paper, it didn’t seem to bad!
It seems more than reasonable! I could run a mile and had yet to die while training at the gym. I kept thinking of my trainer’s voice saying, “Yeah but did it kill you?” During the first mile, it was pretty easy. Then I realized we were ONLY a mile in. We were starting at around 10,000 feet above sea level and found it wasn’t too hard to breathe since we are used to 5,280 feet. However, we were quickly getting tired.
During the second mile I realized we weren’t even close. My knees started to ache and my butt muscles were burning! However, my legs are really strong and there was never an option of turning back. We were going to do this, even if it killed us! Half way through you come to a beautiful meadow to keep you going! 
Near the end of reaching the lake (which to midwesterners is more like a big pond) we were stopping A LOT. The people on their way back down could see the desperation on our faces. They’d say, “You’re almost there! It’s just another like….30 minutes!” This is not encouraging! Don’t tell me I STILL have 30 minutes! Just tell me I’m not going to die before I get there. When we arrived at the lake, we were treated with a snowball fight. in the mountains. on September 1! 
After a snowball fight, water and a granola bar, we headed back down. I can say that they trip down is a TON easier than up! However, it does hurt your knees to be pounding at that angle for about an hour.
Overall: I didn’t die. There were times when I thought I would! There were thoughts that I had to push to the side of “You can’t do this” or “This is TOO hard for you!” But the truth was, it wasn’t! I was absolutely exhausted afterwards. Moral of the lesson: If I knew how hard it was going to be, I probably wouldn’t have done it. Since I didn’t know what I was getting myself in for, I was able to side step that fear and prove that I could. For those wondering, 1,600 ft elevation gain is equal to over 100 flights of stairs. Just saying!
Trip totals:
Calories burned: 1,800 Calories consumed in desperation: 250 Water consumed: 40 – 50 oz Trip Up: 2.5 hours Trip Down: 1 hour Feeling of making it: Indescribable Seeing this in person: Priceless
P.S. I swear these are all the same hike even though I’m in three different outfits! It’s hard to pack for 45 degrees when it’s 90 outside your bedroom window!