One of the latest and greatest craves in Colorado (besides the marijuana for those of you that are 21 and older) is climbing a 14er. This is a definite must, take my word for it. You’ll thank me, I promise, but you’ll curse me the entire time as well. It will be the longest and most rewarding six-hour adventures of your life. Let me give you the low down.

Disclaimer: Everyone says that you have to be in tiptop athletic shape to conquer one of these. Yes, that would make it easier but as long as you are a generally fit individual and have a very determined mind, you are good to go.

The adventure starts in the middle of the night when your alarm goes off. You will want to prepare for this the day before. You’ll most likely want a camelback backpack, hiking shoes, hiking poles, a headlamp, lots of energy snacks and layers of clothes that will take you from freezing cold temps to warm weather. It’s insane, but for safety, the goal is to summit before the storms roll in therefore your day starts very early.

When your hike begins, you start on a path that seems to have a slight incline and is never-ending. When you start the hike, the skies are dark, shortly the sun will start to peak over the mountains and the sky will light. You will hike your way through the shaded part of the mountain for a good part of the day. You’ll have that voice going off in your head that says “Are we there yet?” because this path will never seem to end and you feel like you’re not making any progress. Next, you’ll begin your way through an area that seems like an endless green field with beautiful flowers that are spotted evenly throughout to add color. It’ll feel like Donkey and Shrek are walking through the field with you, just picture a fairy tale.

After that, your fairy tale is over. The incline is now significant and you are on a rocky, dirt path. To one side is the green field you walked through while on the other side is a bare mountainside that is a charcoal grey that seems as though it is filled with sand. At this point, or earlier, you’re wondering who talked you into this crazy hike. You’ll run into a boulder field next which is where you are walking straight through a rock bed. This gets really steep and you’ve threatened yourself multiple times that you’ve seen enough and you will head back down now.

Soon after, is what you’ve waited for: the top. The top is usually pretty cold and windy because of the high elevation you’ve reached. However, when you get past that, you reassure yourself why you climbed all this way. As you look off out into the distance, it feels as though you can see for hundreds and hundreds of miles. The mountain peaks are below you and you’re on top of the world. The array of colors that is right in front of you is remarkable. In the far distance you see the white snow peaked mountains, and the charcoal gray sides of the mountains, the forest green trees that cover the other sides of the mountains, and every other shade of green and blue that I haven’t covered, is just below your very eyes. If you’re lucky enough, you run into a completely blue-skied day so you can see forever but if not, you get the clouds that are seem as though you can touch their cotton ball like figure. It’s very peaceful at the top and it gets you thinking of how beautiful this world is that we live in and all that has been left for us almost doesn’t feel real. If I could have sat up there for hours and just had the time to relax and let my mind wander, I would’ve. You almost forget the fact that you have another torture filled hike back down. However, the storms roll in very early in the late morning/early afternoon so once you’ve got all your pictures and rejuvenated you’ll want to start heading back down. I promise the hike down isn’t as painful and goes very quickly and while you’re heading back down, you’ll thank yourself for conquering this 14,000 plus foot mountain.

Oh, and don’t forget to bring a Which Wich sandwich baggie to the top with you and take a picture with it for the free sandwich. If you’re a cheap college student like me, it makes it all the more worth it.