Breckenridge 2.0

We spent the afternoon lazily relaxing in Breckenridge as we tried to acclimate to the elevation.  Breckenridge sits at 9,600 feet above sea level, and the lack of oxygen is immediately apparent, even while just strolling down the side walk.

 

Here we are participating in COMPLETELY legal activities in downtown Breckenridge.

 And the locals who showed us the way.

 Apparently there are people in Breckenridge with lots of money. Or massive amounts of debt.  Anyways, here is an Aston Marton DB9.  Retail price: $200,000

 

 We went out towards Quandary Peak in the afternoon to scope out the trail head and to find a camping spot.  We were planning on heading back into Breckenridge (9 miles away) but found too many exciting things to explore.

Envoy Convoy!

View down the valley from below Quandary Peak.

Going exploring......

Eric searching for bears.

Remnants of attempts to close a mine entrance.  We assume it originally read "DANGEROUS," and was placed on a box on Trinitroluene.

They failed!

Marker placed in 1920 by the Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety.

Remnants of an old mining cabin (below) and mine entrance (above).

Great view!  Just a little TLC, and this fixer-upper would be a great vacation destination.

What?

Dead trees everywhere below the mines.

View from just above the tree line.

We then headed back to the campsite and got a great night's sleep for the next day's epic hike.

Camping location.

View from camping location.  The sun just beginning to shine upon the peak we will be standing on 4 short hours later.

 Map of the route.  6.75 miles round trip, with 3,200 feet of elevation gain.

Beginning the hike.  The summit can just be seen through the trees.  At this point, we're thinking "There's no way we're going to make it up that far...."

View of the area we explored the evening before.  All of the rock slides are actually the stone extracted from the mines.

Gaining elevation.  Losing oxygen saturation.  Gaining pain.  Losing motivation.

View while taking a break trying to get oxygen back to our muscles and our heart rates below 180 BPM.

Taking another break.  Pictures NEVER do justice when it comes to showing how steep a climb is.  But looking at the hikers in the distance, you can get some idea.

And looking down from the same location.  The road below is at the same elevation as the trail head.

So close to the summit!  Adrenaline flows through the veins, tired legs are ignored, oxygen depletion ineffective.

Just SO excited to get to the top!

Arms raised victoriously in the final stretch.

We MADE it! (said the same way Lloyd announces his and Harry's arrival in Aspen in Dumb&Dumber)

Party at the top.

View of our campsite.

USGS land marker.

Another image to show the epic-ness of the summit.

Leaving our note in the register to prove we were there.

YAHTZEE!

On the way down, we came across this friendly little fella.

Ready to strike!