Jude and me on top of Grays Peak at 14,270′

In Colorado we have these mountains that we call fourteeners. These are mountains that are all 14,000 feet above sea level, there are 54 of them. Marcy and I have done several of these hikes individually and together, and we started talking about doing a family fourteener this summer. We decided that Anna was still a bit young for it so Jude and I took up the challenge.

We had a practice hike up a 13,000 foot mountain a few weeks back and Jude did great. So, I thought he was ready for the ultimate Colorado hiking challenge. Last night Jude and I drove up to Keystone and stayed at the condo. Then at first light this morning we were off to the trailhead.

On the way up Grays Peak at around 13,300′

It was cold when we started at 7:15am. Very cold. The car said 35 degrees as we were parking but there was a stiff breeze so with wind chill it was a lot colder than that. But Jude did great. He did not complain once and was a trooper even when the wind really picked up near the summit. We arrive at the summit at 11:30am, Jude was thrilled to have made it to the top on his first try. He was given a lot of encouragement from all the other hikers as he was one of the youngest on the mountain.

We made it back to the car at around 3:10pm and Jude skipped/ran the last 100 yards when he saw the car. I think I was in worse shape than he was at that point.

While we were doing our hike Marcy spent the day with Anna. They did lots of bike riding, partly because one of our cars is still having repairs for hail damage. One of the many places they rode today was to get their nails done. This is becoming a favorite activity for Marcy and Anna when I am out with Jude.

At the nail salon