Mt. Massive
July 28, 2019 / 14,421’
rt stats: total time - 6 hr & 17 min, 13.55 Miles, and 4,492’ elevation gain
time stats: 3 hr & 15 min to mt. massive, 31 min at summit, 2 hr & 32 min to trailhead
rating (how much i liked the hike): 7/10
The day after Culebra Peak/Red Mountain, we hiked Mt. Massive. Mt. Massive is extremely different compared to Culebra Peak and Red Mountain. Massive’s RT distance is double that of Culebra Peak/Red Mountain and its elevation gain is not even 1000 ft. greater than that of Culebra Peak/Red Mountain. Sometimes, I write what I ate for breakfast and other times I do not, but, of course, I had my standard 2 Oikos Triple Zero mixed berry Greek yogurts (30 grams of protein!!!!) and cheerios. The drive over to the trailhead was short and simple, about 25 minutes and an easy to drive road. We parked about 5 minutes from the actual trailhead. There were a ton of cars nearby, but we think that, since the Mt. Elbert trailhead is essentially right next to the Mt. Massive trailhead, many of those cars belonged to Elbert hikers. We started the hike at 6:20 am.
The first few miles of Mt. Massive were relatively flat and it was easy to make a quick pace. It really did not feel like we were gaining any elevation until we got up to 12,000 ft. elevation.
Around this point, we could clearly see Mt. Massive and we could see people very far away at the top. I also took my hiking poles out at this point and put my windbreaker back on, since it suddenly got very windy. It’s crazy how you can feel no wind at all, and then gain a tiny bit of elevation and BAM, super windy. At about 13,500 ft. (a little less than 1,000 ft. at the top), I felt myself getting kind of tired and needing more mini breaks than usual. I think that I’m maybe a little tired from Culebra yesterday where just under the first hour was a super steep uphill and we gained a ton of elevation pretty quickly.
Once you get to the saddle, you take a right and hike on a trail/talus/rocks to reach the summit. The trip stats to the summit were 6.74 miles and 3 hours and 15 minutes. The summit was super windy and uncomfortable. The views were alright, but when you want to eat your delicious trail mix and you barely can move your hands, it is not that much fun. Lesson learned: Trail mix >>> views (80% joking, the trail mix that I “make” is awesome).
My dad and my sister reached the summit a little bit after me. We quickly took pictures together (not very flattering hahahah) and then we started heading back down. I was moving quickly leaving the summit, since I could not feel my hands at all. I don’t know what’s up with all the wind because Culebra Peak/Red Mountain the day prior and Mt. Massive today have been the first hikes this summer with extremely strong winds at the summits. Can you tell that I kinda sorta don’t like all this wind? Really, I just need to buy super warm gloves…
The hike down Mt. Massive was simple and quick. The views heading down were pretty cool—you could see Turquoise Lake in the distance. On the way down, I was also thinking about how similar this hike would be to the Barr Trail (Pikes Peak) the next weekend. If you proportionate the elevation and distance, the steepness is fairly comparable. Even though the Barr Trail is a Class 1 route and this Mt. Massive is a Class 2 route, Mt. Massive had no hard Class 2 elements (and Class 2 isn’t really even hard to begin with). Still, the Barr Trail would be 10 miles longer, but I was imagining that the Barr Trail would feel similar to this hike, just a lot longer (and hopefully warmer).
We returned to the trailhead 6 hours and 17 minutes after we started. It took us exactly 2 hours and 32 minutes to descend. The trip stats according to my Garmin were 13.55 miles and 4,492’ elevation gain RT. My dad and sister had to get back to the Denver airport quickly so we needed to get going. We headed to Buena Vista to get food. I went on Yelp and found a brunch place; however, it would be about an hour after ordering to get the food (had already waited maybe 20 minutes and still hadn’t ordered yet). Upon hearing this, we headed next door to La Casa Sanchez to get some Mexican food!!!! WHAT A SURPRISE.
La Casa Sanchez turned out to be a great decision—the food came out quickly and the portions were huge! I ordered steak fajitas and joined the #CleanPlateClub minus the sour cream that I did not eat. I made up for it by using 5 tortillas though so I think that is a fair compromise. I usually ask for no sour cream, but I forgot this time. This Mexican restaurant not only cost a few dollars less but also the portions were twice as big as the Mexican place (La Herradura) that we went to the weekend prior in Buena Vista. I would totally recommend this place! Afterwards, I wanted some ice cream (yay chocolate chip cookie dough!!!!!!). After this, I headed back to Colorado Springs. Mt. Massive was a fun hike, and, at this point in the summer, my longest hike (mileage wise) yet! It was also the highest 14er that I did this summer so that was pretty neat! Yay mountains!!!!
